The oldest city in Colombia, romantic Santa Marta is fringed by beautiful beaches and the stunning mountains of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta range. Ancient ruins take cover in the lush mangrove forests of Tayrona National Park, the perfect spot for a day hike. Snorkel along vibrant reefs, then make your way to a café for a multicultural meal that incorporates the flavors of Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe. When the sun goes down, the nightlife kicks up its heels in the bars and discos of the Parque de Los Novios.

Vibrant Barranquilla is the epicenter of Carnival,a four-day festival of food, music, dance and beautiful party people. For the other 361 days of the year, the fourth-largest city in Colombia offers plenty of opportunities to pursue a balance of epic nightlife and historic sightseeing. The churches alone are their own festivals of architecture, and the impressive Museum of the Caribbean is a great source of political, cultural and social context.

Is there any possible way Las Vegas could not be on our "best nightlife" list? The only way we could possibly omit it is on a technicality—since you can do pretty much anything 24/7 in Vegas, it might be wrong to call it "nightlife."