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’ve probably know Antigua: resorts aplenty, more than 300 beaches, a favorite with sailors… But what about Barbuda? In the West Indian dual nation of Antigua and Barbuda, she is the forgotten stepchild – and for some sophisticated travelers, that’s all the more reason to count their blessings.
Barbuda is actually about half the size of her glamorous sibling (and only a 20-minute flight away). However, as sister islands go, A & B are worlds apart. Barbuda has more than its share of glorious (and virtually deserted) beaches, but most of the island is low and scrubby, and the small populat...
Together with Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa Island, Destin is part of a 24-mile stretch of silky white sand beach in Northwest Florida known as the Emerald Coast.
"Destin has rightly earned a reputation for having some of the best beaches in the United States but beware -- the reflection of the sugar white sands makes sunglasses and sunscreen a must. "
A little Background: Destin was founded by Capt. Leonard Destin, a New Englander who moved to the area more than a century ago to work in the red snapper fishing industry still retains the title of "World's Luckiest Fishing Vill...
Acklins and Crooked Island are two of the four islands forming an atoll which hugs the beautiful shallow waters of the Bight of Acklins. Bordered by the nearly uninhabited Castle Island and Long Cay, they are as natural as they were when The Bahamas was first "discovered." Columbus reputedly sailed down the leeward side of the islands through the narrow Crooked Island Passage, which has ever since served as an important route for steam ships travelling from Europe to Central and South America. This seaway, referred to locally as 'the going through,' also earned these islands the notori...
Divers and fly-fishermen know Caye Caulker well, but it’s only in recent years that the island has become a popular Belizean getaway for that vast tribe of savvy travelers who judge a place by the availability of hammocks, cold beer, and time for a good book.
The island, which sits less than a mile inside Belize’s long barrier reef, is just four miles long and the streets are white sand (which helps explain why golf carts are the most popular way of getting around). Locals say that if you want to know what San Pedro, the main town on neighboring Ambergris Caye, 12 miles to the north, was l...
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...
The words on the license plates are a clue: "Diver's Paradise. " From fantastic snorkeling just off the beach (just imagine being dropped into a tropical fish tank) to deep wall dives, Bonaire offers what is arguably the best diving in the Caribbean. Much of the credit goes to its visionary Marine Park – the island waters have been protected since 1979.
Yet Bonaire is no one-hit wonder. Sure, other watersports are popular (windsurfers find steady tradewinds and a conveniently shallow sandy bottom at Lac Bay) and it's not hard to find a secluded beach (the black sands of Boca Cocolis...
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...
Bring your underwater watch. Dive masters have charted more than 100 scuba and snorkeling sites on Roatan, the largest of the three major Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras, and it's easy to see why this island chain has become one of the Caribbean's diving meccas. A barrier reef (which extends north to Belize) lies just a few hundred feet offshore from the northern side of Roatan, and the warm, clear waters are home to nearly all of the tropical fish and corals of the Caribbean. Divers here have a smorgasbord of choices, from caves and canyons to swim-throughs and sand chutes.
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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...
