Search results for "windsurfing"

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 ...

This is an Ile des Pins story: During the world windsurfing championships held in New Caledonia in 1999, board sailors suddenly stopped in the middle of the competition and dropped their sails to take in the sheer beauty of the Isle of Pines…Yes, another contender for the most-beautiful-island-on-the-planet title. Capt. James Cook named it in 1774 for the tree-rich landscape, but it’s the gloriously clear waters offshore, bordered by some of the most stunning beaches (Kuto and Kanumera are the best known) in the entire South Pacific, that enthrall travel-weary visitors. This is an island m...

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...

Barbados, the easternmost of the West Indies, is sometimes called "Little England" for its resolutely British character. Here you can read the cricket headlines over a breakfast of bangers, enjoy afternoon tea at your hotel, even don a jacket for dinner. But those traditions sometimes take on a Bajan twist. Breakfast can also feature fried flying fish, the rum shops function as local versions of British pubs, and the island "tuk bands" feature both drums and pennywhistles. Beyond the busy streets of Bridgetown, this highly developed island offers all the creature comforts of a longstanding ...

Isla Margarita is a Caribbean island no one knows about – except Venezuelans, for whom this semi-desert island has long been a favorite getaway. Located just 25 miles off the South American coast and roughly halfway between Trinidad and Bonaire, Isla Margarita is anything but an undeveloped, back-of-beyond backwater – not with casinos, five-star hotels, a championship golf course, and a disco-rich nightlife in the main city, Porlamar. The resort-rich eastern part of the island has been called "Cancun South," but even that popular Mexican getaway must envy Margarita’s amazing collection of ...

From the western shore of Molokai, you can gaze across the channel to the island of Oahu – but the world of Waikiki is light years from this quiet “Friendly Island.” Considered the birthplace of the hula, Molokai is where native Hawaiian culture has been woven most thoroughly into daily life. As a result, the place moves at its own languid pace. Lodgings here are limited to a single resort and a handful of small hotels and condominiums. The only town, three-block-long Kaunakakai, would look at home on a Wyoming back road. Recreational activities tend to be low-key: There's hiking (an e...

your idea of vacation fun starts with sand, sun, sea, and nonstop action, then you'll love Cancun. It wasn't always that way. In the 1970s Cancun was just a long sandspit and a small fishing village. The Mexican government, however, had a different future in mind for those white-sand beaches and that turquoise water, and now the resort island is dotted with about 100 hotels that can handle some to 2 million visitors a year. Much of the Cancun experience has been crafted to reflect popular American tastes. If you want to party till dawn, it's no problema. You can also shop till ...

In a world where even small remote islands have become popular tourist destinations, it's increasingly rare to find a sizable South Pacific isle that has remained largely undeveloped. And therein lies the basic charm of Vanua Levu, the second largest among Fiji's 300 or so islands. Just over 100 miles long Vanua Levu (pronounced vah-NEW-ah LAY-vu) is a good base for adventurous souls who prefer rainforest hikes, bird-watching, and snorkeling to, say, golf, tennis, and spas. The interior of the island is rugged, and green fields of sugar cane cover the north and west coasts like a s...