7 Perfect Island Getaways Around the Globe

From cheap hideaways to epic fishing and diving spots, we dug up seven crowd-free island escapes for every type of adventurer.

Maalifushi, Maldives
Great Abaco, Bahamas
Corn Islands, Nicaragua
Mumbo Island, Malawi
Niihau, Hawaii
Niue, South Pacificu
Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands

Water World: Maalifushi, Maldives

7 incredible island getaways from around the globe

The English word atoll comes from 颅Dhivehi, the official language of the Maldives. And with good reason. This nation consists of 1,192 islands spread across 35,000 square miles of Indian Ocean. Turquoise 颅lagoons, pearlescent beaches, and coral gardens teem with over 1,900 species of fish, 400 species of mollusks, and 350 species of crustaceans, making it an aquaphile’s paradise. But it can be tough to put together a DIY trip in a place where the easiest way around is by boat or seaplane. Base yourself at , which can 颅arrange your 颅adventures for you (doubles from $650).

The hotel opens in December and is one of only two resorts in the rarely visited, pristine Thaa Atoll. You’ll stay in one of 66 thatched-roof bungalows and villas on the 20-acre 颅island, half of which are raised on stilts above the water. When you’re not in one of the eight spa rooms, there’s plenty to do: fish for 颅wahoo and grouper or go sailing in 25-knot winds, or snorkel or scuba with hawksbill turtles, schools of bluestripe snapper, or a few dozen manta rays at one of the island’s 40 dive sites. And while the December swells aren’t as good as the high season’s (April to October), (from $160 per person).

Access: Fly to the capital of Mal茅, then take a barefoot-piloted to the resort.

Trophy Heaven: Great Abaco, Bahamas鈥�

7 incredible island getaways from around the globe

The Bahamas are famous for their beaches and bonefishing. has both鈥攚ith a little luxury thrown in. Blackfly, located in Schooner Bay, opened in March 2013 and is co-owned by Vaughn Cochran, a retired fishing guide, a marine artist, and an original member of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band. Each room has a broad veranda (with even broader views) and a custom-made colonial-style bed. Dinner is snapper, tuna, and mahi-mahi caught locally, complemented by organic fruit, vegetables, and eggs from nearby Lightbourn Farm. But all that is just an afterthought to the fishing. Blackfly has use of the only Atlantic-facing harbor in South Abaco鈥�20,500-acre 颅Abaco National Park practically abuts it鈥攚hich means that anglers can stalk 30-pound permit and occasional 80-pound tarpon from six separate fishing zones, along with 12-pound bonefish from schools of up to 200 thick. From $2,300 per person for three nights, all-inclusive.

Access: Several airlines fly to Great Abaco from South Florida (Palm Beach is 175 miles east) and Nassau (106 miles south).

Two for One: Corn Islands, Nicaragua

7 incredible island getaways from around the globe

There was a time when visiting the Caribbean meant empty beaches, limpid waters, plentiful fish to catch (and eat), and ample cheap rum and beer. That idyll still exists on Nicaragua’s Big and Little Corn Islands. You can still score a $10 room on the combined five square miles of land鈥�43 miles off the Caribbean coast颅鈥攁nd $70 gets you a 颅bungalow with private veranda (and 颅electrical outlets) at . Start by beach hopping on the Big Island: try Long Bay for bodysurfing, Sally Peaches for snorkeling, or South West for vegging out with a coco loco鈥攁 coconut and rum cocktail鈥攁t Martha’s bar. You can walk to any of them, but a cab is just 70 cents per person, no matter where you go. Then watch a Sunday baseball game in the 颅island’s 2,000-seat Karen Tucker stadium for $1. 颅

After you’ve had enough of the Big 颅Island, take the daily water taxi 30 minutes to roadless , and rent a bungalow with Wi-Fi, fans, mosquito nets, and hot showers ($30). Little Corn’s position in the Caribbean makes for consistent winds that are ($50 for an intro course). You can also from a panga outfitted with two fighting chairs ($50), or take all that money you saved and splurge on a lobster dinner鈥攊t’s only $14.

Access: Fly round-trip from Managua to Big Corn on ($165). Then take a water taxi between Big and Little Corn ($12 round-trip; head to the Municipal Wharf in Brig Bay).

Simple Solace: Mumbo Island, Malawi

7 incredible island getaways from around the globe

Lake Malawi, a 2,300-foot-deep, 11,400-square-mile gem in southern Africa, is home to 1,000 species of fish鈥攐ne of the highest concentrations on the planet. It’s also the site of half-mile-wide, 250-acre Mumbo 颅Island, one of our favorite out-there getaways. The lake was declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 1984, and once you get underwater it’s easy to see why. There are more than 400 types of brilliantly colored freshwater tropical fish, like damsels, angelfish, and wrasses. Guests can snorkel or scuba with them past sunken knolls of granite boulders or kayak to the lake’s dozen islands for what Cape Town, South Africa鈥揵ased Kayak Africa calls the top sea-paddling route in southern Africa.

Best of all, the outfitter limits occupancy to 14 guests at a time, putting them up in six furnished bungalows and tents with hammocks, thatched-reed roofs, and hot bucket showers. It’s bare-bones鈥攖here’s no electricity鈥攂ut that’s by design. claims that if all tents and decks were removed, there wouldn’t be a human trace within a year. There’s also plenty to do on dry land. You can watch the hundreds of white-throated cormorants that nest on Mumbo or hike its five one-to-two-mile 颅nature trails past rock fig and baobab trees. But after you’ve had a full day in and on the water, we won’t blame you if you just want to rest in that hammock. From $195 per person per night, all-inclusive.

Access: Fly to Malawi’s Lilongwe Inter颅颅national Airport ( connects through Johannesburg), drive four hours to Cape Mac颅lear, on Lake Malawi’s southern end, and take the 45-minute ferry ride to the island.

Out of Bounds: Niihau, Hawaii

7 incredible island getaways from around the globe

Ever since this 70-square-mile spit of land was purchased in 1864 by Elizabeth Sinclair, a wealthy Scottish farmer, Hawaii’s Forbidden Isle has been most famous for being off-limits. But the wild landscape of arid, red-tinged volcanic terrain is easier to reach than you think: you can still take day trips from Kauai. Join Niihau Helicopters, which will land you on secluded beaches with nothing but shells, translucent water, and a few endangered monk seals ($400 per person; niihau.us). Or with monk seals, spinner dolphins, Galapagos sharks, and humpback whales (three-tank dives from $315).

Access: Trips start and end in Kauai. The 17-mile crossing takes 2.5 hours by boat. Stay at (from $346).

Wild Thing: Niue, South Pacific

7 incredible island getaways from around the globe

Eighteen hundred miles northeast of New Zealand, Niue can feel isolated. News on the island is only broadcast twice a week, swimming is frowned upon on Sundays, and, with just over 1,600 people on 100 square miles of the largest uplifted coral atoll in the world, it’s the least populated self-governing 颅nation on the planet after the Vatican. But the quirks are part of the allure of this rocky cave-ridden island. Visitors can angle for ($55) or from July through September ($101).

But don’t ignore the land. Chasms and caverns perforate the island by the thousands. 颅Until the early 1800s, Niueans inhabited them instead of houses, and even today there are fewer than 100 颅accommodations on Niue. Go for the large studios at the recently opened oceanfront , each of which has a private balcony perched on the rocky shore (from $106). The Huvalu Conservation Area tropical forest covers 13,000 acres, nearly one-quarter of the island, and has plenty of cycling oppor颅tunities. or ride the 42-mile road around the island past beaches and along limestone cliffs (bike rentals, $12 per day).

Access: flies from Auckland weekly鈥攖he 3.5-hour flight crosses the 颅International Date Line, arriving 20.5 hours before it departed.

Easy Living: Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands

7 incredible island getaways from around the globe

Many know Jost Van Dyke, one of the handful of inhabited islands in the BVIs, as the barefoot island. Fifteen years ago, it had no electricity and few paved roads. That’s changed, but the atmosphere hasn’t. There are still no brand-name hotels鈥攕tay at , which offers essential amenities like iPod docks and charcoal grills (from $135). Then start with the adventure: rent 12- or 13-foot SUPs from , then head into Great Harbor to paddle near surfacing dolphins ($20 per hour). But take the island’s nickname to heart and spend some time padding between the 50-odd seasonal bars.

, located on White Bay, claims invention of the Painkiller (rum, pineapple juice, OJ, cream of coconut) and serves four-course dinners to the yachting set; boasts one of the biggest Caribbean New Year’s Eve parties in Great Harbor; and does barbecue every Thursday鈥攁nd offers campsites for the inevitable postprandial collapse (equipped sites from $45).

Access: Fly to St. Thomas directly from the East Coast, and 鈥攐r take the 75-minute public ferry from Red Hook, which is 25 minutes by cab from the airport.

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, the new documentary from Jon Shenk (), is a remarkable work: a film about climate change that鈥檚 neither preachy nor boring. The movie, which won the people鈥檚-choice award at the 2011 and opens in wide release this month, follows former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed as he travels from Britain to India, then to the 2009 , demanding policy change on behalf of his country, which could be swamped by rising seas. MARIO QUADRACCI caught up with Nasheed, who was the Maldives鈥� first democratically elected president, in late January鈥攋ust weeks before .

OUTSIDE: You gave Shenk and his crew remarkable access. They even made it into the bathroom with you in聽Copenhagen. Did you ever say no?
NASHEED: When they came to the聽Maldives, I didn鈥檛 realize quite what I was getting into. I thought they would film a few scenes and then leave. I didn鈥檛 know they would want to follow me everywhere and film everything!

Global warming is very politicized these days. Is it divisive in the Maldives?
Any Maldivian has to take聽climate change seriously. Domestically, it鈥檚 not divisive.聽

Do you have plans to adapt to rising sea levels?
We are talking about sea walls, revetments, and water breakers, and we are experimenting with supporting coral reefs, which naturally protect islands from erosion. But these schemes are expensive. We have 1,200 islands in the Maldives. If sea levels rise more than one meter, there is little we can do. The average elevation of our islands is just 1.5 meters above the sea.

In the film, you seem frustrated after months of trying to get the world to act toward finding a solution to climate change. Now, four years later, how do you feel?
We need to change the way we talk about tackling climate change. We keep聽telling people that they need to cut back on carbon emissions. But many politicians, especially in the developing world, equate carbon emissions with development. So telling people to cut back on emissions makes them think you are telling them to halt progress. Let鈥檚 stop asking countries not to do things. Instead, ask them to do positive things, like invest in renewable聽energy. The Maldives has agreed to invest 2 percent of our national income in clean-energy projects, to help pay for our goal to become carbon neutral by 2020.

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It鈥檚 time for a real vacation in your own shack by the sea, where the sun is hot, the waves are perfect, and checking your Twitter feed isn鈥檛 an option. When it comes to pure, hedonistic escapism, it鈥檚 tough to beat these ten places, whether you鈥檙e looking to walk long white sand beaches where elephants swim nearby or dive with eagle rays and recover with a dinner of recently spearfished red snapper. Go now, before reason takes hold.

Azura Quilalea, Mozambique

Go wild next to the Indian Ocean

Best For: An on-water, multi-sport marathon.

In the middle of an underexplored marine sanctuary in the Indian Ocean, this 86-acre island is thick with baobab trees and is a hot zone for wildlife鈥攆rom Olive Ridley and Green Hawksbill Turtles to humpback whales and dolphins. There鈥檚 a -certified dive center on site. Sign up and swim with 375 species of fish, including schools of potato bass and hunting jacks, or stay above it all by sailing in a traditional dhow or rowing a kayak. Deep-sea fishing is also an option. The ways to commune with the water are endless.聽 After a $2.5 million renovation, the nine-bungalow resort is state-of-the-art, but still low energy鈥攖he owners designed the coral stone villas to have two options: Eco or Luxe. With the flip of a switch, you decide how much power you want to burn. Our suggestion: Go Eco, which provides only basic lighting and a fan. The alternative: Air conditioning and a minibar. Eight villas are spread out over two white sand beaches that are plenty long enough for privacy.

When to Go: April through October is hot and dry.

How To Get There: Fly to the closest major airport, Pemba, Mozambique, then take a puddle jumper to the Quirimba Island, followed by a 20-minute boat ride to Quirea Private Island; from $595 per person, per night;

Barefoot at Havelock, Andaman Islands, India

Explore the best beach in Asia

Barefoot at Havelock bar

The bar at Barefoot at Havelock

Best For: Dive fanatics who think they鈥檝e seen it all.

OK, so you鈥檝e crossed every shark in the ocean off your diving life list, but have you ever swum with a ? The coral reefs surrounding Havelock Island teems with sea turtles, barracuda, tuna, stingrays, and, yes, even an occasional endangered dugong. The trouble will be gathering enough motivation to leave the comfort of legendary Beach No. 7, a 1.5-mile stretch of sand so pristine that once rated it the best in Asia. The 18 bungalows, with hardwood floors and palm-thatch roofs, are nicely spaced on seven acres鈥攅ach within spitting distance of the sand. Go austere and book one of the eight Nicobari villas, which have no television, Internet, or telephone. Fill your days with snorkeling, diving, jungle walks through 100-foot-tall maruma trees and wild orchids, expeditions to distant volcanic islands, and Ayurvedic treatments.

When to Go: December to May is the best time for scuba diving.

How to Get There:聽 Fly to Port Blair from Calcutta, Chennai, or New Delhi, then take a two-hour ferry to Havelock Island. The resort is a 30-minute drive from the ferry; from $91 per person, per night for a Nicobari villa;

Vatulele, Fiji

Take your pick of dive, sailing, and fishing options

Best For: Honeymooners with cash flow.

A splurge to this 12-square-mile island just off the south coast of Fiji鈥檚 largest island, Viti Levu, will cost you. But it鈥檚 the spot to indulge every tropical fantasy there is, from diving underwater fortresses to dining on fresh lobster in candlelight on the sand. With at least 14 offered, you can aim to see everything from rainbows of coral to barracuda. You could also wile away the day sailing, kayaking, fishing, or swimming. Go ahead, just save some time for the villas, all 19 of which are just a stone’s throw from the perfect white sand. Keep it basic with a beach bure, a two-tiered palace with a king-sized bed, AC, a wine cooler, and twelve doors that open on to a private terrace facing the South Pacific. For the quietest experience, rent a villa farther down the beach, which offer a freshwater plunge pool and an outdoor shower shrouded in the jungle.

When to Go: April to early October

How to Get There:聽 Fly to Nadi, Fiji from Los Angeles, then take a 25-minute flight to Vatulele. Price: Doubles from $751;

Che Shale, Malindi, Kenya

Kite surf when the wind blows. SUP when it鈥檚 not around.

Best For: Kitesurfers who dream about consistent 18 to 25 knot winds that blow all day, almost every day, 300 days a year.

At Che Shale, a chic cluster of seven bures that sits on a 3.5-mile long deserted beach, there is nothing to get in the way of a kite. The owner, Justin Aniere, is a third-generation Kenyan who 12 years ago. When the wind dies around November some of the best deep-sea fishing spots in the world are off Malindi and Watamu and the glassy bay out front is perfect for SUP lessons. Sleeping quarters are open and breezy thatch-roof bures with designer furniture, comfy daybeds, and open-air showers. Out back, for the budget-conscious, there are solar-powered, basic bandas with a double bed, a covered verandah with table and chairs. Not convinced. They are built on stilts, and only 30 steps from the beach. On the unlikely days when the kiting conditions aren鈥檛 right, walk the beach, hike the dunes, or explore the bustling city of Malindi, with its Swahili food and African markets, 30 minutes away.
Note: Be sure to check before you book.

When to Go: July to April

How to Get There: From Nairobi, fly to Malindi. Che Shale is a 30-minute drive from Malindi; Che Shale bures from $105 per person, per night; Kajama rooms from $46 per person per night;

Song Saa Private Island, Cambodia

Become one with nature

Best For: Eco-minded travelers who like to be first.

This brand-new, beautifully designed, luxury resort with 27 strategically placed villas is the first of its kind in Cambodia. Built on two islands known as 鈥淭he Sweethearts,鈥� which are connected by a footbridge, the place is so in tune with its surroundings that it established its own marine sanctuary, a no-take zone covering 247 acres and extending more than 656 feet out from the farthest edge of the coral reefs. The seven ocean view villas, each with their own private beach, are decked out with a daybed, sundeck, swimming pool, and, for those who want to wax poetic, a writing desk. Don鈥檛 waste your time inside. Circumnavigate the islands with a mask and snorkel, explore the archipelago in a kayak, or take a nighttime boat cruise to swim in the ethereal phenomenon known as bioluminescence.

When to go: February-May; November-December

How to Get There: Fly from Siem Riep to the city of Sihanoukville, which is only a 30-minute boat ride from Song Saa. Ocean-view villa from $1,415 per person, per night, all-inclusive;

Niyama, Maldives

Find urban chic in the middle of nowhere

Best for: Hipsters who want to take cocktail hour underwater.

Niyama ups the ante of resort decadence with 鈥淪ubsix鈥� the first-ever underwater club where djs spin world music and you overlook swimming creatures through glass walls while dancing. With a nightclub vibe and 87 ultra-modern villas, you won鈥檛 exactly be stranding yourself alone on a desert island here. But you will have plenty of escapist diversions like guided snorkeling tours to coral reefs teeming with fish, a private sail around the atoll on a traditional wooden sailing dhoni, a spa open 24 hours a day, and dreamy stretches of palm-lined sand beaches. Reserve a studio with a pool, where you can lounge on a deep, elevated couch that sways in the breeze and overlooks a pool lit by fiber optics, just a few steps to the edge of the ocean.聽

When to Go: December to April

How to get there: Fly to Mal茅, the capital of the Maldives, on nonstop flights from a number of cities, then take a 40-minute seaplane flight right to the resort. $1,300 per person, per night;

Jashita, Tulum, Mexico

Escape the hustle and rest easy in the Caribbean

Best For: Quick, luxurious escapes from the East Coast.

Technically, you won鈥檛 have your own cabana at this new boutique eco-hotel just north of Tulum. But the top two suites are still worlds away, each with a giant palapa roof and private terrace where sunbeds present a sweeping view of the Solimon Bay. It鈥檚 all in the Venetian family: Enrico, the father, designed the chic space, his wife Monika, decorated it, and Enrico鈥檚 son, Tommaso, not only manages the hotel, he spearfishes dinner. Just a few steps off the protected beach, the Mesoamerican reef runs all the way to Honduras. Dive and snorkel with eagle rays, turtles, and tropical fish or help Enrico catch dinner by deep-sea fishing for marlin, sailfish, dorado, wahoo, or kingfish. Lounge by the pool, take a yoga class, sign up for a kitesurfing lesson, or venture inland to snorkel in cenotes and explore the Mayan ruins of Tulum.聽

When to Go: Year-Round

How to Get There:聽 Fly into Cancun from any major U.S. City, rent a car and drive 1.5 hours south on Mexico 307; Doubles from $350 per night, three-night minimum;

Punta Teonoste, Nicaragua

Surf鈥檚 up and nobody else is around

Best For: Serious surfers who have time to explore.

Forty-five minutes down a dirt road from the town of Tola, no one just happens upon Punta Teonoste, a beautiful cluster of palapas on the 鈥淧acific Riviera鈥� near the fishing village of El Astillero and Popoya, one of the best surf breaks in Nicaragua. Sixteen freestanding, two-story palapas with hammocks out front and a private outdoor shower in a tropical garden out back are nicely spaced around a massive thatched-roof open-air dining room where the French chef uses only the freshest local ingredients like shrimp and lobster harvested by local fishermen. The half-mile-long deserted beach out front is not only gorgeous; it鈥檚 also the perfect spot to take a two-hour lesson from the on-site instructors. Serious surfers, however, will want to expand their horizons and take advantage of the boat tour that prowls the coastline, hitting some of the best breaks in Nicaragua. For the non-surfers, Punta Teonoste employs two local men to run an on-site to protect and nurture the hundreds of turtles born on the beach. There鈥檚 also lazing around the pool in a chaise or hiking a mile up a well-marked trail for a gorgeous sunset view of the beach and beyond.

When to Go: November to April

How to Get There: Fly into Managua, rent a car, drive to Rivas, then follow the directions found ; five-night surf package including all meals, transportation to and from Managua, three days of two-hour surf-lessons, and a massage, $1,450 per person.

Sal Salis Ningaloo Reef

Go on safari, Aussie-Style

Best For: Going beyond the back of beyond.

This solar-powered Northwest Cape tented outpost that sits on the World Heritage , is as far away as it gets. The digs may be tents, but they aren鈥檛 lacking in the essential amenities: cozy king beds, plush towels, a compostable toilet, and, beyond the flap, a veranda with forever views of the Indian Ocean. But you鈥檙e not going to be inside much. The coral reef just a few strokes off the beach supports 500 species of fish, 250 species of coral, and 600 species of mollusk. This is one of the best places in the world to dive with whale sharks, manta rays, and Hawksbill, Green, and Loggerhead turtles. Less than two miles behind camp is Mandu Mandu Gorge, a geographic wonder with fossil limestone formations, red kangaroos, rock wallabies, and a 30,000-year history of Aboriginal use. As if that鈥檚 not enough, there are also deep-sea fishing charters, kayaking excursions, and an unpolluted sky to gaze toward every night.

When to Go: Year round, but April through June is ideal.

How to Get There: Sal Salis is 838 miles north of Perth. From Perth, fly to Exmouth (flights on Qantas Airlines offered Friday, Sunday, Wednesday). From Exmouth Sal Salis is a 47-mile drive. Arrange for transfers in advance; doubles from $787 per person, per night;

Bosque del Cabo Rainforest Lodge

Earn your sand

Best for: Jungle lovers.

From Tucan, a beautifully intricate thatch-roof cabana with a private outdoor shower, there are stunning views of the Pacific. It just takes a few steps to get to the beach. This lofted aerie with a deck out front, sits on precipitous, Cabo Matapalo on the Osa Peninsula, where the Pacific meets the Golfo Dulce. It鈥檚 500 feet above the ocean, but the waves crashing on the beach below are omnipresent, the hike to the sand through the dense jungle is awe-inspiring, and the palm-backed Pacific beach that stretches for miles is worth the walk. That鈥檚 only the Pacific side. Backwash Beach and Pan Dulce Beach on the Golfo Dulce side, a 45-minute walk away, are idyllic for swimming. The surf breaks of Cabo Matapalo are some of the least visited in Costa Rica and the deep-sea fishing for marlin, sailfish, tuna, and dorado is the stuff of trophies. But Bosque del Cabo, with its 20 cabinas and casas scattered throughout the 750-plus acre property, is primarily a nature lodge. A labor of love started by expat Americans Phil and Kim Spier in 1990, the lodge sits among manicured gardens and every day a deluge of wildlife, from scarlet macaws to agoutis to pumas, visit. Over the past 20 years the Spiers have created a community in paradise, supporting everything from the to a bilingual school in nearby Puerto Jiminez to , a non-profit conservation group committed to preserving the region鈥檚 unbelievable biodiversity.

When to Go: Year-Round

How to Get There:聽 From San Jose, Puerto Jimenez is an eight-hour drive or a 50-minute flight. From Puerto Jiminez it鈥檚 an hour drive over a dirt road. Bosque del Cabo can help arrange in-country transportation; deluxe cabinas from $190 per person, per night;

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A nation of 1,190 island specks spread over 116 square miles of the Indian Ocean, the Maldives looks like something out of a myth. And parts of the country could well become just that if sea levels rise: The highest elevation is a mere eight feet above. Only about 200 of the islands are inhabited, but resorts are increasingly willing to chance the climate鈥揷hange odds鈥�15 new hotels have opened in the past two years. Our favorite: Hudhuranfushi Island Resort, a swanky surf camp next to eight northern鈥揳toll breaks. (Swells are strongest between June and September.) The seaplane鈥揳ccessed resort reopened late last year with 26 new overwater bungalows ($1,665 per week, including meals and surfing; ). Prefer island nightlife to epic surf? Opt for the brand-new Diva Island Resort & Spa, in Ari Atoll, where six restaurants, six bars, a disco, and 88 villas on stilts dot the island's 2.5鈥搈ile white鈥搒and rim. Between margaritas, dive with 20鈥揻oot whale sharks, circumnavigate the island by kayak, or just stick to the glass鈥揻loored spa, where you can gaze down upon passing parrotfish (doubles, $770; ).

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I’VE WANTED TO VISIT the Maldives since cruising past them when I was a college junior enrolled in Semester at Sea. On its way from Mombasa to Sri Lanka across the Indian Ocean, the SS Universe traveled through the northernmost atolls of the archipelago. I stood at the railing, gawking as we passed one small island after another, all identical, each with its tidy white beach ringing a grove of coconut palms. My Asian-literature professor, a wiry surfer turned Ph.D., joined me beside the rail and said, “It’s the closest thing on earth to a country consisting entirely of ocean.” After I learned to scuba-dive, I noticed that the Maldives, home to hundreds of islands with virgin reefs, showed up regularly on lists of the world’s great dive destinations.

scuba diving, the maldives

Preparing to scuba-dive from the dhoni

scuba diving, the maldives

The infinity pool at the Four Seasons at Kuda Huraa

scuba diving, the maldives

And now, I’m on one of those reefs…I think.


During my check-out dive on the first of four days aboard the Four Seasons Explorer last July, I suddenly don’t know where I am. It’s the same disoriented feeling you get when you wake up in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar hotel room. My dive computer reads 86 feet. Beneath me languishes a coral garden that’s suffered from a serious bout of bleaching. The coral is dingy, nothing like the crazy quilt of colors featured in Discovery Channel documentaries. The water is warm; the current, drowsy. What reef is this, fringing what country in what ocean? I’m breathing fast, a precursor to panic. Later I’ll remember that divers are more susceptible to disorientation when physically exhausted, and I have a hefty case of jet lag: The Maldives are 14 hours ahead of my home in Portland, Oregon, about as far away as you can get without leaving the planet.


I glance around for my dive buddy—before this dive an absolute stranger—and motion that I need to ascend now. We drift up and at 50 feet are caught in the middle of a huge school of fusiliers, as dense as rush-hour traffic. We are at the center of their energetic orbit; it’s like being on some dizzying amusement park ride. We swim on our backs, staring up at the electric-blue fish. The reef below us and the ocean’s surface are blotted out in a piscine eclipse.


My brain resets. I remember that I’m on a sweet Maldivian reef called Kamadhoo, and that my buddy is named Martin. He’s from Montreal, bears a resemblance to the late JFK Jr., and is a dive instructor on the Explorer. My breathing slows.

FROM THE AIR, the Maldives look like a bead necklace dangling from a hook, a long, narrow collection of 1,190 coral islands, about 500 miles from end to end, 80 miles wide, and 360 miles southwest of India. The islands, only about 200 of which are inhabited, are clustered into 26 atolls. The creation of the atolls remains a mystery, but Charles Darwin believed they were the outlines of ancient volcanoes. (The word atoll is one of only two words in the Oxford English Dictionary derived from Dhivehi, the Maldivian language; it comes from the word atholhu. The other, rufiyaa, is the nation’s basic monetary unit.) There are 115 square miles of land in the entire country, and every bit is the same: a low-lying coral island no more than 4.5 miles long. Every resort, village, and factory has its own island. The nation’s single international airport is on a different island from the capital, Male (pronounced MAH-lay). Even the jail has its own island.


This, coupled with the fact that the national religion is Islam, makes traveling here a challenge for the average Westerner. While the government welcomes tourism, it’s leery of the effect of too many visitors on the Maldivian social structure and the fragile ecosystem. (It’s the only country I’ve visited where my luggage was x-rayed and inspected upon arrival; alcohol and any kind of religious material for distribution are forbidden.) Male is relatively open to visitors, but anyone who wants to see the rest of the country must sign on for a stay at one of the 87 or so resort islands, which run the gamut from basic to sumptuous.


The Explorer is one answer to the visitor’s dilemma. Each week the 128-foot, 11-cabin luxury catamaran departs from the Four Seasons at Kuda Huraa for a swing through the rarely visited islands to the north and south. Although the boat’s raison d’锚tre is scuba diving, there’s also plenty of opportunity for snorkeling, kayaking, and fishing. There’s a lounge with comfy sofas and a DVD library rivaling that of any film nerd. There’s also a massage therapist on board.


Dives are done from the dhoni, a smaller boat that can anchor closer to the reefs. When we emerge from the water, the crew offers us chilled bottled water and cold, lemon-scented washcloths, which they serve from a small tray with silver tongs. By dhoni standards, our boat is very fancy, with its lacquered woodwork and cappuccino machine. Chris Ellis, the Aussie captain, has dubbed it the Ferrari of the Maldives.


I’m the fifth wheel on the Ferrari this week. The other divers are two couples: Brazilians on their honeymoon (he owns a bank; she’s an attorney at the law firm that represents it) and Russians (he owns an airline; she’s a flight attendant on one of his planes). Otherwise, there are the dive instructors, Martin Lavoie and his handsome Maldivian colleague, Mohamed Niyaz, who goes by his last name, and about a dozen happy-go-lucky Maldivian crew members. Between dives they tease us, rushing to the bow and clapping their hands and whistling. Dolphins! We hustle out of our gear, trip over ourselves to see what they’ve spotted, and of course it’s nothing. They laugh and high-five us. Every one of the Maldivians has astoundingly white teeth. The diet here consists mainly of fish and coconuts, so it’s no wonder.

ON THE SECOND DAY, after a breakfast of pancakes, pineapple, and yogurt, we board the dhoni and putter out to Fushifaru Kandu for a channel dive. Between every set of islands there’s a kandu, where bustling currents press through narrow openings lined with jagged walls, submerged pinnacles, and overhangs. In the Maldives, way out in the Indian Ocean, currents are not to be trusted. As we drop anchor, Niyaz pops overboard to make sure this one won’t catch us in a whirlpool.


While we wait, I fret with Bernardo, the Brazilian bank owner, about the state of the reef. He’s also noticed the sad lack of color. “It seems haunted,” he says. In 1998, thanks to global warming, one of the worst worldwide episodes of coral bleaching left the Maldivian reefs in a pathetic state. A healthy reef is a riot of color: violet, periwinkle, orange-red, maroon, ocher. A bleached reef is a graveyard, bone-white in the places where it isn’t enshrouded in rusty brown algae.


Coral isn’t a plant, but a colony of polyps. Each polyp is a tiny greenhouse for zooxanthellae, a species of algae. Coral is as temperamental as a racehorse: The least change in water temperature causes the resident algae, which provide coral’s color and 90 percent of its food, to panic and flee. Coral in this state starves to death, unable to live without the zooxanthellae it hosts. In the 1998 bleaching episode, 90 percent of the branching coral on some reefs was wiped out. And as the reefs disintegrate they cease to provide the wave break that keeps the low-lying Maldives from eroding and disappearing entirely.


Niyaz gives the OK sign. The current is dreamy; the dive will be a nice, slow drift. We descend to 90 feet and I float near the reef, looking for signs of life. I’m certain that I’m missing the so-called action, the sight of a big shark cruising by, and sure enough, once we’re back on board I hear about a trio of small black-tip reef sharks and a large and unusually friendly hawksbill turtle. I wipe my face with my lemony washcloth. I have nothing to report.

THAT AFTERNOON, the Explorer stops at Kendhoo, in the northern half of Baa Atoll, population about 800. In deference to the culture, female visitors are asked to wear clothing that covers our shoulders and knees. We are greeted by a somber delegation of gentlemen in plaid shirts bearing trays of orange coconuts, each with a plastic straw stuck into a hole in the top.


Children stare, and when we look their way they try to hide behind one another’s skinny shoulders. There are no cars on Kendhoo. The sea is visible at both ends of the main street. Michael Clarke, the Explorer‘s New Zealander cruise director, gives us a tour. We saunter past the sandy soccer field, home turf for Kendhoo’s two rival teams, the Young Boys and the Champions.


Kendhoo’s school is a low, whitewashed building arranged around a courtyard. Despite the heat, the students’ uniforms are clean and pressed. On a bulletin board, an art display featuring a hand-drawn hawksbill turtle admonishes the students to refrain from eating turtle eggs. “It’s an attempt to solve a local problem,” Michael says. “The hawksbill is endangered, but turtle eggs are a traditional Maldivian delicacy. In exchange for this campaign, we’re helping build them a new classroom.”


It turns out the Four Seasons is more than exotic spa treatments and memorable bottles of wine. Armando Kraenzlin, the Swiss general manager, knows his resort wouldn’t stay in business were it not for the health and well-being of the Maldivian ecosystem. To this end, he contacted Seacology, a nonprofit conservation group in Berkeley, California, dedicated to preserving island habitats and cultures by giving residents something tangible in exchange for their commitment to protect their environment. In this case, Seacology will build the classroom in trade for the self-enforced ban on eating turtle eggs.


At the end of another street there’s a table set for us to take tea on the beach. Plates of tangy vegetable samosas and sweet foni hakaru (deep-fried coconut balls) sit on palm-frond placemats. There’s also something square, pink, and cake-like. I ask Niyaz what this exotic dessert is called.


“Why, it’s cake,” he says in perfect English.


“Yes, that’s the one I mean. The pink, square thing that was kind of crumbly and sweet.”


“We call it cake.”


“Yes, it is cake, but what’s the Maldivian word for it?”


“Cake.”


“Cake? What makes it pink? Guava or something?”


“Food coloring,” he says, with a wink.

THERE’S A PICNIC LUNCH and sea kayaking planned the next day. Inside the atolls the water is serene, perfect for paddling; the visibility is good enough to spy lionfish and black-and-white clown triggerfish beneath your kayak.


At around 11, a deckhand named Hanna Husain—another trim boy with impeccable manners and gorgeous dentition—takes the Zodiac to a nearby island to set up lunch. The heat is dense. Dirty-looking clouds hug the horizon. The Zodiac is loaded with lacquered bento lunch boxes and a huge white tent.


I go along for the ride and then persuade Hanna to leave me here while he returns to the Explorer for the kayaks. I walk the perimeter of what I pretend is my own island. The only footsteps here are mine.


Suddenly I see a Zodiac tearing across the lagoon from the direction of the Explorer. Michael Clarke has come to collect me. “You’ve got about three minutes before the rain,” he says. Halfway back the wind kicks up and we’re pelted with nickel-size drops. On board the boat, the black metal deck chairs have been blown into a heap. Not an hour later, the sun reappears.


ON OUR LAST EVENING, we sit on the deck drinking iced tea, snacking on cashews and Greek olives, and watching the enormous Maldivian fruit bats fly between islands. It has been a day of note. In the morning, on a dive at Ohluhali Caves, at about 65 feet, we spied a spectacular field of periwinkle coral hugging the underside of an overhang. It was bright and lush; we were dazzled. We kept pointing it out to one another. A few white-tip reef sharks cruised past, but I’m not sure anyone really noticed. This was some good-looking coral, and it gave us hope that the reefs in the Maldives are on their way back.


The crew is getting ready to take the Ferrari of the Maldives out for the evening. This may be a dry nation, but the boys are firing up the cappuccino machine, in anticipation of courting the local ladies. They yell to one another as they prepare the dhoni for departure. Dhivehi is a musical language, sounding to the untrained ear something like bompbompbabomp, adingadingdong, dangadongdong. It’s hilarity itself to take a stab at pronouncing the names of some of the atolls: Ihavandhippolhu, Maamakunudhoo, Faadhippolhu.


I do learn to say one thing: baraabaru, which means “excellent.” In the Maldives, it’s a handy thing to know how to say.


Access + Resources

December through April are the best months to visit the Maldives, although the climate is mild and there’s lots of sun year-round. The FOUR SEASONS RESORT MALDIVES AT KUDA HURAA (011-960-444-888, ), 30 minutes by speed launch from Male’s airport, has 106 thatched bungalows (beachside or above the water on stilts), an infinity pool, a dive center, and a private island spa accessed by dhoni. Rates start at $350 for a double. The Explorer sleeps 22 and embarks weekly from the resort. There are ten air-conditioned staterooms and a suite, each with TV, DVD and CD player, bar (drinking is allowed at resorts), and telephone. Three-, four-, and seven-night cruises cost $1,530–$3,790, including all meals and diving. Non-divers can snorkel, windsurf, kayak, and fish.

The post Miles of Isles appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Of course they do—they get to trek with camels. But you can, too! We’ve got the COOLEST TRIPS, TOP TEN TRENDS, EXPERT ADVICE, AND BEST NEW PLACES TO GET LOST IN 2003. So what are you waiting for? Giddyup!




Let the Pros Be Your Guides




Get Lost in the Back of Beyond




Say Hello to the Wild Life




The Next Best Thing to Actually Living There




Go the Extra Green Mile




Take the Multisport Approach




No Whining Allowed




Blazing New Trails by Mountain Bike




Water is the Best Element




Our Next Thrilling Episodes




Remote Trips Right Here at Home




Three Helicopter Epics




Six New Additions to the 国产吃瓜黑料 Travel Map




What’s Up in the World’s Danger Zones

Star Power

Let the pros be your guides

BIKING THE TOUR DE FRANCE [FRANCE]
What’s better than watching this year’s 100th anniversary of the Tour de France? Riding it, just hours ahead of the peloton. You’ll pave the way for a certain Texan vying for his fifth straight victory, pedaling 10- to 80-mile sections of the race route through villages packed with expectant fans, and over some of the toughest mountain stages in the Pyrenees and Alps. At day’s end, ditch your bike for luxury digs in villages like Taillores, on Lake Annecy, and the Basque hamlet of St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port. OUTFITTER: Trek Travel, 866-464-8735, . WHEN TO GO: July. PRICE: $3,575. DIFFICULTY: moderate to strenuous.

MOUNT EVEREST ANNIVERSARY TREK [NEPAL]
This May, commemorate the 50th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s historic climb to the summit of Everest by spending more than a month trekking and mountaineering in Nepal. Starting in Tumlingtar, you’ll hike beneath Himalayan giants like 27,824-foot Makalu, and strap on crampons to climb the 20,000-foot East and West Cols, and cross 19,008-foot Amphu Laptsa pass into the Everest region. At trek’s end in Thyangboche, Hillary’s son, Peter, will preside over a ceremonial banquet, while the man himself (now 83) will join in by sat phone from Kathmandu. OUTFITTER: World Expeditions, 888-464-8735, . WHEN TO GO: April-June. PRICE: $3,690. DIFFICULTY: strenuous. CRUISING THE SEA OF CORTEZ [MEXICO]
To celebrate 25 years in the adventure business, Wilderness Travel has called on Ÿber-mountaineer Reinhold Messner and Amazon explorer Joe Kane to headline a weeklong cruise in the Sea of Cortez. When you’re not on the shallow-draft, 70-passenger Sea Bird, you’ll snorkel with naturalists as they track sea lions off Isla Los Islotes and spot gray whales in Bah’a Magdalena. Sea-kayak around uninhabited islands and hike desert arroyos, then spend evenings swapping expedition tales with Messner and Kane. OUTFITTER: Wilderness Travel, 800-368-2794, . WHEN TO GO: March. PRICE: $4,595. DIFFICULTY: easy.

CYCLING THROUGH THE TUSCAN VINYARDS [ITALY]
Might want to add another front chainring to your bike before embarking on this hard-charging eight-day affair in Toscana, birthplace of cycle touring. Thanks to the expertise of former Giro d’Italia winner Andy Hampsten, this 400-mile route is designed for riders who are as serious about their Brunello as they are about their hills. From coastal Maremma, you’ll pedal little-trafficked backroads past farmhouses and monasteries, resting your climbing legs and dining like a Medici at wine estates and 12th-century hamlets. Four nights will be spent at a vineyard for a thorough indoctrination in winemaking (and tasting). OUTFITTER: Cinghiale Tours, 206-524-6010, . WHEN TO GO: September. PRICE: $3,000. DIFFICULTY: strenuous.

KAYAKING THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER [USA]
Drop into Craten’s Hole with freestyle-kayaking phenom Ben Selznick. Bozeman local and winner of the Gallatin Rodeo 2002, Selznick is your guide on a seven-day tour of Montana’s most famous whitewater. After warming up on the Gallatin River’s Class II-III waves, you’ll graduate to the steep creeks off the Yellowstone, ranging from Class II to V. At night, ease your sore shoulders poolside and fireside at the Chico Hot Springs and Rock Creek resorts. OUTFITTER: GowithaPro, 415-383-3907, . WHEN TO GO: July. PRICE: $4,500. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

Far Out

Get lost in the back of beyond

Big wig: a Papuan prepares for a tribal dance

SHAGGY RIDGE TREK [PAPUA NEW GUINEA]
If you were to drop off the face of the earth, you’d probably land in Papua New Guinea’s steamy Finisterre Mountains. Rising 13,000 feet out of the sweltering lowlands, the mountains’ flanks are choked in jungle thicket that few have ever fully explored—not even the locals. Be among the first. Hike and camp for seven days on tangled game trails and World War II supply routes to Shaggy Ridge, an airy fin of rock 4,900 feet above the Bismarck Sea. Be prepared to answer a barrage of questions from Papuan villagers who rarely, if ever, see outsiders. OUTFITTER: World Expeditions, 888-464-8735, . WHEN TO GO: August, September. PRICE: $2,150. DIFFICULTY: strenuous.

THE ULTIMATE FLY-FISING ADVENTURE [MONGOLIA]
You’ve got much more than a fish on when you’ve nabbed a taimen, a specimen that regularly grows to five feet long and dines on prairie dogs and ducks. If you’re not up for hunting the world’s largest salmonid for a full week on the Bator River, you can cast for lenok, the brown trout of Mongolia; ride horses or mountain bikes; or just enjoy the good life in your ger, a woodstove-heated yurt with two beds and electricity. Outfitter: Sweetwater Travel Company, 406-222-0624, . When to go: May-June, August-October. Price: $5,200. Difficulty: easy.

RAFTING THE FIRTH RIVER [CANADA]
Caribou know no boundaries. Every June, the 150,000-strong Porcupine herd leaves the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and migrates into the Yukon’s roadless Ivvavik National Park. And because the Class II-IV Firth bisects the park, you’ll be awestruck when thousands cross the river in plain view. Other big game are afoot, too—musk ox, barren land grizzlies, and wolves—and in such high concentrations that the region is often referred to as North America’s Serengeti. With long Arctic days and three- to four-hour river sessions daily, you’ll have plenty of time on this 12-day trip to hike the gently sloping 6,000-foot Brooks Range and fish for arctic char. Outfitter: Rivers, Oceans, and Mountains, 877-271-7626, . When to Go: June. Price: $3,995. Difficulty: moderate.

RIO NEGRO & AMAZON ADVENTURE [BRAZIL]
The upper Rio Negro is your portal back in time on this 11-day adventure that plumbs the deepest, darkest corners of the Amazon Basin. From the former Jesuit outpost of Santa Isabel, you’ll motorboat on the Negro’s blackened waters through virgin rainforest, camping alongside Tucanos Indian settlements stuck in a 19th-century time warp. Off the water, you’ll trek with native Brazilian guides into the rugged tepuis (3,000-foot plateaus), prowling for medicinal herbs used by local shamans. Resist the urge to swim: Football-size piranha call the Rio Negro home. OUTFITTER: Inti Travel and Tours, 403-760-3565, . WHEN TO GO: year-round. PRICE: $2,750. DIFFICULTY: easy.

RUNNING THE KATUN RIVER [RUSSIA]
If you’re looking for bragging rights to a truly remote river, consider the glacier-fed Katun. This 90-mile stretch of whitewater drains from the southern slopes of the 13,000-foot Altai Range, dropping fast through alpine tundra, 300-foot granite canyons, and continuous sets of Class III-IV pool-drop rapids. After a long river day, your evening entertainment at camp consists of traditional Russian dancing and a steamy riverfront bana (sauna). Outfitter: Bio Bio Expeditions, 800-246-7238, . When to Go: July. Price: $2,800. Difficulty: moderate.

COAST TO COAST IN BALBOA’S FOOTSTEPS [PANAMA]
Cross a continent in less than two weeks? Improbable but true when you retrace the route 16th-century conquistador Vasco N煤帽ez de Balboa used to transport riches across the Isthmus of Panama. Five days of hiking, from the Caribbean village of Armila through the Darien Biosphere Reserve, take you to the Chucunaque River, where you’ll board dugout canoes and navigate a maze of flatwater channels past Ember‡ Indian settlements. Four days later, you’ll find yourself on the other side: a wide stretch of beach where Balboa “discovered” the Pacific in 1513. OUTFITTER: Destination by Design, 866-392-7865, . WHEN TO GO: May, December. PRICE: $3,290. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

Close Encounters

Say hello to the wild life

A scarlet macaw perched in the rainforests of Belize

EXPLORING REEF AND RAINFOREST [BELIZE]
Mingle with everything from crocs and tapirs to jabiru storks and hawksbill turtles on this eight-day whirl through Belize. After three days on the mainland, gawking at toucans and parrots at the Crooked Tree Bird Sanctuary and dodging howler monkeys at the Mayan ruins of Lamanai, you’ll be whisked 55 miles offshore to a tented base camp on undeveloped Lighthouse Reef. Spend your days snorkeling, kayaking, and scuba diving within more than 70 square miles of pristine reefs. OUTFITTER: Island Expeditions, 800-667-1630, . WHEN TO GO: December- May. PRICE: $1,929. DIFFICULTY: moderate. WALKING WITH BUSHMEN [BOTSWANA]
See the backcountry of Botswana and all its attendant wildlife—with a twist. On this nine-day safari, you’ll tag along with Bushmen on their daily hunting-and-gathering forays (while still bedding down in luxe lodges and camps). Following the lion-cheetah-leopard-elephant-giraffe-zebra spectacle in the Okavango Delta, you’ll head north for a night to stay in the River Bushmen’s new camp, where you’ll search for medicinal plants or hunt with bow and arrow. Farther south, in the arid Central Kalahari Game Reserve, San Bushmen will show you how they survive on roots and prickly pears. OUTFITTER: Africa 国产吃瓜黑料 Company, 800-882-9453, . WHEN TO GO: April-November. PRICE: $1,925-$2,595. DIFFICULTY: easy.

SWIMMING WITH HUMPBACK WHALES [TONGA]
It’s been said that life is never the same after you’ve looked into the eye of a whale. Here’s how to find out: Every year between June and October, hundreds of humpbacks congregate in and around the turquoise waters of Vava’u, a group of 40 islands in northern Tonga, in the South Pacific. For seven days, you’ll bunk down in Neiafu at night, and by day slide into the water and float quietly while mammals the size of semis check you out. OUTFITTER: Whale Swim 国产吃瓜黑料s, 503-699-5869, . WHEN TO GO: August- October. PRICE: $1,180. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

Immersion Therapy

The next best thing to actually living there

REMOTE HILL TRIBE TREK [VIETNAM]
Despite the boom in adventure tourism in Vietnam, few travelers venture into the far-northern hill country, some 200 miles north of Hanoi. You should. Following overgrown buffalo paths and ancient Chinese trading trails, you’ll hike steep terrain for 120 miles over 11 days, traveling north from Cao Bang and staying with Nung villagers in huts on stilts. Save some film for Ban Gioc Falls, on the border with China, and Pac Bo Cave, Ho Chi Minh’s legendary hideout. Outfitter: World Expeditions, 888-464-8735, . When to go: October-March. Price: $1,490. Difficulty: moderate.

TREKKING THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS [MOROCCO]
The M’goun Gorge is so narrow in places, you can’t see the sky—let alone the craggy summits of the nearby 12,000-foot Atlas Mountains. But they’re never out of sight for long on this ten-day trip through small Berber burgs in Morocco’s most fabled range. Over four days of hiking, you’ll climb Tizi n’ A茂Imi, a 9,528-foot pass, and sleep in Berber farmhouses en route to the Valley of A茂Bou Guemez, a rare oasis where you’re welcomed as family. OUTFITTER: Living Morocco, 212-877-1417, WHEN TO GO: May. PRICE: $2,950-$3,050. DIFFICULTY: easy.

BARACOA-GUANT脕NAMO CYCLE TOUR [CUBA]
Ride beneath the radar on this Canadian outfitter’s weeklong, 300-mile bike tour of Cuba’s northern coast, past black-sand beaches and nature reserves. The towns en route—Mayar’, a village immortalized by Cuban crooner Compay Segundo, and lush Baracoa—see few tourists and fewer cyclists, so you’ll have La Farola, a winding mountain pass known as “Cuba’s roller coaster,” all to yourself. Use caution when hydrating: Rum’s cheaper than water. OUTFITTER: MacQueen’s Island Tours, 800-969-2822, . WHEN TO GO: April, December. PRICE: $2,595, including round-trip airfare from Toronto. DIFFICULTY: moderate to strenuous.

SNOWSHOEING THE RHODOPE MOUNTAINS [BULGARIA]
Haven’t heard of the Rhodopes? No surprise. Obscurity has helped keep these 7,000-foot peaks in southern Bulgaria among the least visited in Europe. You’ll spend four to seven hours a day snowshoeing along ancient footpaths, through deep drifts and pine forests, to the slopes of Mount Cherni Vruh. Medieval monasteries and village guesthouses provide shelter on this eight-day trip, and Bulgarian perks include homemade sirine (a local feta cheese) and chance sightings of the Asiatic jackal. Outfitter: Exodus, 866-732-5885, . When to Go: February, December. Price: $775. Difficulty: moderate.

It’s Only Natural

Go the extra green mile

RAFTING THROUGH THE R脥O PL脕TANO BIOSPHERE RESERVE [HONDURAS]
Hail the monkey god on this 12-day rafting expedition through the R’o Pl‡tano Biosphere Reserve in eastern Honduras, a primordial jungle where more than 100 archaeological sites are covered with petroglyphs of the primate deity. On the R’o Pl‡tano, you’ll run Class III-IV rapids and float through serene limestone grottos, encountering en route the full Animal Planet menagerie of macaws, tapirs, spider monkeys, anteaters, and, with any luck, jaguars. At trip’s end, you’ll “hot dance” in a Garifuna Indian village. OUTFITTER: La Moskitia Ecoaventuras, 011-504-441-0839, . WHEN TO GO: December-August. PRICE: $1,430-$1,765. DIFFICULTY: moderate. DOCUMENTING RARE RAINFOREST PLANTS [CAMEROON]
Thanks to 4,000 resident species of plants, Cameroon’s 6,500-foot Backossi Mountains are a horticulturalist’s dream. Join scientists from England’s Royal Botanic Gardens and Bantu guides for 13 days to help inventory rare forest flora such as endangered orchids, edible fruits, and a new species of bird’s-nest fern. You’ll camp in a nearby village or bunk in a community hall and learn to prepare local fare, including plantains, fu-fu corn, and cassava. OUTFITTER: Earthwatch Expeditions, 800-776-0188, . WHEN TO GO: March-May, October-November. PRICE: $1,295. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

EXPLORING NAM HA [LAOS]
The Lao equivalent of a national park, the 858-square-mile Nam Ha National Biodiversity and Conservation Area in northwestern Laos offers some of Southeast Asia’s wildest rafting and trekking. Spend ten days paddling Class III whitewater on both the Nam Ha and Nam Tha rivers, sleeping in villages and bamboo-and-thatch bungalows at the Boat Landing Ecolodge, and trekking with local guides deep into the jungle, on the lookout for tailless fruit bats and Asiatic black bears. OUTFITTER: AquaTerra Ventures, 011-61-8-9494-1616, . WHEN TO GO: June-January. PRICE: $1,150. DIFFICULTY: easy to moderate.

ECO-TRAIL SAFARI IN KRUGER NATIONAL PARK [SOUTH AFRICA]
Go trekking with rangers on the newly designated Lebombo Eco-Trail, which runs for more than 300 miles along the previously off-limits eastern border of South Africa’s Kruger National Park and Mozambique. You might encounter rhinos, zebras, and even the lowly dung beetle in Africa’s most biodiverse park. You’ll also trek into nearby 200-million-year-old Blyde River Canyon and stalk lions on a walking safari. OUTFITTER: Sierra Club, 415-977-5522, . WHEN TO GO: September-October. PRICE: $3,695-$3,995. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

Variety Packs

Take the multisport approach

Skiing the extra mile: Norway’s version of the Alps

CROSSING THE PATAGONIAN ANDES [CHILE AND ARGENTINA]
The Edenic R铆o Manso Valley, at the southern tip of South America, is pure Patagonia—high, open country surrounded by ancient alerce forests (think redwoods) and populated by gauchos and trout. How you choose to play on this nine-day camping trip—rafting the Manso’s Class IV-V rapids, casting for rainbows, or horseback riding along the riverfront trail—is up to you as you venture west from the altiplano of Bariloche toward the chiseled fjords of coastal Chile. OUTFITTER: 国产吃瓜黑料 Tours Argentina Chile, 866-270-5186, . WHEN TO GO: December-March. PRICE: $2,900. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

MUSHING WITH THE GREAT WHITE BEAR [NORWAY]
You take the reins on this 12-day dogsledding sojourn across the frozen island of Spitsbergen, Norway, 600 miles from the North Pole. When the huskies are resting, keep busy by snowshoeing amid gargantuan icebergs, cross-country skiing over glaciers, and spelunking blue-green ice caves. Defrost at night in a lodge made of sealskin and driftwood, expedition-style tents (you’ll be snug beneath reindeer-fur blankets), and a Russian ship intentionally frozen into the pack ice. Your only neighbors will be the island’s 4,000 polar bears (in case of emergency, your guide’s got the gun). OUTFITTER: Outer Edge Expeditions, 800-322-5235, . WHEN TO GO: March-April. PRICE: $3,990. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

POST ECO-CHALLENGE MULTISPORT [FIJI]
The professional adventure racers have gone home, so now you can spill your own sweat on the 2002 Eco-Challenge course. This new ten-day trip gives you access to some truly wild, made-for-TV terrain: mazy jungle trails, precipitous singletrack, and idyllic beaches. After sea-kayaking two days to the island of Malake, where spearfishermen bring up walu for dinner on a single breath of air, you’ll mountain-bike 25 miles over rugged terrain from the village of Ba to Navilawa. Next up is a two-day trek through lowland rainforests to the summit of 3,585-foot Mount Batilamu, followed by Class II-III rafting on the Navua River, from the coral coast to the interior village of Wainindiro. After all this, you’ve earned two days of beachfront R&R on the little-visited island of Kadavu. OUTFITTER: Outdoor Travel 国产吃瓜黑料s, 877-682-5433, . WHEN TO GO: May-October. PRICE: $1,999. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

Take It to the Top

No whining allowed

The frozen zone: Argentina’s Perito Moreno Glacier

CONTINENTAL ICE CAP TRAVERSE [ARGENTINA]
Patagonia’s 8,400-square-mile slab of ice wasn’t even explored until the 1960s, when British explorer Eric Shipton crossed it first. Starting in El Calafate, on the shore of Lago Argentino, this arduous 16-day backpacking/ski-mountaineering trip cuts through Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, where you’ll cross rivers and crevasses, ascend 4,830 feet to Marconi Pass, do time on ropes, crampons, and skis, and set up glacial camps along the spine of the Fitz Roy Range. The payoff? A wilderness fix on the gnarliest mass of ice and granite this side of the South Pole. OUTFITTER: Southwind 国产吃瓜黑料s, 800-377-9463, . WHEN TO GO: November-March. PRICE: $3,395. DIFFICULTY: strenuous. SURFING EPIC WAVES [THE MALDIVES]
Board where few have surfed before: off the Indian Ocean’s remote Huvadhoo Atoll, site of several world-class breaks. Huvadhoo is a two-day voyage on a dhoni, a 60-foot, five-cabin, live-aboard wooden yacht, from the capital, Male; along the way, cast off the deck for tuna, marlin, and bonito. Once at the Huvadhoo, be ready for eight-foot-plus waves, especially near the atoll’s largest island, Fiyori, where there’s a fast (and dangerous) right break. OUTFITTER: Voyages Maldives, 011-960-32-3617, . WHEN TO GO: April-September. PRICE: $85 per day (typically a 7-, 10-, or 14-day tour). DIFFICULTY: strenuous.

RAFTING THE BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER [INDIA]
With 112 miles of Class III-V+ Himalayan runoff, the Brahmaputra, the lower portion of the legendary Tsangpo in Tibet, is one of the planet’s ultimate whitewater challenges. And a relatively new one at that—the first commercial rafting expedition was launched late last year. You’ll spend nine days blasting down emerald-green hydraulics (the Class V Breakfast Rapid is famous for flipping rafts), camping on sandy beaches, and passing through Namdapha National Park, home to one of Asia’s most varied tropical forests. OUTFITTER: Mercury Himalayan Explorations, 011-91-112-334-0033, . WHEN TO GO: November-February. PRICE: $3,300, including internal airfare. DIFFICULTY: strenuous.

Get Wheel

Blazing new trails by mountain bike

Sandstone heaven: on the rocks in Cappadocia

RIDING THE RUGGED NORTHEAST [PORTUGAL]
A good set of knobbies and generous helpings of local beef and nightly port will help you tackle this eight-day inn-to-inn tour through Portugal’s wild northeast corner. Dodge cows on Roman pathways, follow craggy singletrack alongside the Douro River, and spin along trails once used by smugglers trafficking coffee beans to Spain. The grand finale is the wide-open wilderness of the remote Serra da Malcata—land of pine-topped peaks, wild boar, and little else. OUTFITTER: Saddle Skedaddle Tours, 011-44191-2651110, . WHEN TO GO: May-July. PRICE: $1,120. DIFFICULTY: strenuous. MOUNTAIN-BIKING CAPPADOCIA [TURKEY]
In our opinion, any trip that starts off with two nights in a traditional cave hotel has promise. See for yourself on this six-day, 180-mile ride through Cappadocia in central Turkey. Thank three-million-year-old volcanic eruptions for the otherworldly terrain: impossibly narrow sandstone spires (called fairy chimneys) and towns that plunge 20 floors underground. Happily, the riding is as varied as the views. You’ll pedal along dry riverbeds, slickrock, and narrow jeep tracks en route to each day’s destination—luxe campsites or charming village inns. OUTFITTER: KE 国产吃瓜黑料 Travel, 800-497-9675, . WHEN TO GO: May. PRICE: $1,695. Difficulty: strenuous.

SECRET SINGLETRACK [BOLIVIA]
It was only a matter of time before Bolivia’s ancient network of farm trails, winding from village to village high in the Andes, found a modern purpose: mountain biking. On this new 14-day singletrack tour through the Cordillera Real near La Paz, intermediate riders can rocket down 17,000-foot passes, contour around extinct volcanoes, and rack up an epic grand-total descent of 54,000 feet. Nights are spent camping at Lake Titicaca and in local pensions like the Hotel Gloria Urmiri, where natural hot springs await. OUTFITTER: Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking, 011-591-2-2313-849, . WHEN TO GO: May-September. PRICE: $1,750. DIFFICULTY: strenuous.

COPPER CANYON EXPEDITION [MEXICO]
There’s lots to love about the 6,000-foot descent into Mexico’s Copper Canyon by bike—and gravity is only part of it. Get down in one piece and you’ll have a week’s worth of technical riding ahead of you in a canyon four times the size of Arizona’s Grand. Cool your toes on fast, fun river crossings near the village of Cerro Colorado, visit the indigenous Tarahumara, and bunk down in a restored hacienda built into the canyon walls. OUTFITTER: Worldtrek Expeditions, 800-795-1142, . WHEN TO GO: September-April. PRICE: $1,599. DIFFICULTY: strenuous.

The Deep End

Water is the best element

SAILING ON THE ECLIPSE [PALAU]
Captain John McCready’s 48-foot Eclipse—outfitted with a compressor, dive tanks, sea kayaks, and rigs for trolling—is your one-stop adventure vessel for exploring this South Pacific archipelago. After picking up the sloop near the capital, Koror, give yourself at least six days to explore Palau’s protected lagoon in the Philippine Sea, dive along miles of coral walls, and kayak and hike some of the more than 200 limestone Rock Islands. By the time you reboard each evening, chef Charlie Wang will have your pan-seared wahoo waiting. OUTFITTER: Palau Sea Ventures, 011-680-488-1062, . WHEN TO GO: November-June. PRICE: $4,200 for the entire boat (which sleeps four passengers) for six days, including captain, dive master, and cook. DIFFICULTY: easy.

SEA-KAYAKING THE MASOALA PENINSULA [MADAGASCAR]
Once a refuge for pirates, Madagascar’s rugged northeast coast has been reborn as Parque Masoala, the country’s newest and largest national park. For nine days, you’ll explore the calm coastal waters by sea kayak, watching for humpback whales, snorkeling the coral reefs, spearfishing for barracuda, combing the shorelines of deserted islands, and sleeping in one of two rustic tented camps. Onshore, scout for lemurs in the rainforest with Malagasy guides. OUTFITTER: Kayak Africa, 011-27-21-783-1955, . WHEN TO GO: September-December. PRICE: $1,080. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

SNORKELING AND SEA-KAYAKING NINGALOO REEF [AUSTRALIA]
A virtually untouched alternative to the Great Barrier Reef, Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef is a 162-mile close-to-shore coral barrier protecting the white-sand beaches and high-plateau shrublands of Cape Range National Park from the Indian Ocean. Mellow two- to four-hour paddling days on this five-day romp up the coast are punctuated by snorkeling in 70- to 80-degree turquoise waters (never deeper than 13 feet), swimming with whale sharks just outside the reef, and hanging at the plush moving camp. OUTFITTER: Capricorn Kayak Tours, 011-618-9-433-3802, . WHEN TO GO: April-mid-October. PRICE: $450. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

KITESURFING SAFARI [BAHAMAS]
Steady winds, warm waters, and world-class instructors—essential ingredients for a perfect kitesurfing vacation—exist in plenitude among the numerous tiny islands off Abaco in the Bahamas. During this weeklong clinic, you’ll master board-off tricks and 360 jump turns, learn to sail upwind more proficiently, and critique videos of your kite moves over coconut-rum drinks at the seven-cottage Dolphin Beach Resort on Great Guana Cay. OUTFITTER: Kite Surf the Earth, 888-819-5483, . WHEN TO GO: mid-January-May. PRICE: $990, including airfare from Fort Lauderdale and all gear. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

Future Classics

Our next thrilling episodes

Everest’s seldom-scene cousin: Tibet’s Kawa Karpo

CLIMBING MUZTAGH ATA, “FATHER OF ICE MOUNTAINS” [CHINA]
Already been to Everest Base Camp? Next time, head to Muztagh Ata, a raggedy 24,754-foot summit in the Karakoram Range in China’s Xinjiang province. The five-day trek (instead of yaks, you’ve got camels!) starts at 12,369 feet, climbing through grasslands and river valleys to Camp One at 17,388 feet—where not one but ten glaciers converge in a vast expanse of ice and snow. Outfitter: Wild China, 011-86-10-6403-9737, . When to go: September- October. Price: $2,710. Difficulty: strenuous. PILGRIMAGE TO KAWA KARPO [TIBET]
Mount Kailash gets all the press—and all the Western trekkers. But this May, another sacred Buddhist route, the annual pilgrimage to Kawa Karpo, a 22,245-foot fang of snow and ice, will open to Western visitors. The 18-day camping trek climbs out of semitropical rainforest and Tibetan villages before circling the peak’s base. Snow leopards live here, too, but if you don’t catch a glimpse, at least you’ll leave with a lifetime’s supply of good karma. OUTFITTER: High Asia Exploratory Mountain Travel Company, 203-248-3003, . WHEN TO GO: May, July, October. PRICE: $3,800-$5,000. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

TREK THE VILCABAMBA [PERU]
Now that they’ve limited tourist permits on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, we’re left wondering, What else is there? How about a 17-day camping trek to Peru’s lost city of Victoria, a 600-year-old ruins discovered in 1999 and encircled by 19,000-foot peaks of the Cordillera Vilcabamba. You’ll log some 40 miles over ancient Incan walkways along the Tincochaca River, and then climb 15,000-foot Choquetecarpo Pass. Once at Victoria, you’ll have the excavated homes and ceremonial sites all to yourself. OUTFITTER: Wilderness Travel, 800-368-2794, . WHEN TO GO: May-June. PRICE: $3,895. DIFFICULTY: strenuous.

All-American

Remote trips right here at home

THE ALASKAN CLIMBER [ALASKA]
Many peaks in the Chugach Mountains of southeast Alaska remain unnamed and unclimbed. Your objectives are the 12,000-foot summits of Mount Valhalla and Mount Witherspoon, but even with a ski-plane flight into the range, you’ll still spend 20 days hauling, trekking, and climbing on this self-supported trip. Outfitter: KE 国产吃瓜黑料 Travel, 800-497-9675, . When to Go: April. Price: $2,895, including flights within Alaska. Difficulty: strenuous. DOGSLEDDING AND WINTER CAMPING [NORTHERN MINNESOTA]
Forget your leisurely visions of being whisked from campsite to campsite: Dogsledding is serious work. During four days in the wilderness bordering the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, you’ll learn how to handle your team of malamutes and brush up on winter camping techniques. Outfitter: The Northwest Passage, 800-732-7328, . When to Go: January-February. Price: $895. Difficulty: moderate.

RAFTING THE OWYHEE RIVER [NEVADA, IDAHO, AND OREGON]
This 17-day, 220-mile trip on the rarely rafted, Class II-IV Owyhee takes you down one of the longest and most remote stretches of runnable river in the Lower 48, through rugged canyon country. Need something shorter? Several sections can be run in four to seven days. Outfitter: River Odysseys West, 800-451-6034, . When to Go: May. Price: $3,735. Difficulty: moderate.

HALEAKALA CRATER SEA-TO-SUMMIT HIKING EXPEDITION [MAUI]
Go from sea level to 9,886 feet on this three-day trek from Maui’s sandy shores, through Hawaiian rainforests, to the moonlike floor of Haleakala Crater. You’ll climb 11 miles and 6,380 feet on the first day alone—good thing horses are hauling your gear. Outfitter: Summit Maui, 866-885-6064, . When to Go: year-round. Price: $1,190-$1,390. Difficulty: moderate.

GRAND GULCH TRAVERSE [UTAH]
What’s better than backpacking the 52-mile length of the Grand Gulch Primitive Area in southeastern Utah? Llama-trekking for much of the same seven-day route, past ancient Anasazi ruins and more recent historic landmarks—including Polly’s Island, where Butch Cassidy, some say, crossed the Gulch. Outfitter: Mountain Travel Sobek, 888-687-6235, . When to Go: April. Price: $2,590. Difficulty: moderate.

Elevator, Going Up

Three helicopter epics

MOUNTAIN-BIKING THE CELESTIAL MOUNTAINS [KAZAKHSTAN]
Just as your quads begin rebelling during this two-week, 300-mile traverse of the Tien Shan—the fabled 21,000-foot mountain range that separates Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan from China—a midtrip bonanza brings relief: A Communist-era cargo helicopter will whisk you to the top of the 12,000-foot “hills” for two days of screaming singletrack and goat-trail descents. Outfitter: KE 国产吃瓜黑料 Travel, 800-497-9675, . When to Go: July-August. Price: $2,395. Difficulty: strenuous.

RAFTING IN THE HOOKER RANGE [NEW ZEALAND]
Rarely boated, the upper reaches of southwestern New Zealand’s Landsborough River and the nearby Waiatoto are so remote that the only way to the put-ins is by helicopter. You’ll spend seven days roaring down Class III and IV rapids on both rivers, fishing for brown trout, searching for keas (the world’s only alpine parrot), and camping under the gazes of 10,000-foot peaks Mount Deacon and Mount Aspiring. Outfitter: Mountain Travel Sobek, 888-687-6235, . When to Go: March, December. Price: $3,190. Difficulty: moderate.

SHOOTING THE COLUMBIA MOUNTAINS [BRITISH COLUMBIA]
Spend four days coptering from Adamant Lodge in the Selkirks to remote 10,000-foot hiking trails in the Columbia Mountains for a photography workshop with widely published outdoor lensmen Chris Pinchbeck and Paul Lazarski. After pointers on lens selection and composition, shoot sunrise-lit alpine meadows till your film runs out. Outfitter: Canadian Mountain Holidays, 800-661-0252, . When to Go: July. Price: $2,360. Difficulty: easy.

Most Likely to Succeed

Six new additions to the adventure travel map

SURFING THE WILD EAST [EL SALVADOR]
Though the civil war ended 11 years ago, it’s been difficult to access El Salvador’s remote eastern point breaks on your own. Now you can hook up for eight days with Punta Mango’s local guides to surf Los Flores, La Ventana, and other perfecto Pacific peelers. OUTFITTER: Punta Mango Surf Trips, 011-503-270-8915, . WHEN TO GO: year-round. PRICE: $394-$818. DIFFICULTY: moderate. EXPLORING ISLANDS AND VOLCANOES [NICARAGUA]
Once a war-torn dictatorship, Nicaragua is now drawing scads of expatriates to its safer shores. Hike and mountain-bike around belching 5,000-foot volcanoes on the Pacific side, and kayak, fish, and loll in natural hot springs on islands in Lake Nicaragua. OUTFITTER: Nicaragua 国产吃瓜黑料s, 011-505-883-7161, . WHEN TO GO: November-September. PRICE: weeklong trips start at $600. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

RAFTING THE SOCA RIVER [SLOVENIA]
Spilling from the Julian Alps, the roiling Soca has long been a backyard destination for Europe’s whitewater intelligentsia. With improved infrastructure and an exchange rate favorable to Americans, now’s the time to hit this Class II-IV river. OUTFITTER: Exodus Travel, 800-692-5495, . WHEN TO GO: June-September. PRICE: eight-day trips, $715. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

BIKING AND BOATING THE DALMATIAN COAST [CROATIA]
Sail from island to island in the Adriatic Sea, stopping to cycle the nature reserves and medieval villages, safe again after a decade of political strife. OUTFITTER: Eurocycle, 011-43-1-405-3873-0, . WHEN TO GO: April-October. PRICE: eight-day cruise, $690-$740. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

MOUNTAIN-BIKING IN THE JUNGLE [SRI LANKA]
While the northeast is still volatile, don’t discount a southerly traverse of the island by mountain bike, through lush jungles and over cool mountain passes. OUTFITTER: 国产吃瓜黑料s Lanka Sports, 011-94-179-1584, . WHEN TO GO: year-round. PRICE: 15-day trip, $985. DIFFICULTY: moderate.

TRACKING GORILLAS [GABON]
Onetime host to warring guerrillas but permanent home to the peaceful lowland gorillas, Lop茅-Okanda Wildlife Reserve is the jewel of Gabon, nearly 80 percent of which is unspoiled forest woodlands. OUTFITTER: Mountain Travel Sobek, 800-282-8747, . WHEN TO GO: February-March, August. PRICE: $6,490 (19 nights). DIFFICULTY: easy.

Cautionary Trails

What’s up in the danger zone

When it comes to foreign travel, how risky is too risky? It’s hard to know. But the best place to start researching is the U.S. State Department (). At press time,* these 25 countries were tagged with a Travel Warning advising against nonessential travel. Here’s the lowdown on what you’re missing—and just how dicey things really are.

RISK LEVEL:
1聽聽聽聽GENERALLY SAFE
2聽聽聽聽SIGNIFICANTLY RISKY
3聽聽聽聽EXTREMELY RISKY

AFGHANISTAN
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Despite the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom, now in its 18th month, Taliban holdouts still lurk in a country once known for great hospitality (and hashish).
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Trekking in the Hindu Kush’s remote, red-cliffed Bamiyan Valley, where the Taliban destroyed two monumental fifth-century Buddhas carved into mountain rock
RISK: 3

ALGERIA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Terrorism in this oil-rich country has dropped off slightly in recent years, but there is still risk of sporadic attacks in rural areas and on roadways, especially at night.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Hiking in the El Kautara Gorges and the jagged Ahaggar Mountains, near the town of Tamanrasset
RISK: 2

ANGOLA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
An April 2002 cease-fire put a stop to the 25-year civil war, though millions of undetonated mines are still believed to litter the countryside.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Checking out Operation Noah’s Ark, an effort to relocate elephants and giraffes from Namibia and Botswana to the savannas of Quicama National Park in the northwest
RISK: 2

BOSNIA-HEREGOVINA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
The 1995 Dayton Accords ended the war between Muslim Bosnians, Serbs, and Croats, but UN troops remain to control localized outbursts of political violence, which are sometimes directed toward the international community.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Some of the best—and cheapest—alpine skiing in all of Europe at the Dinari Range’s 6,313-foot Mount Jahorina, site of the 1984 Winter Games
RISK: 1

BURUNDI
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Decades of ethnic strife between Hutus and Tutsis have killed hundreds of thousands. The resulting poverty and crime can make tourist travel dangerous in this small, mountainous nation.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Scuba diving in Lake Tanganyika, at 4,710 feet the world’s second-deepest lake (after Russia’s Baikal) and home to some 600 species of vertebrates and invertebrates
RISK: 2

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
After independence from France in 1960 and three decades under a military government, C.A.R. was turned over to civilian rule in 1993. Still, it remains beset with instability and unrest.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Bushwhacking and hiking with Pygmy guides through the rainforests of Dzanga-Ndoki, arguably the most pristine national park in Africa
RISK: 2

COLOMBIA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Dubbed “Locombia” (the mad country) by the South American press, Colombia is rife with cocaine cartels, guerrilla warfare, and more kidnappings than any other nation in the world.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Encounters with the pre-Columbian Kogi people while trekking through dense jungle and the isolated 19,000-foot Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Mountains
RISK: 3

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Though rich in diamonds, gold, and timber, this equatorial country is still in tatters—famine, millions of displaced refugees (since Mobutu’s despotic 32-year rule ended in 1997).
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Mountaineering in the Ruwenzori Mountains on 16,763-foot Mount Stanley, Africa’s third-highest peak
RISK: 3

INDONESIA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Anti-Western terrorist attacks in Bali and separatist violence in West Timor, the province of Aceh, central and west Kalimantan, and Sulawesi have destabilized the world’s largest archipelago.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Surfing Sumatra’s legendary breaks off the island of Nias and jungle trekking in Gunung Leuser National Park
RISK: 2

IRAN
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Despite inclusion in Bush’s “axis of evil” and the U.S.’s suspension of diplomatic relations, Iran is generally safe—though travel to the Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq borders is best avoided.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Skiing in the 12,000-foot-plus Elburz Mountains, where the resort in Dizin receives more than 23 feet of snow annually and lift tickets cost $4 a day
RISK: 1

IRAQ
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Even if you wanted to go to Iraq, no U.S. commercial flights enter the country that’s ruled by the world’s most infamous dictator.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Canoeing the Marshes, the historic ecosystem at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers—birthplace over 10,000 years ago of the Mesopotamian civilization
RISK: 3

ISRAEL
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Israel has been a hotly contested geopolitical and religious crucible since 1948, but the two-and-a-half-year Palestinian intifada has produced more suicide bombings than any other period.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Scuba diving to the underwater ruins of Herod’s City at Caesarea, along the palm-fringed Mediterranean coast
RISK: 2

IVORY COAST
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE
Once the most stable West African country, this coffee-producing nation suffers from falling cocoa prices and clashes between Christians and Muslims.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING
Trekking through the virgin rainforests of Ta茂 National Park, home to the threatened pygmy hippopotamus
RISK: 2

Be aware that the State Department also posts advisories about unstable regions in many other countries, like Kyrgyzstan and Nepal. Carefully check the Web site’s postings and consult with well-informed tour operators before finalizing any travel plans.
*This information is current as of January 14, 2003

Compiled by Misty Blakesley, Amy Marr, Dimity McDowell, Sam Moulton, Tim Neville, Katie Showalter, and Ted Stedman

Cautionary Trails, PT II

RISK LEVEL:
1 GENERALLY SAFE
2 SIGNIFICANTLY RISKY
3 EXTREMELY RISKY


JORDAN
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

Jordan is considered the least dangerous Middle Eastern country; still, threats of random violence (witness the October 2002 killing of an American Embassy employee) remain high.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

World-renowned sport and trad climbing on the 1,500-foot sandstone walls in Wadi Rum, and camel-trekking with the Bedouin in the country’s southern desertscape
RISK: 1



LEBANON
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

Home to the terrorist group Hezbollah, Lebanon has a history of anti-U.S. violence, and there have been recent protests, sometimes violent, in major cities.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Skiing the 8,000-foot-plus peaks and six resorts in the Anti-Lebanon mountain range, then heading to the coast to swim in the Mediterranean
RISK: 2



LIBERIA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

Though a democratic government took power in 1997, ending an eight-year civil war, this developing West African nation is plagued by clashes between government forces and dissidents.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Safaris to Sapo National Park, Liberia’s only national park and one of the last rainforest refuges for bongo antelopes and forest elephants
RISK: 2



LIBYA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

Seventeen years under U.S. sanctions, convictions in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, and rising crime make travel to Libya a tricky proposition.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Safaris to the Ubari Sand Sea, land of shifting, 300-foot dunes and salt lakes
RISK: 2



MACEDONIA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

A geopolitical hot spot, this mountainous Balkan country is still smoldering with ethnic tension, most recently between Albanian rebels and Macedonian forces.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Spelunking among the dripstone formations and stalagmites in the caves around 3,000-foot-plus Matka Canyon
RISK: 1



NIGERIA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

Though nearly 16 years of military rule ended in 1999, this oil-rich West African country suffers from rampant street crime, ongoing religious and ethnic conflicts, and kidnappings.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Trekking through rolling grasslands and exploring the volcanic 3,500-foot Mandara Mountains along the border with Cameroon
RISK: 2



PAKISTAN
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

In 2002, members of the Taliban, who had crossed the vertiginous Hindu Kush from Afghanistan, are believed to have instigated a rash of anti-Western terrorism in Islamabad and Karachi.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Completing the classic three-week trek to the base camp of pyramidal K2 in northern Pakistan, leaving from Askole and crossing the Baltoro Glacier
RISK: 2



TAJIKISTAN
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

A mountainous and unstable “stan” in the heart of Central Asia, Tajikistan is thought to be home to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) terrorist group.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Climbing untouched glaciers and rock faces in the Pamir Mountains, where first ascents of 17,000-foot-plus summits abound
RISK: 2



SOMALIA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

Ever since dictator Siad Barre was ousted in 1991, anarchy has ruled this drought-prone East African nation. Warring factions are still fighting for control of the the capital, Mogadishu.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Deep-sea tuna fishing in the waters off Somalia’s 1,876-mile coastline, the longest in Africa
RISK: 3



SUDAN
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

Nearly 40 years of civil war, coupled with famine, have made Sudan extremely unstable, especially in the oil-producing Upper Nile region. Americans have been assaulted and taken hostage.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Scuba diving in the Red Sea to famous shipwrecks and coral atolls, first explored by Jacques Cousteau in the sixties
RISK: 3



VENEZUELA
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

Opposition to President Hugo Ch谩vez and a nationwide strike have destabilized this tropical country, causing acute oil shortages and triggering violent protests in Caracas.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Trekking through humid jungles and the vast savannas of the Guiana Highlands to 3,212-foot Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world
RISK: 2



YEMEN
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE

This country on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula has been plagued by anti-American sentiment since long before the 2000 attack on the USS Cole.
WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

Exploring the coral beaches of Socotra, the largest Arabian island, which abounds with flora, including frankincense, myrrh, and the dragon’s blood tree
RISK: 3



Be aware that the State Department also posts advisories about unstable regions in many other countries, like Kyrgyzstan and Nepal. Carefully check the Web site’s postings and consult with well-informed tour operators before finalizing any travel plans.

*This information is current as of January 14, 2003



Compiled by Misty Blakesley, Amy Marr, Dimity McDowell, Sam Moulton, Tim Neville, Katie Showalter, and Ted Stedman

The post Nomads Have More Fun appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

The Maldives
One day in 1973, Tony Hussein Hinde became the luckiest surf rat in history when the boat he was taking from Sri Lanka to R茅te;union Island ran aground on an uninhabited atoll in the northern Maldives, 400 miles southwest of India. Realizing he’d achieved reef-surfing nirvana, Hinde stayed, and for the next 15 years, cruised the island chain in his dhoni (a 16-foot sailboat) charting and naming all the major breaks, learning to speak Dhivehi, and converting to Islam. Word of Hinde’s paradise trickled out, of course, and in 1989 he opened Atoll 国产吃瓜黑料s, the Maldives’ first surf-touring operation. He now ferries surfers (25 is the limit) to breaks in cushy sailboats. It’s a very effective—and exclusive—method. Quoth Aussie surfer Terry Fitzgerald: “We were assembled in front of a four-to five-foot left that was so picture-perfect we were all wetting our pants in anticipation.” No wonder Tony stayed.
Surf’s Up: Mid-February to mid-May, and mid-August to mid-October; swells generated in Antarctica range from chest-high to double overhead off the outer atolls.
Your Stick: Medium-size boards for the outer atolls and a hot dog for the mushier stuff up north. Tip: The locals eschew longboards; bring one for the small days and you’ll have the waves all to yourself.
Beware: Outgoing tides can flow like the Ganges and suck you out to sea.
础辫谤猫惫别;蝉-厂耻谤蹿: The Seagull Caf茅te; in Male (the capital) is a favorite among surfers who have been living on fresh tuna for days. Try a Kurumbaa Surprise—a coconut shell full of homemade ice cream.
Getting There: Waterways Surf 国产吃瓜黑料s (800-928-3757; ) can book you plane tickets and a cool cabin (air-conditioning, on-board cook, VCR) on one of Hinde’s boats. Price: $3,050.
-Christian Nardi

Jalama Beach, California B
Trust us, just keep going. Past the sprawling Santa Barbara County ranches; past Lompoc and the only surf shop for 20 miles; past 200-year-old live oaks. Leave Highway 1 behind, and wind 14 miles down a narrow road. Pay the paltry five-dollar parking fee, and survey your reward: one of the choicest surf spots on the California coast. Just north of Point Conception, Jalama County Park gets swells from the north to the southwest. Tarantula is the draw, a consistent left-hander that lures surfers from as far away as Brazil. Four and a half miles of coastline provides waves enough for everyone—especially if you’re willing to hike a mile up the beach. Mornings and late afternoons are best, when the wind calms down and the choppy waves subside. Mingle with dolphins, gray whales, and brown pelicans while you wait out the rough spots.
Surf’s Up: Autumn brings perfect southwest swells from storms in the South Pacific, and if you’re lucky, a few early-season North Pacific swells.
Your Stick: Think heft. The waves are big and you’ll be braving 54-degree seas in at least a three-millimeter wetsuit, so bring a six-foot-eight to seven-foot board.
Beware: Tarantulas and grumpy locals are understandably loath to share their beach with outsiders.
础辫谤猫惫别;蝉-厂耻谤蹿: The Jalama Beach Store and Grill (805-736-5027) stocks Frisbees, caviar, and Spam, and serves three squares daily. “Our ground sirloin burger is world famous,” boasts co-owner Steve Eittreim. Good thing, because his kitchen is your only option.
Sleep It Off: Jalama Beach Campground (805-736-3504) is first-come, first-served; on summer weekends, dispatch a scout several days ahead to save your spot. Sites are $16 a night with the basics (fire pit, picnic table), and $22 a night with electrical hookups.
—C.N.

Barbados
Clean point breaks, high-impact sandbar breaks, peeling offshore reef breaks, heck, breaks with sea urchins that poke you in the backside—Barbados’s swells fulfill any fantasy. Brooding 98 miles east of the Lesser Antilles, the island’s ragged, 80-mile reef necklace takes the first hit from the Atlantic’s tradewind swells. “There are many, many waves in Barbados,” says Bajan Surf Bungalows proprietor and resident carver Melanie Welch, “but a lot of them don’t break all the time.” The secret? Head to Bathsheba Beach on the central east coast. Here, mellow oceanside shanties catering to the no-shirt-no-shoes set are just a longboard’s length from Soupbowl—a world-renowned, thick-walled, hollow right break that remains head-high 300 days a year. If it gets too crowded, use Soupbowl as your crystal ball. “If it’s a real big north swell,” says Welch, “you’ll know the west coast is on. And if it’s real windy and big, chances are good for a south-coast swell.” Better yet, just shadow any car with boards on top.
Surf’s Up: Cold fronts that hover north of Barbados from October to April can get waves going up to 15 feet in Soupbowl.
Your Stick: Welch rents out used long- and shortboards ($20 per day for guests; $20 per hour for everyone else).
Beware: Only brave Tropicana, a popular west coast left-hander, at high tide, or the coral will slice you up like sushi.
础辫谤猫惫别;蝉-厂耻谤蹿: Mount Gay and Coke, Mount Gay and tonic, Mount Gay pi帽de;a colada… For 300 years the sugarcane nectar has been distilled here, so take advantage.
Sleep It Off: The Edgewater Inn ($85-颅$145 a night; 246-433-9900; ) and Bajan Surf Bungalows ($28颅$38 a night; 246-433-9920; ) are a barefoot walk from Soupbowl.
—Chris Keyes

South Africa’s West Coast
Unless you’re willing to risk your five right fingers trespassing on De Beers diamond lands in Namibia, the stretch of frigid sea along South Africa’s west coast still offers the wildest, loneliest breaks on the continent. “I wouldn’t necessarily call it crazy to go there,” says Sean Murphy, an American outfitter who used to run surfaris up the coast. “But it takes renting a van, going into the unknown…and just hoping.” The fun starts in Cape Town. Commandeer a tenacious vehicle and procure a few weeks’ worth of supplies (gallon jug of Marmite, oil drum of drinking water, medical kit). Head north, hitting Elands Bay for your last guaranteed ride, an endless left-hander that breaks over a rocky, kelp-covered shelf. Then target Namaqualand, an 80-mile stretch of white sand scattered with unmapped roads. South of tiny Port Nolloth, use your big gun to hunt for epic beach breaks. If the planets align, and a southern swell arrives, you won’t have to fight for what comes next.
Surf’s Up: Elusive groundswells are rumored to appear May to October, just before a cold front moves in.
Your Stick: Thanks to a still-plummeting rand, custom boards can be yours from Cape Town shapers for about $180.
Beware: In 45- to 55-degree water, a five-millimeter wetsuit is a must.
Getting There: South African Airways and British Airways fly from New York to Johannesburg, with connections to Cape Town, starting at $1,099. South Africa Direct Car () and Explore Africa ( ) in Cape Town rent Land Rovers fitted with roof-mounted tents, long-range fuel tanks, 45-liter water tanks, barbecue grills, and more ($1,260 for two weeks, limited mileage).
—C.K.

Puerto Chicama, Northern Peru
Here in 1956 for the filming of The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway found waves like white elephants: “The seas ran like onrushing hills,” he wrote in Look magazine, “with snow blowing off the tops.” Papa didn’t surf, but you will. The age of Peruvian shredding dawned in the 1970s when a California surf-safarian spotted this break-blessed desert from a plane. One of the world’s longest left-handers, from a thousand feet to a mile long, peels off of Puerto Chicama, forming fast five- to ten-foot overheads that can reach up to 12 feet in winter. “It’s intense and totally uncrowded,” says Hector Valdivia, a Peruvian surf guide who claims to have once ridden the swell for two full miles—well, maybe a half-mile. Either way, “it was a long walk back.” Tough luck, Hector.
Surf’s Up: Chicama is good year-round, but the sweetest swells surge from May to October. The water is brisk: Bring a three-millimeter wetsuit. Legendary neighboring breaks like El Faro, Pacasmayo, and Poemape are dependable all winter, too.
Your Stick: The town of Trujillo has a couple of surfwear shops, but better to show up loaded for bear.
Beware: Exposed lava beds lie beneath Chicama’s big rides. Bring booties.
础辫谤猫蝉-厂耻谤蹿: Free your inner Hemingway with a Pisco Sour in a Chicama cantina.
Sleep It Off: Camp on the beach for free, snag stoic beachfront digs at Puerto Chicama’s El Hombre hotel for $5, or go nuts and drop $12 on the much swankier new Hostal Chicama (011-51-44-634-920).
Getting There: Direct flights on Lan Chile Airlines (800-735-5526; ) to Lima are about $600 from L.A., $470 from Miami. From Lima, rent a car or catch a short daily flight to Trujillo for $170; then head up the Pan-American Highway 30 miles to Puerto Chicama, and 60 to Pacasmayo.
—Christian DeBenedetti

Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
Hovering where the warm Gulf Stream smashes into the cold Labrador Current, Cape Hatteras National Seashore is the East Coast’s surfing mecca. Shifting sandbar and beach breaks fire up from spring to fall, especially during hurricane season (July through October). The 207-foot, zebra-striped Hatteras Lighthouse marks your launch into A-frame peaks that zipper into hollow barrels. Enterprising surfers should come with a full quiver of shorties and fish (trick-happy boards), and stock up on speed-enhancing Sex Wax for the flats (sudden lulls that can turn peaks to mush pronto). Says local board shaper Scott Busbey of the mercurial conditions: “It’s always shifting, which can help and hinder us, but it keeps it challenging. We’re lucky.”
Surf’s Up: Diehards brave 37-degree midwinter water in five-millimeter wetsuits (“full metal jackets”), but late-summer squalls bring temps in the seventies. (For daily wave info, call 252-995-4646.)
Your Stick: Busbey’s Natural Art Surf Shop in Buxton (252-995-5682) has it all—boards, leashes, beer cozies. Or try Whalebone in Nags Head (252-441-6747).
Beware: Throngs of sybaritic boobs (“tourons” in local parlance) flock to the Cape in summer, and Dare County is notorious for DUI citations, so party smart.
础辫谤猫蝉-厂耻谤蹿: When you tire of the infinite wipeout, head over to Tortuga’s Lie in Nags Head (252-441-7299) for sushi, steamed crab legs, and black-and-tans.
Sleep It Off: Cape Point Campground (252-995-4474; ) provides cold showers, flush toilets, and grills ($17 a day, May 25 to September 3). Or try the Outer Banks Visitor’s Bureau (800-446-6262) for more palatial digs.
—C.D.B.

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If you're ready to get away from it all and willing to forgo room service, marooning yourself on an uninhabited island can have its rewards. The trick is to ensure you get de-marooned before developing an emotional attachment to a volleyball. Here, some Castaway-style options.

Buccaneer Archipelago, Australia
Exploring the thousand islands in the Buccaneer chain, just off the coast of northwest Australia's Kimberly region, means foraging for fresh oysters and mud crabs, hiking through thick rainforests and along red-rock cliffs to find Aboriginal rock art, waterfalls, and natural whirlpools, and camping on empty beaches. But it's not all fun and games. You're likely to encounter dangerous 36-foot tides, deadly taipan snakes, sharks, and saltwater crocodiles. Best to bring an experienced guide: Hire one in the seaside town of Derby, on the mainland. For details, call the Derby Tourist Bureau (011-61-08-9191-1426; ).
Tobago Cays, Grenadines
Let the Prada set squabble over condos on Mustique. The place for solitude in the Grenadines is the Tobago Cays: Petit Rameau, Barabel, Jamesby, and Petit Bateau-four tiny, undeveloped islands some 20 miles south of St. Vincent. No rock stars or resorts to cast shadows on your beach towel here; just deserted beaches for camping and picnicking, and some of the best snorkeling in the Caribbean, on shallow, untouched Horseshoe Reef, which surrounds the cays. For more information, contact Captain Yannis Catamarans on Union Island (784-458-8513; ) or the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Department of Tourism (800-729-1726; ).

Bacuit Archipelago, Palawan, Philippines
With its striking beaches and dramatic limestone cliffs, this place looks remarkably like the setting of the 1974 film The Man with the Golden Gun. Snorkel and sea kayak in the countless coves on forgotten islands such as Matinloc, Entalula, Shimizu, and Tapiutan, jewels of this 45-island archipelago just off the northeast coast of Palawan island. Hire a boat in the town of El Nido. For more information, contact the Philippines Department of Tourism (415-956-4060; ).

Los Roques National Park, Venezuela
Make Gran Roque the jumping-off point for your escape to a smaller roque of your choice. Most of the 340 islands and islets of this national park off Venezuela's northern coast are uninhabited, with about 40 large enough to set up camp. Fly from Caracas to Gran Roque (the largest island in the park), rent a boat at the Pez Raton Fishing Lodge (011-58-212-975-0906), and then sail to the sandy scrub-topped pancake of your choice, where you can fish and snorkel your days away. Camping is free, but you'll need a permit from the Inparques office on Gran Roque. For more information call the Venezuelan Embassy (202-342-2214: ).

Ko Tarutao National Marine Park, Thailand
Thailand's northern islands tend to be swarming with rave-happy Europeans, but down south you're more likely to run into the occasional Chao Le (sea gypsy), sea turtle, dolphin, or crab-eating macaque. These 51 protected, little-visited islands, scattered across 575 square miles in the Andaman Sea, are covered with granite hills and snow-white beaches. The largest, Ko Tarutao, houses the park headquarters and is reachable by boat from PakBara, about 14 miles up the coast from Satun. From Ko Tarutao, charter a longtail boat to uninhabited isles like Ko Adang Rawi and Ko Khai. For more information, call the Tourism Authority of Thailand (800-842-4526; ).

Islands for Sale

FOR SALE: Swan Island, yours for $950,000

Forget champagne wishes and caviar dreams. If you had the cash, you'd go for coconuts and cays. You're not alone: The private-island real estate market has boomed in the last ten years. And why not? For the price of a suburban starter mansion, you can own not just a piece of the rock, but the whole darn thing.

Baboon Cay, Nicaragua-$494,000
Fifteen-acre cutie, just three miles from the jungle mainland. Small cabin with well and generator overlooks powdery beaches, palm trees galore. Only four to six feet above sea level, yet SO protected from rough seas by cays and coral. Dive the reefs, fish tarpon in the flats, stalk marlin offshore. Plenty of lizards, seagulls, and pelicans, but baboon-free. Why not rename the island once it's yours? Call Peter Tsokos at Tropical Islands, 305-273-8033; .

Therese Island, Seychelles-$3.85 million
Exotic Eden! Off the west coast of Mah茅, this 179-acre stunner is ringed with white-sand beaches, shaded by rustling palms, and smack in the middle of some of the world's best diving and fishing. A reef protects its very swimmable south shore. Your only neighbors are the tortoises who call this beauty home. Limited development possible; plenty of fresh water. Call Vladi Private Islands, 011-49-40-33-89890; .

Ligia Island, Greece-$800,000
Odysseus longed to return; so will you. This hilly, undeveloped, 32-acre gem floats in the fabulous boating grounds of the Ionian Sea, only nine miles from Ithaca (that Homeric hero's legendary home). Ligia is covered with intoxicatingly fragrant pines, poplars, and wildflowers. A concrete pier on the island's west coast awaits YOUR special yacht. Call Vassili at Ask Elena, 011-44-7808-403063; .

Money Cay, Florida-$2.6 million
Ca-ching! This is the one! Five and a half acres of heaven, just 25 miles from colorful Key West. Coconut palms surround a three-bedroom, 3,500-square-foot designer bungalow with gourmet kitchen, cathedral ceilings, jacuzzi, satellite TV, and, in the living room, a wet bar built over a 300-gallon saltwater aquarium. Fab views from every room! Diving, snorkeling, kayaking, fishing just minutes away from your private dock. Call Money Key Inc., 305-745-3084; .

Wavi Island, Fiji-$550,000
Do the Brando thing: This 26-acre dream sits within a coral reef just off Vanua Levu-the Savusavu airport is just minutes away. But why would you ever want to leave when you can fish, kayak, and snorkel in your own blue lagoon? The lush isle awaits your sensitive hand for development: a personal estate? Private island charter? Boutique resort? You decide. Won't last at this price! Call Pacific Islands Investments, 808-883-8000; .

Swan Island, Australia-$950,000
A nature-lover's wonder Down Under! Tucked in Port Philip Bay, about 40 miles southwest of Melbourne, this lovely 550-acre isle has it all: three fixer-upper houses, eight sparkling beaches bordered by undulating sand dunes, miles of walking trails, abundant abalone in the kelp gardens offshore-even its own fairy-penguin rookery. Private airstrip for easy access. Call Vladi Private Islands, 011-49-40-33-89890; .

One-Resort Islands

Paradise this way: trailhead on Guana Island

Namotu Island Blue Water Sports Resort, Fiji
A sandy, nine-acre strip on the outer fringes of the Mamanuca Islands, this place gets the full brunt of Pacific waves and wind-both perfect for riding. You won't see much of your bure (one of the six Fijian wood-frame huts with balconies) with the rolling Namotu lefts and powdery beaches calling your name-unless, of course, you're hearing things from drinking too much Kava by the pool. ($2,500 per person per week, including round-trip airfare from L.A.; for more on the resort, check out ; for reservations, call Waterways Travel, 800-928-3757).

Lizard Island, Australia
This 2,500-acre National Park is named for the ungainly monitor lizards that roam it, but the nouvelle cuisine, 40 Aussie-luxe guest rooms, and private airstrip are anything but Jurassic. The northernmost resort on the Great Barrier Reef also offers pristine diving at Cod Hole; snorkeling in the Blue Lagoon, where you'll see fields of coral, giant clams, and potato cod; 24 empty beaches; and infinite views from 1,178-foot Cooks Look mountain. (Doubles, US $320-$500; 011-61-7-3876-4644; ).
Guana Island, British Virgin Islands
This hilly green island hideaway of only 850 acres doesn't allow more than 30 guests at a time. Nice. You can easily hide from the 29 others on seven sugar-sand beaches, an extensive network of hiking trails, and in the Guana Island Wildlife Sanctuary, where you can spot Phoenicopterus ruber, a rare species of pink flamingo. When you're ready to socialize, don your whites and play croquet on the manicured lawns, or sail, snorkel, and windsurf from the resort's beach. (Doubles, $640-$850; 284-494-2354; ; rent the entire island for $11,500-$15,000 per day).

Soneva Fushi Resort & Spa, Maldives
The 62 rattan- and palm-wood-furnished villas and rooms are truly worthy of a sultan, and the 30 nearby dive sites are practically schooling with manta rays, guitar sharks, and batfish. The beaches and jungle of North Baa Atoll's 4,600-foot-long Kunfunadhoo Island are also worth the 24-hour flight. But be warned: You might never leave the Six Senses Spa-where you'll get kneaded to a noodle with New Agey treatments. (Doubles, $205-$365; 011-960-230-304; ).

Dolphin Island Lodge, Uaguitupo Island, San Blas Islands, Panama
Swimming and cavorting with dolphins might be the draw, but you'll stay for dream-filled nights in your Kuna Indian-woven cotton hammock and feasts of tulle massy-a Kuna concoction made with coconut milk, plantain, and fish. Guests arrive by dugout canoe to find nine rustic cottages and a sprinkling of coconut palms on this tiny island in the 200-mile-long San Blas (or Kuna Yala) archipelago off Panama's northeast coast. The Lodge is run by Kuna Indians who will take you snorkeling, fishing, and sailing to uninhabited cays and to visit traditional villages (Two-day packages start at $270 per person, including round-trip airfare from Panama City; for more on the lodge, visit ; for reservations, call Lost World 国产吃瓜黑料s, 800-999-0558).

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