Search results for "coral coast"

Although 350 islands make up the Archipielago de los Canarreos, Isla de la Juventud is by far the biggest of them and this region is administered from the island's capital, Nueva Gerona. Much of the island is flat and the Cienaga de Lanier is Cuba's second-largest swamp. Isla de la Juventud is the least populated region of Cuba, with most people living in the north of the island. Once known as Parrot Island, it was a hideout for pirates like Francis Drake, John Hawkins, Thomas Baskerville and Henry Morgan, and it inspired Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. The local economy ...

Largest of the many Islands of The Bahamas (104 x 40 miles), mysterious, mangrove-choked Andros is also the least explored, which means that you'll be sharing space with more terns and whistling tree ducks than humans--and maybe even a chickcharnie or two, those mischievous mythical inhabitants that are exclusive to this island. Reputed to be elfin creatures with three fingers, three toes, and red eyes, chickcharnies bring lifelong good luck to anyone lucky enough to see one. Andros even has its own "Loch Ness Monster," a dragon-like sea monster called the Lusca. No wonder the island was c...

The Perhentian Islands are a small group of beautiful, coral-fringed islands off the coast of northeastern Malaysia in the state of Terengganu, not far from the Thai border. The two main islands are Perhentian Besar ("Big Perhentian") and Perhentian Kecil ("Small Perhentian"). Kecil, the more popular of the two, has cheap accommodation and a bit of a backpacker party scene, while Besar is slightly more expensive and caters more to families. The small, uninhabited islands of Susu Dara, Seringgi and Rawa lie off Kecil. All the islands belong to a protected marine park, which means that fishing...

Off the coast of Costa Rica, some 300 miles out into the Pacific, Cocos Island is one of the last, best places in the diving world. Schools of hammerhead sharks beyond count (especially during the rainy season, June through October), manta rays, and even the occasional whale shark are prime attractions, but probably in the back of every diver's mind is that a gold doubloon might just be waiting around the next coral head. For Cocos Island National Park, rich in natural history, is also steeped in legends of buried treasures. The names of ships carved into rocks at Chatham Bay date to t...

Scores of islands are scattered off Australia, between the Queensland coast and the Great Barrier Reef, but Heron Island is actually on the reef. So where a trip to the reef from some islands means a long boat ride, on Heron the coral country is right at the front door. Heron is not a large island (you can saunter around its white-sand perimeter in a hour), but it is a protected sanctuary for both sea turtles and birds; watching turtle hatchlings make their perilous journey to the sea is a prime activity around the Christmas season. Still, it is the diving that's the main attractio...

Zanzibar is an archipelago made up of Zanzibar and Pemba Islands, and several islets. It is located in the Indian Ocean, about 25 miles from the Tanzanian coast, and 6° south of the equator. Zanzibar Island (known locally as Unguja, but as Zanzibar internationally) is 60 miles long and 20 miles wide, occupying a total area of approximately 650 square miles. It is characterised by beautiful sandy beaches with fringing coral reefs, and the magic of historic Stone Town - said to be the only functioning ancient town in East Africa. Wildlife There are no large wild animals in Zanzibar, and fo...

Of the 400 or so islands that make up the nation of Fiji, Viti Levu is the largest – and a cultural crossroads of the South Pacific. But even with its international airport in Nadi (pronounced NAN-dee), Viti Levu is sometimes overlooked by visitors eager to hop off to one of Fiji’s enchanting outlying isles.. Viti Levu is not so much a beach getaway (the best beaches and diving are along the Coral Coast on the west side of the island), as a place rich with the possibilities that come with tropical mountains, rivers, waterfalls, and traditional Fijian villages. Hiking, rafting (including tr...