Location: Australia
What's Cool: The annual Nude Olympics
-----------------------------------------
Relaxed and lively is the only way to describe Samurai Beach, which backs up onto Bardot's Clothing Optional Resort in Port Stephens. On this half-mile stretch of white sand, nudists let it all hang out while taking part in volleyball, tug-of-war and Frisbee. As one of the sportiest nude beaches worldwide, it is only appropriate that Samurai Beach hosts the annual Nude Olympics every November. Events include the Nude Torch Relay, Nude Surfing and the Nude Beach Girl and Guy Competitio...
If the wilds of coastal Alaska seem a little tame for you, head west to Unalaska. Set in the heart of the 1,000-mile-long Aleutian chain, this rugged outpost was a Russian fur trade outpost in the 18th century and a U.S. military stronghold in WWII. Today it’s home to Alaska’s largest commercial fishing fleet.
Nearly all of the island’s residents are tied to the fishing industry in the town’s working port of Dutch Harbor, but visitors can hike amid fields of wildflowers, pick wild berries, go mountain biking, climb several volcanic peaks, kayak along wilderness coastlines (sea otters and w...
Many visitors to Puerto Rico never leave the streets and plazas of San Juan, and that’s understandable, because this most beautiful of Caribbean cities can charm you in a way few tropical getaways can. Walk along the narrow cobblestone lanes and gaze at the wrought-iron balconies, archways, and plazas, and you are in an 18th-century Spanish colonial city, alive with antique shops, art galleries, and small cafés. By night, this is a city that lives by its after-hours diversions, set to the rhythms of hip-swiveling Salsa.
But there are also other, less familiar Puerto Ricos. Sun-and-sand love...
Kailua, meaning "two seas," is a beautiful community located on the scenic southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Kailua’s beach park has become known as the windsurfing capital of the world. Its steady off shore trade wind, a protective coral reef and consistent water temperature of 75° Fahrenheit (25° C) makes Kailua perfect for year round water sports.
Kailua Beach has been rated by Conde Nast as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world so many times that is has been removed from the Conde Naste list to allow other beaches a chance to win. This is also the most popular ...
The Beaches of ATLANTIC CITY, VENTNOR, MARGATE & LONGPORT
For many years, Atlantic City was America's premier beach resort. That was before there were casinos. It was a time when people came to Atlantic City for the beach. Today, as then, the beach still stretches for miles however a large portion is backed up by casinos and the heavily travelled boardwalk.
The Main Atlantic City beach is a setting to itself. The main beach runs along the boardwalk and the casino strip and is divided every several blocks by huge piers that jut into the ocean. You can stroll along the beach under the...
Several islands lay claim to their own “Bali Hai,” but it was on Vanuatu’s largest island, Espiritu Santo, that James Michener, gazing over the blue Pacific toward a nearby island during WWII, found his original South Pacific inspiration.
Like Fiji, Vanuatu is not actually an island but rather a chain of islands. Once known as the New Hebrides, the archipelago is an endless chain of fine beaches, amazing diving, volcanoes, the scent of frangipani in the air…in other words, all the stage settings for a few classic tales of the South Pacific. On the main island, Efate, the capital of Port Vi...
Look around at the elegant resort hotels, golf courses, casino, marinas, and shopping malls of Freeport/Lucaya – and you may find it hard to believe that none of this existed when JFK was president. Faster-paced than Nassau, this cosmopolitan "second city" of the Bahamas is really only four decades old, a monument to modern tourism. But what makes Grand Bahama special is the fact that while you can play, shop, gamble, and boogie the night away to your heart's content in American-style comfort, much of the island remains as it was before the resort revolution.
That includes miles of uncr...
Jamaica is greater than the sum of its parts. But for many visitors, the only part they see is one of four major resort areas. There's always-lively Montego Bay, with its beaches, golf, shopping, and nightlife and Ocho Rios, known for its beaches and upscale resorts, while Negril, aka Beach Party Central, pulls in the younger set, and Port Antonio is a lush, quiet getaway.
Visitors who explore find a beautiful island, a vibrant culture that goes far beyond reggae, and endless opportunities to play under the sun. You can golf, horseback ride, or dive (on wrecks and among the ruins of a ...
On the Gulf of Mexico, about halfway in the lineup of barrier islands between Galveston and South Padre Island, Matagorda has been hammered by storms over the last two centuries – and that, in some ways, has been a blessing. There are no major developments stretching along the shoreline here; instead the island today is a park and wildlife reserve, geared to beachcombers, nature lovers, and those simply seeking a quiet corner of the world.
The only access to Matagorda Island State Park is by boat and ferry (from nearby Port O’Connor), and facilities are mostly limited to primitive campsite...
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...
