Search results for "garden island"

In Ireland cliches come to life... a green landscape brushed with rain... a wild coastline bordering a windblown sea... the sound of an Irish fiddle in a cozy village pub warmed by a turf fire and lively conversation. Scenes straight out of the movies. Literary, poetic, gifted in the art of conversation, the Irish extend their love of language even to the names of counties and towns, which roll off the tongue like music: Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, and Kilkenny. For a taste of Irish culture, from the Abbey Theatre to traditional music, proceed directly to Dublin, where Joyce, Shaw, and Y...

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...

In the days when visitors to Hawaii arrived only by ocean liner, Oahu was Hawaii, a sleepy tropical paradise centered around Honolulu, Waikiki, and the timeless landmark of Diamond Head. Today, cosmopolitan Honolulu is the cultural hub of the Pacific, with world-class hotels and fine dining. You can take a leisurely drive around Oahu in a day, but getting to know the island takes time. Climb Diamond Head at daybreak to watch the city come to life, then head for Hanauma Bay to fin over the blue-green mosaic of reefs that make it the island's most popular snorkeling site. Travel the wave...

Sail away. That probably should be the license plate motto on Tortola, the sailing center of the Caribbean's favorite cruising grounds, the British Virgin Islands. Whether you're an experienced sailor planning to "bareboat" your way from island to island, or look forward to hiring a skippered ("leave the driving to us") yacht, or just out for a day sail, the harbor at Road Town is the perfect place to start: The winds are usually steady, the sailing is easy, and there's always a buffet line of nearby islands to choose from. But Tortola is the one island in the BVI that calls for...

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 ...

Hawaii's "garden island" more than lives up to its name. Two exceptional tropical botanical gardens – at Lawai, on the South Shore, and near Kee Beach on the North Shore – only set the stage for what many Hawaiians consider the most beautiful of their islands. From the soaring sea cliffs of the spectacular Na Pali Coast to the orange-and-black palisades of Waimea Canyon (often called the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific”) and the divergent beauty of nearly 70 white-sand beaches, Kauai is full of natural wonders. It looks good on camera, too. More than 50 films have been shot here – Elvis...

Bora-Bora has been called the world's most beautiful island so many times, it's almost a cliche. But as the saying goes, there's a lot of truth in cliches: Spectacular peaks soaring over the world's most beautiful lagoon (not much argument there) offer a vision of the classic South Pacific paradise. It's a vision that many visitors (a sizable number of them honeymooners) experience from the luxury of an overwater bungalow at one of the several world-class resorts scattered around the island. When you can swim, snorkel, or canoe from your front porch, you may not feel an urg...

Taveuni is sometimes called Fiji's "Garden Isle," and while it has spectacular landscapes, the island is best known for its diving – some of the finest in the South Pacific. But this is not diving for the novice. Sites in the Somosomo Strait, a narrow channel between Taveuni and the larger island of Vanua Levu, are renowned for their amazing walls of soft corals – and for the strong currents that can unsettle beginning divers. For the experienced, the rewards of diving the famed 20-mile-long Rainbow Reef include tropical fish beyond count (one site that lives up to its name: The Fish F...