Flores

Today the provincial capital is a pleasant place to explore, with its narrow streets lined with thick-walled buildings painted pink, blue, and purple. Flowering plants droop over balconies, giving the town a tropical flavor. There's a central square presided over by a colonial church.

Sadly, most of the hotels in Flores are also pedestrian, rarely rising above mediocrity. Flores is crying out for a truly special small inn, one that's as charming as the town itself.

Connected to the mainland by a bridge and causeway—don't be put off by the Burger King at the entrance to the causeway—Flores serves as a base for travelers to El Petén. It's also the center of many nongovernmental organizations working for the preservation of the Mayan Biosphere, an endangered area covering nearly all of northern Petén. Flores is also one of the last remaining vestiges of the Itzá, the people who built Mexico's monumental Chichén Itzá.