Search results for "coral atolls"

Sunday is the perfect day to go to the beach in Tonga – if you're a visitor; an islander found swimming on the Sabbath is subject to a fine. Yes, they do take their religion seriously in the "Friendly Isles." Tonga, like its neighbor to the west, Fiji, is not just one island, but an entire archipelago of far-flung isles. In Tonga's case, the islands number about 170 (only about 45 are inhabited), geographically divided into four distinct groups. Tongatapu, with the capital of Nuku'alofa, is the hub of this island chain in western Polynesia. Two of every three Tongans live here ...

You have to hand it to the Maldivians. Here, on a far-flung archipelago of low coral atolls in the Indian Ocean, they have raised the notion of the private island resort to a fine art. The conservative Islamic nation encompasses nearly 1,200 islands stretched over some 35,000 square miles, but the scantily clad, beach-going overseas visitors are steered (and pretty much restricted) to about 90 small resort islands. These cater to an upscale clientele looking for a tropical getaway where the thatched huts come with fine linens and haute cuisine. So what's paradise like, Maldives-style? I...

When the eccentric british adventurer and general Charles “Chinese” Gordon visited Seychelles in the late 19th century, he became convinced he'd found the original Garden of Eden. After all, there in the Indian Ocean, some 600-700 miles east of Africa, he had come upon a dazzling chain of mountainous, verdant granite islands fringed by low coral atolls and possessing what many have since described as the most beautiful beaches in the world. Modern paradise-seekers will enjoy superb diving; fine fly-fishing on the flats, and deep-water trolling offshore; year-round charter sailing; and ...

You might say there are two types of visitors who come to the Mamanucas Islands of Fiji: Hardcore surfers and anyone else looking for a small, private island paradise. The surfers have been making the journey to these stunning coral islands since the mid-1980s, since word first started to get around about an extraordinary surf spot called Cloudbreak off Tavarua Island. Meanwhile, the trend toward exclusive private island resorts blossomed throughout Fiji, especially in the Mamanucas, close to Fiji's international airport in Nadi on the island of Viti Levu. Tavarua remains a surfer’...