Chapter 5: Treasure Islands

Previous: Newport.

195

Balboa Island

Taffy Town

California, U.S.

It’s not much bigger than a postage stamp, 3 blocks deep and a mile long, but Balboa crams a lot of old-fashioned seaside charm into its small space. It’s got quaint Cape Cod–style architecture; fine, sandy beaches; and a vintage-Americana feel. In June, the Balboa Island Parade marries small-town celebration (costumed dogs and decorated golf carts figure prominently) with big-time bonhomie. The parade was begun in 1993 to celebrate the restoration of the 1927 Balboa Fire Station, for years the only government building on the island, home to the fire department, public offices, and a drunk tank during the boisterous days of Prohibition.

Now a proud part of the city of Newport Beach, Balboa Island at the turn of the 20th century was more or less swampland. At low tide it would appear as a mud flat locals referred to as Snipe Island. An enterprising fellow named W. S. Collins dredged up some of the swamp and filled in the land to form Balboa, where he carved up neat little lots (he sold the ones with prime harbor views for a whopping $600). The charm—and the selling point—was a sunny, laid-back holiday-by-the-seaside. The reality, in those early days, was a little more rough-hewn, with no electricity or gas until around 1920.

But as the infrastructure grew, so did the island populace, including Hollywood celebrities. Balboa’s proximity to the harbor was catnip to recreational boaters, including such famous yachtsmen as James Cagney and John Wayne. Originally parceled out for as little as $250 a lot, Balboa Island now holds some of the priciest real estate in California.

Today Balboa looks pretty much like it did nearly a century ago, but its honky-tonk heart is now strictly G-rated. A boardwalk is lined with shops, art galleries, and the old-fashioned pleasures of a seashore town. Saltwater taffy is sold in big barrels in candy stores. Walking is the favored mode of transportation, and the evening stroll is a nightly ritual. You can take a cruise from one of the many yacht charters (see the Balboa Island website, below). A small amusement park with timeless carnival rides—including a carousel and Ferris wheel—is a foolproof draw for younger children. Picturesque bungalows, white picket fences, puppies, kids, and blue California skies: Balboa Island is a little slice of all-American apple pie. —AF

www.balboa-island.net.

John Wayne Airport or Long Beach Airport.

15-min. drive from John Wayne airport or 25-min. drive from Long Beach.

$$ Balboa Inn, 105 Main St., Newport Beach ( 877/BALBOA9 [225-2629]; www.balboainn.com).

196

Nantucket Island

Scrimshaw Gem

Massachusetts, U.S.

The old whaling captains knew a good thing when they saw it. Walk around tiny Nantucket—the only town on the island—and you’ll gape at stately Greek Revival sea captains’ mansions, one after the other, lining the brick sidewalks. Though the whaling trade died in the 1870s, out-of-the-way Nantucket—30 miles (48km) off the Massachusetts coast—escaped redevelopment, and the town still exudes a prim New England-y charm. Modern-day captains of industry have built showplace beach “cottages” around the island’s 110-mile (177km) coast, attracting designer boutiques and chichi restaurants; ferries from Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard regularly disgorge crowds of day-trippers to wander the brick sidewalks and gape at the mansions, ice-cream cones in hand. But it’s easy to get out of town and discover Nantucket’s sandy, wind-scrubbed natural beauty.

Like any summer resort, Nantucket gets overrun in July and August—try to get a last-minute reservation to bring your car over on one of the six daily car ferries from Hyannis. It’s far better to take a high-speed passenger ferry and get around on foot and by bicycle. Get the historic lowdown at the state-of-the-art Whaling Museum, 13 Broad St. ( 508/228-1894; www.nha.org where you can also hook up with a Historical Society walking tour of town. But there’s so much more to Nantucket than just the historic district. Flat, sandy, treeless Nantucket is heaven for bicyclists, with paved bikeways leading in all directions and rental shops right by the wharf. My favorite route is the 17-mile (27km) loop out to Siasconset Beach (’Sconset to locals). At ’Sconset, you can ramble along panoramic bluffs, and then head north along coastal Polpis Road, stopping off for the classic Nantucket photo op in front of the red-and-white-striped 1850 Sankaty Head lighthouse (moved from its eroding cliff to a safe spot beside the Sankaty Head golf course). Also along Polpis Road, explore the fringes of sea and land on nature trails at Windswept Cranberry Bog or the Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge.

Nantucket lighthouse.

Getting out on the water is an essential Nantucket pastime, whether you join a deep-sea fishing excursion (several boats depart from Straight Wharf), rent a kayak or sailboard at Jetties Beach (North Beach St., just west of town), or just splash around in the surf at popular Surfside Beach south of town. For sunset beach strolls, the place to be is Madaket Beach, at the western end of Madaket Road.

Stay overnight and you’ll discover a different island, once the ferries have left port. On clear summer evenings, it’s a super place for stargazing, far from big-city light pollution. Just south of town, the hilltop Loines Observatory, 59 Milk St. Extension ( 508/228-9273), is open to the public Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights; if there’s an interesting sky event, like the close orbit of Mars the summer I visited, there’s bound to be a line out the door. Standing in line with the locals, listening to how everyone spent their day—that’s a pretty fine way to get in tune with Nantucket. —HH

Nantucket Visitor Services, 25 Federal St. ( 508/228-0925; www.nantucket-ma.gov).

Nantucket Airport.

Nantucket town, service from Hyannis, Harwich Port, or Martha’s Vineyard.

$$$ Beachside at Nantucket, 30 N. Beach St. ( 800/322-4433 or 508/228-2241; www.thebeachside.com $$ Jared Coffin House, 29 Broad St. ( 800/248-2405 or 508/228-2400; www.jaredcoffinhouse.com).

197

Mackinac Island

Car-Free, Carefree

Michigan, U.S.

First of all, you pronounce it “Mack-i-naw,” like the raincoat—the nearest mainland town is spelled Mackinaw City, so out-of-towners will get it right. Cropping out of the narrow Straits of Mackinac, which divide the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan, this summer resort island is a Victorian period piece of white frame houses and trim gardens. Nowadays, the great green Mackinac Bridge spans the Straits, connecting the peninsulas. But at the height of summer, when getting from here to there becomes less important than getting away from it all, that bridge is beside the point. What you want instead is the passenger ferry from Mackinaw City, heading away from the bridge to the time warp of Mackinac Island.

Long before the bridge was built in 1957, Mackinac was one of the Midwest’s favorite summer resorts, and it’s still a cherished holiday destination—and still blissfully car-free, which means you have three options for getting around: on foot, by horse-drawn carriage, or on a bike. Pedaling happily along the limestone cliffs overlooking the straits, you may wonder why the automobile was ever invented. A complete circuit of the island on traffic-free Lake Shore Road is only 8 miles (13km); you can rent bikes in town.

Mackinac Island.

You’ll have to stop along the way, of course, to drink in the views—don’t miss Arch Rock on the east coast, a boulder pierced with a gaping 30×40-foot (9×12m) hole gouged by waves and glaciers, or Sunset Rock on the west bluff above town. Most of the island is covered by Mackinac Island State Park ( 906/436-4100; www.mackinacparks.com with 70 miles (113km) of paved roads and trails where cyclists can explore the cedar- and birch-forested interior. Above the town, you can also cycle up to Fort Mackinac, 7127 Huron Rd. ( 906/436-4100; www.mackinacparks.com built by British soldiers during the American Revolution to keep the Straits open for the lucrative fur trade. Costumed interpreters are on hand to shoot off rifles and cannons and perform military band music. The cliff-top site was chosen specifically for sentries to watch over the lakes, so you can just imagine how fantastic the views are.

Of course, if you’d rather take in the scenery from a rocking chair, you can always plunk yourself down on the white colonnaded veranda—the world’s longest front porch—of the landmark Grand Hotel (see below), built in 1887. Even if you’re not staying here, you can tour the historic premises. Or shop your way along downtown’s Main and Market streets, lined with flower-bedecked balconies; be sure to pick up some of the island’s trademark rich fudge. Mackinac has three golf courses, but it also has two butterfly conservatories (the Butterfly House, downtown at 296 McGulpin St., and Wings of Mackinac, up past the carriage tour barns on Surrey Hill). That’s the sort of vintage charm that summer memories of Mackinac Island are made of. —HH

Mackinac Island Chamber of Commerce ( 877/847-0086; www.mackinacisland.org).

Mackinaw City, 12 miles (19km) from ferry docks.

Depart from Mackinaw City or St. Ignace. Arnold Transit, 15–45 min. ( 800/542-8528; www.arnoldline.com Shepler’s Ferry, 16 min. ( 800/828-6157 or 231/436-5023; www.sheplersferry.com Star Line, 16–18 min. ( 800/638-9892 or 906/643-7635; www.mackinacferry.com).

$$$ Grand Hotel, W. Bluff Rd. ( 800/33-GRAND [334-7263] or 906/847-3331; www.grandhotel.com $$ Mission Point, 6633 Main St. ( 800/833-7711 or 906/847-3312; www.missionpoint.com).

198

Ocean City

Family Fun on the Jersey Shore

New Jersey, U.S.

It doesn’t get much more old-time American than summer on New Jersey’s “OC.” With a real wood-planked boardwalk lined with carnival rides and funnel-cake vendors, plus long stretches of sandy beach and activities galore for kids, Ocean City is a uniquely family-friendly seaside resort. And because it’s a dry community—no booze is sold here or consumed in public places—Ocean City is a world away from other, raucous, party-focused Jersey Shore locales. So much of Ocean City hearkens back to a simpler, sunnier era, readily apparent in its appealingly retro (though some are downright tacky) lineup of motels and vacation rentals, most within a few blocks of the beach if not right on the water. It may not be a destination for aesthetes, but for many families in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic who vacation here every year, Ocean City is an island paradise.

From the “mainland,” you can drive over one of four bridges or take the ferry from Cape May to reach Ocean City. The island itself is a narrow strip covering an area of just 7 sq. miles (18 sq. km); it’s much longer north-south than it is east-west, with clean beaches of fine sand fronting the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the bay on the west. Once you’re here, Ocean City’s simple grid layout of numbered streets makes it easy to get around on foot or by bike.

Setting the tone for Ocean City’s particular brand of old-fashioned summertime fun is its classic boardwalk. The 21⁄2-mile (4km) promenade is filled with kids of all ages playing arcade games or miniature golf, fighting losing battles with melting ice-cream cones, or squealing down a waterslide. The smells from food stalls here—saltwater taffy, fudge, and french fries—really do transport you to another time. Best of all, the boardwalk is safe at all hours.

Away from the boardwalk, Ocean City teems with ways to stay active under the sun, almost all of which are kid-focused or kid-friendly. There are sports camps and leagues, sailing schools, and summer programs of all kinds here, but for less structured fun, you can also take to the water with a kayak or WaveRunner (available for rent at many outfitters), or go on parasailing, tubing, water-skiing, and even fishing excursions. Of course, for the most basic summer pleasure of all—being a beach bum—Ocean City has 8 miles (13km) of silky oceanside or bayside shore.

In the evenings, summertime residents—many of whom rent houses or apartments here by the week, month, or season—congregate at the Music Pier, off the boardwalk, for nightly concerts. For nightlife with a little more pizazz, adults can turn to the bright lights and casinos of Atlantic City, only a 30-minute drive away. Also within easy striking distance, for day trips of the nonwatery variety, are the Cape May County Park and Zoo, the Atlantic City Aquarium, and historic villages, homes, and lighthouses. —SM

Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce, 16 E. 9th St. ( 609/399-1412; www.oceancitychamber.com).

Atlantic City or Philadelphia International.

Three Forts Ferry from Delaware City, 5 min. Cape May-Lewes Ferry ( 800/64-FERRY [643-3779]; www.capemaylewesferry.com).

19-mile (31km) drive from Atlantic City or 71-mile (114km) drive from Philadelphia.

$$$ Flanders Hotel, 719 E. 11th St. ( 609/399-1000; www.threflandershotel.com For vacation rentals, consult www.oceancitynj.com.

199

Raiatea & Tahaa

Secret Slices of Paradise

Bora Bora and Moorea may be the current darlings of French Polynesia, but for those who like to stay ahead of the curve, the Society Islands of Raiatea and Tahaa offer some less-touristed slices of paradise. Raiatea is the most sacred island in the South Seas, with the best-preserved archaeological site in Polynesia. Separated from Raiatea by a thin lagoon, the “vanilla island” of Tahaa is even more traditional, and is home to one of the most luxurious resorts in the region, Le Taha’a Private Island & Spa (see below). Caressed by omnipresent trade winds, both islands are dripping with enchanting lore and remain (unlike some of their Tahitian sisters) blessedly untouched by modern life.

Most people who visit Raiatea and Tahaa do so as a day trip or short excursion from nearby Bora Bora or Moorea (both of which are a 45-min. flight away). Though they’re technically two separate islands, a shared lagoon makes Raiatea and Tahaa function as a single destination with diverse and complementary attractions; their proximity has made their history and cultures inextricably linked.

One of the reasons Raiatea isn’t as well-known as its more famous neighbors in French Polynesia is that its lush and rocky coastline, however picturesque, has no sandy beaches. But don’t let this deter you—the waters around Raiatea and Tahaa are dotted with motus, tiny uninhabited islets that are the definition of tropical fantasy. (Seen on countless PC screensavers, your basic motu is a strip of sand, backed by a mound of green, punctuated by perfect palm trees, and surrounded by crystalline turquoise water.) Rent a motu for a few hours or the day, have a picnic, and act out your own episode of Lost, comfortable in the knowledge that someone will pick you up well before sundown.

But the highlights of visiting Raiatea and Tahaa aren’t limited to the sea and water-sports. The stone temple, or marae, at Taputapuatea is Raiatea’s spiritual treasure and the most extensive archaeological site in the South Seas, second in importance only to Easter Island . Set in a coconut grove on the shore of the lagoon, Taputapuatea is marvelously evocative of the pre-European era here. Raiatea’s Mount Temehani is not the island’s tallest peak (it’s 792m/2.598 ft. high) but its most sacred one. As the place where ancient Polynesians believe their souls ascended after death, the mountain is inextricably linked with Polynesian mythology. Mount Temehani is also the only place in the world where the fragrant tiare apetahi flower grows, its petals opening each morning with a crackling sound. Also on Raiatea, the Faaroa River is the only navigable waterway in French Polynesia, and trips along the river in powered outrigger canoes give you a glimpse of the island’s lush and mountainous interior.

A marae on Raiatea.

To the immediate north of Raiatea lies Tahaa. According to legend, Tahaa was detached from Raiatea by a sacred eel, and in the lagoon that separates the two islands are shipwrecks that divers and snorkelers can explore. Tahaa is commonly known as the “Vanilla Island” because of its many vanilla plantations—80% of Tahiti’s vanilla is grown here, and you can smell the richly aromatic bean being harvested all over the island. As on Raiatea, four-wheel-drive vehicles are the best way to discover all the hidden corners of the island and are easily rented in town. Ferries, informal charters, and water taxis operate shuttle services between Raiatea and Tahaa.

The deep-water harbors of Raiatea and Tahaa make both islands popular hubs for sailing—whether you bring your own vessel or begin a South Seas charter from here—as well as larger cruise ships, which dock periodically at the Gare Maritime in Utaroa, on Raiatea. When cruise ships are in port, thousands of passengers spill onto shore, inundating the islands. Try to plan your organized activities for days when cruise ships are not expected. —SM

www.raiatea.com.

Raiatea airport (served by interisland flights from Papeete, Tahiti; Bora Bora; Moorea; and Huahine).

$$$ Le Taha’a Private Island & Spa, Motu Tautau, Tahaa ( 800/657-3275; www.letahaa.com $$ Raiatea Lodge Hotel, Uturoa ( 689/600-100; www.raiateahotel.com).

200

Fiji

Bula Bula

For many travelers, Fiji is the quintessential South Pacific island. It’s the tropical paradise you imagine hitching a steamer trunk to escape to. The place you daydream about during long winter workdays. The island whose images of waving palm trees, beautiful beaches, and grass-skirted dancers are practically tattooed into the wanderlusting globe-trotter’s brain.

Well, guess what? Fiji lives up to its billing. Its coral reefs are rebounding after decades of rising ocean temperatures. Its beaches are as spectacular as ever. Fiji is safe, clean, and incredibly hospitable to visitors, and its tourism infrastructure is sophisticated and designed for ease of travel. The Fijian culture remains strong, built on family, ritual, and a sunny outlook. Everywhere you go, you’ll be greeted with a warm Fijian “Bula,” which can mean “cheers” or “welcome” or even a hearty “hello.”

This South Pacific island archipelago comprises some 333 islands, some of which are home only to traditional Fiji villages. Its two main islands are Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. Viti Levu is where Nadi, the gateway to Fiji (and the main airport) is located; here is where you’ll find hotels, restaurants, and shopping. On the northwest coast of Viti Levu is Yasawa, home to many of Fiji’s best beaches and resorts as well as transfers, by seaplane or boat, to other islands. The Mamanuca Islands are a beach and watersports paradise of coral reefs and shimmering blue seas. The Coral Coast is situated on Viti Levu’s western coast and contains many of the nation’s top resorts. It’s a colorful stretch of coastline, with blue lagoons and breathtaking beaches. Suva, Fiji’s capital, has a stately, vintage appeal, with Victorian architecture from its days as a colonial outpost. The Outer Islands are perfect specks of palm-fringed white beach dropped into the South Pacific waters (much of the movie Castaway was filmed on one of the Outer Islands). A day trip from Suva to Levuka, the country’s original capital, always highlights a visit to Fiji. The old town has retained its 19th-century appearance, and the backdrop of sheer cliffs makes it one of the South Pacific’s most beautiful places.

A visit to Fiji is as much about experiencing colorful Fijian culture as it is about perfect beaches and world-class watersports. Don’t leave without being entertained during a meke, where islanders wearing costumes of printed bark cloth (tapa) perform traditional songs and dance. Watching a Fijian fire-walking performance (actually a Hindu religious observance) is thrilling. And definitely attend a lovo, a traditional Fijian feast featuring a whole roast pig and food wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in an earth oven over hot stones. It’s the perfect example of South Seas hospitality. Bula! —AF

www.fijime.com.

Nadi.

$$ Rydges Hideaway Resort Fiji, Viti Levu ( 679/650-0177; www.hideawayfiji.com $$$ Turtle Island ( 800/255-4347 in the U.S., or 679/672-2921; www.turtlefiji.com

201

Bali

Island of the Gods

Indonesia

Bali is one of those enchanting island paradises that doesn’t seem diminished by modernity or rising tourism numbers. This Indonesian island, tucked between Java to the east and Lombok to the west, has even rebounded from the horrific bombings that shook it in 2002 and 2005. Today, some two million people visit Bali annually—it’s the country’s top tourist attraction, by far. But no matter how many people flock to Bali, it has managed to retain its peace-loving nature, deeply engrained culture, sanguine outlook, and enduring spirituality.

Bali’s distinctive civilization may have something to do with its isolation as a Hindu majority in a country that is the largest Muslim country on the planet. Of its population of three million people, more than 90% are Hindu. Ancient and modern temples dot the countryside (some 10,000 in all), and life in Bali revolves around Tri Hita Karana, a spiritual principle espousing the wisdom of maintaining a harmonious three-way balance between man and God and the environment.

But Bali is blessed with much more than a rich culture and benevolent spirituality. Simply put, Bali is one of the most beautiful places on earth. It has breathtaking beaches and steep mountain slopes, terraces embroidered with green rice paddies and lush vegetation. If you’re looking for a beautiful swimming beach with gentle surf, tawny sand, cinematic sunsets, and a mystical vibe, head to Sanur, on Bali’s south coast. If you’re looking for a little more wave action, head to Uluwatu, on Bali’s southern tip—it’s one of the world’s most famous surf spots, with awesome breaks in Temples, The Peak, and Race Track. On Bali’s western tip is Labuan Lalang, an uninhabited island with some of the best diving on Bali. Nearly 7,000 hectares (17,297 acres) of marine waters and pristine coral reef are protected as part of the Bali Barat National Park, including Menjangan Island. Ubud is a charming central town away from the coasts; it’s the island’s center of arts. Balinese arts are justly celebrated around the world; be sure to take in a Balinese dance performance, featuring beautifully costumed dancers.

Bali is a big island (5,633 sq. km/2,175 sq. miles), so if you want to explore as much as possible, you may want to rent a car. Many visitors hire a private taxi (car and driver/tour guide)—an inexpensive and enlightening way to experience the island through the eyes of an insider. Bike tours of rural Bali are popular; you pass villages, fields of rice, and coffee plantations, and sample Bali cuisine; a number of operators are based in Ubud. Try Happy Bike Cycling Tours ( 62/81/999-260-262; www.happybiketour.com or Banyan Tree Cycling Tours ( 62/81/338-798-516; http://banyantree.wikispaces.com). —AF

www.balitourismboard.org or www.indo.com.

Denpasar’s Ngurah Rai international airport (48km/30 miles).

$$$ Chedi Club at Tanah Gajah, Jalan Goa Gajah, Tengkulak Kaja ( 62/361/975-685; www.ghmhotels.com $$ Poppies Cottages, Poppies Lane I ( 62/361/751-059; www.poppiesbali.com).

202

Sumatra

Where History & Beauty Meet

Indonesia

Sumatra was once known as Swarnadwipa, the Sanskrit term meaning “Island of Gold,” for gold deposits found by the island’s first settlers, members of the Hindu empire of Srivijaya, who arrived in the 7th century. Over the centuries, other groups would try to claim this tropical paradise for their own, beguiled by its striking volcanic Barisan mountain chain, with peaks averaging over 610m (2,000 ft.). The highest peak rises over 3,658m (12,000 ft.) in the middle of the range. The mountains make a majestic backdrop for its lush rainforests, home to exotic animal species like tigers, elephants, and rhinoceros. Sumatra has the distinction of being both the largest island in Indonesia and the sixth-largest island in the world. Despite its geographical significance, it is less touristy than better known islands like Bali and Java , making it more of a bona fide getaway.

Although Hinduism dominated its early history, Islam began making inroads here during the 13th century. The first Europeans to settle were the Portuguese, who staked their claim in the 1500s. They were followed by the Dutch and English about a century later, and the Dutch influence can be seen in the architecture in the capital city of Medan. The Dutch struggled with the native Atjehnese, a Muslim tribe, in sometimes bloody battles. Another chapter opened during World War II, when Japanese forces commanded the island from 1942 to the end of the war. The island won its freedom from the Dutch in 1950, and was officially declared part of the Republic of Indonesia, but that did not spell an end to conflict; the Atjehnese led a rebellion in 1958, and tensions still sometimes flare up. Another factor to consider is the devastating earthquake that hit the island in October 2009. At press time, thousands were believed dead or missing and many buildings were leveled. It’s best to check on the current situation before planning a trip.

Once on the island, you could do worse than spend a day or two discovering the city of Medan and its environs. Medan is in North Sumatra, a province resplendent with rainforests, jungles, volcanic lakes, and lovely beaches. The town is notably home to the Museum of North Sumatra, which houses prehistoric artifacts that reflect the island’s changing leadership: Buddhist statues share space with weaponry and Arabic gravestones. Nearby Maimoon Palace is another example of the island’s history. It was built in 1886 by an architect blending Asian, Western, and Middle Eastern influences. Gang Bangkok Mosque—the oldest mosque on the island—is also worth a visit while you’re in the Medan area.

Be aware that Medan is a major port, home to more than two million people. If you want to get away from the crowds, I recommend renting a motorcycle or car and taking in the island’s natural glories beyond this port. Sumatra’s flora and fauna outside this hub make for breathtaking sights. The island is home to 10 national parks, including 3 that are listed as World Heritage Sites. You can climb smoking volcano craters in the town of Berastagi, or see an orangutan in the rainforest canopy of Bukit Lawang. The rainforests host unique species including the Rafflesia arnoldii, the world’s largest flower—just one of this island’s rare treasures. —JD

Tourist Office, Jl. Jend Ahmad Yani No. 107, Medan ( 62/61/453-8101).

Polonia International Airport.

$$ Grand Angkasa Hotel ( 62/61/455-5888; www.grand-angkasa.com). $ Tiara Medan Hotel ( 62/61/457/4000; www.tiarahotel.com/).

203

The World

A Global Archipelago

Dubai

Leave it to the Las Vegas of the Middle East to come up with the idea to build an artificial archipelago in the shape of the world map—but hey, if you’ve got the financial resources of Dubai, why not? The concept—to create from scratch some 300 islands that, pieced together and viewed from above, resemble the landmasses of planet Earth, and to give it the grandiose name “The World”—was dreamed up in 2003. The contract, with overall development costs estimated at $14 billion, was awarded to Dubai’s premier developer, Nakheel (the same group behind Dubai’s Palm Islands, man-made islands just off the mainland that form the shape of a palm tree trunk and fronds), and assembly of the islands of The World was completed in early 2008. At press time, construction was underway (but temporarily stalled) on the dozens of islands that have already been sold to investors worldwide for reclamation as glitzy shopping districts, resorts, and residential complexes.

The engineering behind the project, located just 4km (21⁄2 miles) off Dubai’s Jumeirah Beach, has been an enormous and ingenious undertaking (made somewhat easier by the relatively calm and shallow waters of the Persian Gulf—known in the Arab world as the Arabian Gulf). To form the ersatz archipelago, sand was dredged from the ocean floor and deposited in piles of appropriate size and shape. To create a stronger foundation for each island, and to promote the kind of lush vegetation that would attract investors, organic materials like plants and soil were mixed in with the sand that forms each island.

Including the wispy, man-made sandbars that are The World islands’ oval-shaped breakwater, the entire development occupies 9×6km (51⁄2×33⁄4 miles). The individual islands range in size from 2 to 8 hectares (5–20 acres), with anywhere from 50 to 100m (164–328 ft.) of seawater between them. To handle the flow of water traffic between The World and Dubai (a boat ride of under 10 min.), four transportation hubs have been set up within the archipelago and dubbed North (somewhere near London), South (Antarctica), East (Tokyo), and West (Los Angeles). For interisland transit, dozens of waterways and intricate right-of-way regulations have been established. There are no bridges to The World; it can be accessed only by sea or helicopter.

Unconfirmed reports hint at several celebrities buying into the development: Tommy Lee apparently expressed interest in purchasing Greece as a getaway for his ex-wife, Pamela Anderson. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have denied rumors that they put down a deposit on Ethiopia. With Dubai’s economy currently on the rocks, and much of the ambitious archipelago still for sale, now may be the time for you, too, to own a piece of The World—still priced out of most people’s budgets, they’re going for a mere $10 million and $45 million apiece.

To suit the project’s needs, the architects of The World have taken some liberties with the Earth’s geography. For instance, South America isn’t one big landform but rather a collection of more than 20 islands laid out next to each other. The channels that run between the islands allow for some nifty shortcuts that would actually work well in the real world, such as the waterway running straight from the Persian Gulf to the North Sea. Some further geological nit-picking: There are no towering sand dunes to replicate the Alps and the Himalayas, and no mechanism is in place beneath The World to re-create plate tectonics. Of course, climate can’t quite be reproduced on The World islands, either, and that means it’s all global warming, all the time: The temperature on the glittering sand beaches of Antarctica reaches an iceberg-scorching 40°C (104°F) in the summer.

Note: As of press time, the World Islands project was stalled—proving that even high-rolling Dubai could be affected by the global credit crunch. Though much of the land reclamation for the islands’ creation has been completed, construction on the islands has been halted for the time being. Developers still plan to carry out the project, though it may take a few more years. —SM

Island Hopping the Lofoten Islands: Midnight Magic

Imagine, if you will, a string of northerly isles where colorful fishing shacks stand against a backdrop of craggy granite cliffs, where red-cheeked children play in the shadow of rugged gray pinnacles. Beautiful and awe-inspiring, the Lofoten Islands are a Grimms’ fairy tale come to life.

The Lofotens are a remote island archipelago in the north Atlantic and a district in the county of Nordland, Norway. The landscape is breathtakingly cinematic, with ice-tipped peaks fringed by deep blue seas and a rocky shoreline fronted by sandy beaches. The Lofoten Islands stretch 250km (155 miles) south-southwest from the fjord of Ofoten to the outer Røst islands. Although the islands lie north of the Arctic Circle, the passing Gulf Stream keeps temperatures relatively mild. The air is fresh and clean, kissed by sea spray and Arctic breezes.

Hamnøy.

The main islands are Austvågøy, Gimsøy, Vestvågøy, Flakstadadøy, Moskenesøy, Varøy, and Røst. On the eastern coast of Austvågøy, Svolvær is the largest town in the archipelago. A Norwegian fjord, the Vestfjorden, separates the islands from the mainland. This body of water is the heart of the Norwegian cod fisheries. The world’s largest cod-fishing event, Lofotfiske (www.lofotfiske.net takes place between January and March. You can even stay in old traditional fishing cabins, here known as rorbuer. Many of these cabins hug the shoreline, built on stilts above the water’s edge. If fishing for monster cod is on your agenda, head to the old fishing camp of Henningsvar, with its quaint waterfront, rorbu cabins (www.henningsvar-rorbuer.no), and fish-drying racks—nicknamed “Lofoten’s cathedrals.”

In late autumn, when the herring return to the Vestfjorden for the winter, they are chased by between 500 and 700 hungry orcas, also known as killer whales. Orcas can grow up to 4 to 5 tons, live to be 60 years old, and hang out with their family their entire lives. (Well-mannered, too; they eat only one herring at a time.) You can take a “killer whale safari” to see these amazing animals up close with one of several outfitters, including Orca Tysford ( 47/75-77-53-70; http://tysfjord-turistsenter.no/safari), which takes visitors out on the sea by large boat or inflatable dinghy and—if you’re really crazy—lets you snorkel as a pod of killer whales passes by. GoArctic/Orca Lofoten ( 47/45-83-27-10; www.goarctic.no) offers “Nature, Seabird & Orca Excursions” from October to mid-January.

Perhaps the most dramatic experience in Lofoten is a tour over turbulent waters—the “Lofoten Maelstrom” (called the Moskestraumen by local fishermen), one of the world’s strongest tidal currents in open waters. The treacherous strait separating Moskenesøy from the offshore island of Varøy to the south has been called “the world’s most dangerous waters.” Take a ride on the Maelstrom—or just go fishing—with Moskstraumen Adventure ( 47/97-75-6021; www.lofoten-info.no/moskstraumen-adventure) in the town of Å.

There’s a lot of history in these stone mountains; human settlement traces back 6,000 years to Stone Age hunters. The Vikings built 10 to 15 chiefdoms in northern Norway during the Iron Age, one of them in the town of Borg on the island of Vestvågøy. Excavations in the 1980s uncovered the 6th-century remains of the largest building ever found in Europe from the Viking era; experts believe it was the home and farm of a rich and prosperous chieftain. Among the artifacts uncovered were goblets and pitchers, dinnerware, no doubt, for he-man Viking banquets. You can see these and the remains of the farm at the Lofotr Viking Museum ( 47/76-08-49-00; www.lofotr.no).

A fishing boat in the Lofotens.

All of the inhabited islands are linked by ferry. You can rent a car and cruise one of the great drives in the north of Norway: the E10, from Hamnøy in the extreme northeast of Austvågøy island to the southwestern tip of Moskenesøy; the region’s first ferry-free road connection with the mainland was completed along this route in 2007. But walking or cycling Lofoten’s beautiful little fishing villages is a fine way to appreciate the dramatic juxtaposition of gaily painted fishing shacks and sheer mountain cliffs—a scene reflected, for extra drama, in the glassy seas. Begin in the north at little Hamnøy and stroll south through Sakrisøy, Reine, Moskenes, and Sørvågen.

Dramatic scenery is not the region’s only natural draw. Here, in northern Norway, the skies give the mountains and the sea a run for their money. The aurora borealis (northern lights) paint the evening skies from September to April, and in the summer the Lofotens become the light-filled Land of the Midnight Sun. —AF

www.lofoten-info.no or www.visitnorway.com.

Bodø to Svolvær.

From Skutvik, take the 2-hr. ferry to Svolvær. Ferry information and reservations: Lofotens og Vesterålens Dampskibsselskab A/S (aka DDF; 47/94-89-73-34 or 47/81-03-00-00; www.ovds.no for reservations and information).

$$$ Anker Brygge, Lamholmen, Svolvær ( 47/76-06-64-80; www.anker-brygge.no). $$ Nusfjord Rorbu, Flakstadoy ( 47/76-09-30-20; http://nusfjord.no).

www.theworld.ae.

Dubai International Airport (15km/91⁄3 miles).

From Jumeirah Harbor or Umm Suqeim Harbor, about 10 min.

$$$ Emirates Towers, Sheikh Zayed Rd., Dubai ( 971/4/330-0000; www.jumeirahemiratestowers.com $$ Novotel, 2nd Zaabeel Rd., Sheikh Zayed Rd., Dubai ( 971/4/318-7000; www.novotel.com).

211

Sea Island

The 24-Carat Golden Isle

Georgia, U.S.

How much does it cost to vacation on Sea Island? If you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it—the island’s only hotel, The Cloister, is the poshest resort on the Georgia coast, with the rest of the island occupied by the vacation homes of some very serious movers and shakers.

Anybody can drive over to Sea Island, however, following the Sea Island Causeway from St. Simons Island, itself accessible by causeway from the mainland. Soon after you’ve reached the island, a left-hand turn will lead you up the Cloister’s main drive; continue along Sea Island Drive as it doglegs left and you can cruise along the beachfront, following Sea Island Drive, aka Millionaire’s Row. The wide-open view out over the Atlantic is breathtaking, and the lavish homes lining the road are pretty gape-worthy too.

While all of the nearby barrier islands—collectively known as the Golden Isles, for very good reason—boast exclusive resorts, The Cloister outdoes them all. Developed in the late 1920s, soon after causeways were built to connect the mainland to this flat, wind-swept spit of marsh and sand, the Cloister was always conceived of as a haven for the elite. The original hotel building, a stunning Addison Mizner structure in a jazzy Spanish-Moorish style, was replaced in 2006 by a new 175-room building that replicates the white stucco towers and red-tile roofs of the original. But that’s just the centerpiece of this sprawling palm-shaded resort, a vast landscaped compound with three 18-hole golf courses, three curvaceous outdoor pools, 10 tennis courts, riding stables, a shooting range, a yacht club, a full-service spa, extensive children’s programs, four restaurants, and a beach club presiding over a 5-mile-long (8km) strip of pristine sand. All rooms are exquisitely appointed, and the service is legendary; in 2009 four different components of the complex each won a Mobil Five-Star award. Book a meal at one of the restaurants (the Georgian is the resort’s haute cuisine star), even if you’re not staying here, to sample Cloister-style luxury.

Sea Island.

With the renovation, The Cloister developed more options for prospective guests—you can also stay at the Cloister Beach Club, set near the pools and beach, or The Lodge at Sea Island Golf Club, a faux–English manor perched on the edge of the Plantation golf course. Around a third of the island’s 600-some private homes—quaintly referred to as “cottages”—are also available for guests, with rental including access to all of the hotel’s considerable amenities. Though The Cloister has a devoted clientele, many of whom return year after year, the increased number of rooms has given the Cloister a little more negotiability on room rates than it once had. Scout around, and you just may find a vacation at Sea Island more affordable than you think. —HH

www.seaisland.com.

Savannah, Jacksonville, Brunswick Glynco Jetport, or McKinnon Airport on St. Simon’s Island (private jets only).

84-mile (135km) drive from Savannah or 18-mile (29km) drive from Brunswick.

$$$ The Cloister, 100 First St. ( 800/SEA-ISLAND [732-4752] or 912/638-3611; www.cloister.com).

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Jekyll Island

Welcome to the Club

Georgia, U.S.

Back in the late 19th century, only folks like the Vanderbilts and the Rockefellers—la crème de la crème—got to visit Jekyll Island. From 1886 to 1942, it was the private domain of the exclusive Jekyll Island Club, a society of such wealth and privilege that at one time its members represented one-sixth of the world’s wealth.

The rambling verandas and cream-colored stucco turrets of the Jekyll Island Club still stand—as the Jekyll Island Club resort—but nowadays the island is owned by the state of Georgia and open to all. In fact, Jekyll Island proudly refers to itself as a “public golf resort,” because its three championship golf courses (plus the club’s original 9-hole Great Dunes Course, a pitch-perfect imitation of a Scottish links) are available to anyone, not just resort guests, unlike on other coastal islands. (The three courses share a clubhouse at 322 Captain Wylly Dr.; 912/635-2368). The same is true of the 13 superb clay courts at the Jekyll Island Tennis Center, 400 Captain Wylly Dr. ( 912/635-3154). Once you’ve paid the $3 “parking fee” to cross the soaring causeway to the island, you’re as good as a member.

Set off the mainland just south of St. Simons Island and Sea Island , Jekyll Island also has 10 miles (16km) of beautiful white-sand Atlantic beaches, including three public beaches. It’s a typical Low Country landscape, full of gnarled oaks and towering palmettos and wetlands (nearly two-thirds of this little island is marshland), and a significant Audubon birding site on the Atlantic flyway (call  877-4JEKYLL [453-5955] or 912/635-3636 for details). The topography is flat, making it a great place to tour on secluded bicycle trails or on horseback gallops along the beach. And on a sweltering Georgia summer afternoon, what could be better than the waterpark Summer Waves, 210 S. Riverview Dr. ( 912/635-2074).

Jekyll Island Club.

Once you’re here, of course, it’s hard to resist gawking at the Gilded Age splendors that would have excluded you in another era. The Jekyll Island Club National Historic Landmark District covers 240 acres (97 hectares) of the island’s western side, where you can visit several of the showplace shingled “cottages” those tycoons of yore erected. Guided tours depart hourly from the Jekyll Island Museum on Stable Road ( 912/635-4036), including stops at the Rockefeller family’s Indian Mound Cottage and the du Bignon Cottage. Other cottages have been converted to art museums, including the Goodyear Cottage ( 912/635-3920) and Mistletoe Cottage ( 912/635-4092). Or check out the two-story ruin of Horton’s Brewery, founded on the northwest end of the island in 1742 by Georgia founding father General Oglethorpe. Its walls were built of colonial Georgia’s most typical building material, tabby, made of—what else?—the crushed shells of Low Country oysters. —HH

Tourist office, 901 Jekyll Island Causeway ( 912/635-3636). Jekyll Island Authority ( 877/4JEKYLL [453-5955]; www.jekyllisland.com).

Savannah, Jacksonville, or Brunswick Glynco Jetport.

90-mile (145km) drive from Savannah, 65-mile (105km) drive from Jacksonville, or 21-mile (34km) drive from Brunswick.

$$ Jekyll Island Club Hotel, 371 Riverview Dr. ( 800/535-9547 or 912/635-2600; www.jekyllclub.com $$ Jekyll Oceanfront Resort, 975 N. Beachview Dr. ( 800/736-1046 or 912/635-2531; www.jekyllinn.com).

213

Newport

Money Talks

Rhode Island, U.S.

Driving around Newport, I can’t help but gawp at the century-old mansions—Italianate palazzi, Tudor-style manors, faux French châteaux, all set in elegant formal landscaping, with imposing gates to keep out the hoi polloi (for example, you and me). It’s incredible to imagine the sort of wealth that built these homes, even more incredible to realize that these were just these families’ summer houses (offhandedly referred to as mere “cottages”).

Poised at the southern promontory of Aquidneck Island, set coolly adrift in Narragansett Bay, Newport has a quirky, independent history. Founded in 1639, it was an early haven for religious freedom; it has the nation’s oldest Jewish synagogue (85 Touro St.) and a Quaker meetinghouse founded in 1699 (Broadway and Marlborough sts.). But Newport was also at various times a pirate hide-out, the epicenter of the New England slave trade, and a major manufacturing spot for whale oil. The tony Newport we see took off only in the mid–19th century, when wealthy Southern planters began to build summer refuges on these breezy New England shores. Northern industrialists soon followed, and for several years the socialites vied to see who could build the grandest villas.

Many homes are still private property, but several are open to the public for guided tours. I’m partial to The Breakers (Ochre Point Ave.), a 70-room 1895 mansion designed for Commodore Vanderbilt by Richard Morris Hunt and patterned after Italian Renaissance palazzi. Hunt also designed the classically porticoed Marble House (596 Bellevue Ave.), modeled after Versailles’ Petit Trianon. The French chateau look is carried on at The Elms (567 Bellevue), an imposing golden-stone mansion with wonderful gardens. Rounding out the Bellevue Avenue lineup, Beechwood, 580 Bellevue Ave. ( 401/846-3772), was built for the famous Mrs. Astor, who personally maintained a list of who counted and who didn’t in New York and Newport society.

In the Gilded Age spirit of one-upmanship, New York Herald publisher James Gordon Bennett, Jr., in 1880 hired McKim Mead & White to design a club to outdo the reigning Newport Reading Club. His upstart Newport Casino—a rambling shingle-style edifice with dark-green turrets and verandas—provided a grass court for a novelty sport called lawn tennis; as the sport’s popularity skyrocketed, its national championship, first held here in 1881, eventually became the U.S. Open. The Horseshoe Court is still a working grass court (there’s also a walled court for court tennis, the nearly extinct ancestor of lawn tennis), and the elegant wood-paneled club rooms now hold the International Tennis Hall of Fame, 194 Bellevue Ave. ( 800/457-1144 or 401/849-3990; www.tennisfame.org).

Though in the 1960s it became connected to the mainland by the soaring Newport Bridge, Newport still gives off a country-clubbish summertime vibe, with sailboats and yachts bobbing in the harbor, and a string of arts festivals including the notable Newport Folk Festival and the JVC Jazz Festival. In the end, I always wind up driving or cycling along the coastal loop of Ocean Road, where the wide-open skies, empty sweeps of marshland, and salty breezes remind me why the wealthy came here in the first place. —HH

Tourist office, 23 America’s Cup Ave. ( 800/326-6030 or 401/849-8048 www.gonewport.com).

T.F. Green Airport, Providence (28 miles/45km).

$$$ Hyatt Regency Newport, 1 Goat Island ( 800/233-1234 or 401/851-1234; www.hyatt.com $$ Mill Street Inn, 75 Mill St. ( 800/392-1316 or 401/849-9500; www.millstreetinn.com).

TOUR Preservation Society of Newport County, 424 Bellevue Ave. ( 401/847-1000; www.newportmansions.org).

214

St. John

The Rockefeller Gift

U.S. Virgin Islands

Sleepy, laid-back, unspoiled St. John is the gem of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and intentionally so. The impetus originally came from Laurance Rockefeller, who bought up nearly half the island and in 1956 donated all the land to the United States; today two-thirds of the island and most of its offshore waters are protected as Virgin Islands National Park ( 340/776-6201; www.nps.gov/viis). Tropical greenery, dense with orchids, vines, and more than 140 species of birds, has grown over what was once a series of Danish-owned sugar plantations; expect to stumble upon charming ruins along its roughly 20 miles (32km) of hiking trails (the Annaberg Trail is a prime place to explore). You’ll come out suddenly upon panoramic views of turquoise waters so sparkling you’ll catch your breath.

Too small to have its own airport (something I consider a good thing), St. John is an easy 20-minute ferry ride from St. Thomas. You’ll arrive in its chief port and largest town, cruise ship–free Cruz Bay, a pastel-painted village so laid-back that the streets don’t even need names. Though the island’s resorts have some excellent high-end restaurants, eating in one of Cruz Bay’s casual open-air restaurants is a much more authentic West Indian experience. The island’s relative prosperity means that locals are invariably friendly and welcoming, with none of that uneasy haves/have-nots dynamic that can so easily sour an island paradise.

Those inviting turquoise waters inevitably make watersports some of the island’s chief attractions. One of my first snorkeling experiences ever was at Trunk Bay, where the National Park Service has set up the 675-foot (206m) Underwater Trail along a reef where undersea features are labeled with signs 5 to 15 feet (1.5–4.5m) beneath the water’s surface. For a novice like me, it was a fantastic way to learn various coral structures or the difference between a sea fan and an anemone. Bright parrotfish flit by, and if you’re lucky you may even spot hawksbill or leatherback sea turtles. More adept snorkelers can head for remote places like Waterlemon Cay, Salt Pond Bay, or Haulover Bay, where the snorkeling is a lot more challenging. Scuba diving, windsurfing, kayaking, deep-sea fishing, and sailing are also popular; equipment rentals are available from suppliers in Cruz Bay, in the Trunk Bay park visitor center, or in the higher-end resorts.

The full spectrum of accommodations is available on the island, from top-class resorts like refined Caneel Bay down to some of the Caribbean’s most comfortable and well-run campgrounds at Cinnamon Bay and Maho Bay, with several handy condos and charming bed-and-breakfasts in between. Reserve well in advance, however, for—by design—there’s a limited stock of rooms. Once you’re here, you’ll be oh so glad of it. —HH

St. John.

Tourist information, near the Battery in Cruz Bay ( 340/776-6450).

Cruz Bay, 20 min. from St. Thomas.

$$ Cinnamon Bay Campground, Cruz Bay ( 340/776-6330; www.cinnamonbay.com $$$ Westin St. John Resort, Great Cruz Bay ( 888/627-7206 or 340/693-8000; www.westinresortstjohn.com).

215

Pantelleria

An Exotic Black Rock Between Continents

Italy

As a warm-weather destination, it is, at first blush, a peculiar choice: Pantelleria’s black-lava coastline has zero sandy beaches (though the waters that surround it are calm and clean, and smooth volcanic rocks double as lounge chairs or diving boards) and little “scene” to speak of. Yet there’s no denying the quiet chicness and subtle exoticism of Pantelleria, and for much of Italy’s fashion set and intelligentsia, summering here, in a restored dammuso, is the epitome of the Mediterranean good life. Giorgio Armani was one of the first celebrities to buy property here, and he still comes back every year to Pantelleria, a place that, in many parts, looks like one of his magazine ads.

It may fly the flag of Italy, but Arab-inflected Pantelleria is cultural cross-pollination personified, one of those wonderful Mediterranean oddities that’s just remote, small, and strange enough to have stayed under the radar of mass tourism. Situated just 48km (30 miles) from the continent of Africa between Sicily and Tunisia, the island has been ruled by the Romans, the Arabs, the French, and the Turks over the centuries. Many villages of Pantelleria—Khamma, Rekhale, Bukkuram, Bugeber—still bear the names given them in the 9th century, when Arabs conquered this part of the Mediterranean and named the island Bent el Rhia (Daughter of the Wind). The island’s architectural hallmark, the dammuso, are dry masonry buildings (with a special domed roof for capturing rain on an island where fresh water is scarce) dating back at least a millennium. All in all, the man-made structures of Pantelleria have much more in common with the Middle Eastern desert than anything in Rome or Florence.

As for what to do on Pantelleria, the first thing is to rent a moped. The island’s rural 83 sq. km (32 sq. miles) are easily explored with two wheels and 125 cubic centimeters. While the coastal terrain is rocky and chiseled, it’s gloriously green and fertile farther in, with loamy volcanic soil ripe for both prized capers and the Zibibbo grape, from which the island’s famous passito dessert wine is made. A picturesque lake, the Specchio di Venere (Venus’s Mirror) is inland Pantelleria’s most popular attraction. Here, in waters given otherworldly shades of blue by the underlying volcanic sand, bathing in the purportedly therapeutic mud is a time-honored activity. On the southern part of the island, a lovely pine wood ends in a spectacular line of cliffs, known as Salto la Vecchia (the old jump), rising 300m (984 ft.) above the sea. Wine buffs shouldn’t miss a visit to the vineyards where passito and moscato are made. I like Donnafugata, on the northern coast ( 39/0923/915649; www.donnafugata.it).

After exploring Pantelleria from the land, take a boat tour around the island. Whether you rent your own small craft or hire a charter (both options are available at the village of Scauri), this is the best way to sample the island’s alluring coves and bathing spots. Pantelleria’s signature geological formation is called the Arco dell’Elefante, a natural arch of lava that resembles an elephant’s trunk, dipping into the sea. Island tradition has it that in times of drought, the good-natured elephant would use this trunk to procure water for the islanders. —SM

www.italiantourism.com.

Pantelleria.

From Trapani, ferries (7 hr.) operated by Siremar ( 39/0923/545455; www.siremar.it); hydrofoils (21⁄2 hr.) operated by Ustica Lines ( 39/0923/22200; www.usticalines.it).

$$$ Il Monastero ( 39/02/581861; www.monasteropantelleria.com).

216

St. Martin/St. Maarten

Two Nations on One Island

French St. Martin and Dutch St. Maarten share an island, an arrangement that’s worked out nicely for more than 300 years. In fact, this little 96-sq.-km (37-sq.-mile) island is the world’s smallest landmass shared by two sovereign states. Many colorful yarns have been spun about how the island was divvied up, but as with many places in the Caribbean that were fought over and traded and coin-tossed during the years of European colonization, the reality is probably too dull for legend. Today, if you’re not paying attention, you won’t even know you’ve crossed over from one side to the next—there’s no sign or gate or Customs to announce it for you. It’s that neighborly.

The differences are there, however. St. Maarten is much more Americanized, with comfortingly familiar fast-food restaurants and well-known hotel chains. English is spoken everywhere. As someone once said, St. Maarten is Caribbean 101 for those who prefer to ease into exotic locales. St. Maarten is more developed than St. Martin (some say too developed), and your first glimpse of the island (if you’ve arrived by plane) is a visual cacophony of casinos, high-rise hotels, and that irritating bugaboo of too much crammed into too small a space: traffic gridlock. Philipsburg, St. Maarten’s capital, is the cruise ship capital of the Caribbean and a duty-free paradise for shoppers looking for deals on jewelry, watches, and electronics. Philipsburg itself is much improved with its new boardwalk, which faces the sandy beach and the sea and the ruins of Fort Amsterdam, a 1631 garrison that was the Dutch’s first bastion of defense in the New World.

St. Martin is, on the other hand, determinedly French, from its French cafes and bistros to the quaint, innlike lodgings tucked up into hillsides that look out, French Riviera style, onto the sparkling Caribbean. People speak French (and English, bien sur), and the grocery stores sell French cheeses and wines and even French toiletries. St. Martin has in the little village of Grand-Case one of the top culinary towns in the region, with one restaurant after another perched beachside serving some of the best food on the island. The main town of Marigot has wonderful outdoor cafes around the waterfront and some serious shopping.

Of course, both sections of the island have beautiful beaches and wonderful spots to go swimming, snorkeling, sailing, or sunbathing. But perhaps my favorite spot on either island is another little island that lies in the French cul-de-sac just off Orient Beach, on St. Martin. It’s a 10-minute boat ride to the Ilet Pinel, a tiny, uninhabited isle that allows visitors during the day. It has a perfect lagoon, fringed with coconut palms, set on a crescent of beach with mist-shrouded hills in the distance. Sink into the clear, warm waters, and listen: no jet skis, no motorboats, no worries. It’s the Caribbean of your dreams. —AF

www.st-maarten.com or www.st-martin.org.

St. Maarten (Queen Juliana International Airport).

$$$ Hotel L’Esplanade, Grand-Case, St. Martin ( 866/596-8365 in the U.S.; www.lesplanade.com $ Mary’s Boon Beach Plantation, Simpson Bay, St. Maarten ( 599/545-7000; www.marysboon.com).

217

Montserrat

The Emerald Isle

Drinking green beer and tucking into corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day makes perfect sense if you’re in Dublin, say, or Manhattan . But celebrating St. Paddy’s on a Caribbean vacation? That’s blarney. A tropical island with more than a little Irish in its bloodlines, Montserrat is the only spot in the Caribbean where St. Patrick’s Day is a full-fledged public holiday. That’s because in the 17th century the island became a refuge for Irish Catholics who were forced to leave other Caribbean countries under the British flag. The culture that developed on Montserrat was largely informed by the Irish colonists who made their home here. Today, however, that culture is shot through with the singular sizzle of the West Indies—from reggae to pepperpot soup to calypso. It makes for an intoxicating stew.

This British Overseas Territory is one of the Leeward Islands, and on a clear day the folks in Antigua have a good view of the island’s undulating terrain. Ireland’s nickname, the Emerald Isle, easily applies here: Montserrat is lush and green, with emerald hills that rise seductively above the sea.

Most of the islands surrounding Montserrat are built on foundations of coral, accumulated slowly and methodically over time. Montserrat came into the world in a shudder of violence, when an undersea volcano split the sea bottom. In 1995, the Soufrière Hills volcano erupted, sending out a blinding ash cloud, raining lava onto the streets, and literally burying the island’s 2-centuries-old capital town, Plymouth.

Two-thirds of the island’s inhabitants were forced to flee, and Plymouth became a modern-day Pompeii, its buildings half-buried under volcanic debris and the town abandoned. The tourist industry was devastated (it had already been hard hit by Hurricane Hugo in 1989). Today Montserrat is still rebounding, which means that tourist facilities are not as developed as those of neighboring islands (the island has only one hotel but numerous guesthouses and villas), the pace is not nearly as frenetic, and the vibe is a lot more casual. All that makes this a lovely, laid-back, almost pastoral place to fully enjoy all that the Caribbean has to offer without the crowds and the big-ticket prices. You want beaches? Montserrat’s are made of soft gray volcanic sand and lapped by luscious aquamarine seas. Crave some serious diving or snorkeling? Surrounding coral reefs provide prime opportunities to see exotic sponges and corals, reef fish, and hrefty sea turtles. Plan an underwater outing with the Green Monkey Inn & Dive Shop ( 664/491-2960; www.divemontserrat.com).

Soufrière Hills volcano.

You can even do some volcano viewing. The Soufrière Hills volcano still sends out little spurts of steam; but it’s set well away from civilization, and the island has several prime vantage points from which to watch the action. If you’ve got weather-mad kids, be sure to visit the new interpretation center at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory ( 664/491-5647; www.mvo.com which has actual volcanic artifacts on display.

When you’re in Montserrat, be sure to try the national dish, goat water. It’s a local version of traditional Irish stew. And just so you don’t forget where the island’s roots are firmly planted, the folks at Customs stamp passports with a nice green shamrock. May the roads rise up to meet you when you come! —AF

www.visitmontserrat.com.

Antigua.

The sailboat Ondeck ( 268/562-6696; www.ondeckoceanracing.com leaves from Antigua; 4 hr.

$ Bunkum Beach Guest House ( 664/491-5348; www.bunkumbeachguesthouse.com $$ Tropical Mansion Suites ( 664/491-8767; www.tropicalmansion.com).

218

St. Kitts

Sweet Stuff

Sugar cane is the engine that drove the world economy in the 18th century, and this little Caribbean island was a sugar-production workhorse for its British overseers for many decades. At one time there were 68 sugar plantations chugging along on this 28-hectare (69-acre) island—built, of course, on the backs of slaves who were imported here to do the heavy lifting.

Today, the now-independent two-island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis has a rich sugar cane heritage that it has turned to its advantage. Many of the visitors who come to this island stay in captivating inns set in vintage plantation houses. The island has some 200 historic sites that date from the British settlement. The island’s capital, Basseterre, is a living-history tableau of British colonial architecture; the town square, known as the Circus, was a favorite post-dinner promenade spot for plantation owners. At the square’s center is the Victorian Berkeley Memorial Clock. And believe it or not, St. Kitts shut down its last sugar cane factory only in 2005. Fields of sugar cane still flourish next to crumbling stone windmills; some of that sweet stuff now goes into making rum—whether at the St. Kitts Rum Company or in moonshine stills—as well as the national drink, Cane Spirits Rothschild (CSR).

St. Kitts is twice the size of its sister island, Nevis, and has three times as many inhabitants, many of them descendants of the slaves brought to the island in the 18th century. But in comparison with other popular Caribbean islands, little St. Kitts is still at heart a sleepy tropical backwater—that’s part of its charm. It’s also one of the region’s friendliest spots; Kittitians are known for their laid-back geniality. Tourism is fast becoming the island’s number one industry, however: St. Kitts sees an increasing amount of cruise ship traffic into Basseterre harbor; it has one of only two ports in the Caribbean large enough to berth a ship the size of the Queen Mary II.

Like Nevis, St. Kitts has a surfeit of natural beauty: green volcanic hills rising from turquoise seas; lush vegetation and a profusion of colorful tropical blooms; and, of course, lovely beaches—some of the best for swimming and sunbathing are Cockleshell Bay, Banana Bay, South Friar’s Bay, and Frigate Bay. Scuba diving and snorkeling are popular activities; Pro Divers, in Basseterre ( 869/466-DIVE [466-3483]; www.prodiversstkitts.com offers PADI diver training and fun dives. Bluewater Safaris, in Bassetere ( 869/466-4933; www.bluewatersafaris.com does day sails, snorkel trips, sunset cruises, and fishing trips in customized catamarans.

A good way to get around the island is by rental car or taxi. Taxi drivers double as guides and are happy to give you the lay of the land; just be sure to settle on a flat fee before you head out on a 2-hour tour with the meter ticking. But perhaps the most fun way to see St. Kitts is a 3-hour scenic tour on the St. Kitts Scenic Railway (Basseterre; 869/465-7263; www.stkittsscenicrailway.com where railroad cars wind around mountain slopes, cruise past secluded black-sand beaches, and time-travel through fields of sugar cane, back 300 years to the days when sugar was king. —AF

www.stkittstourism.kn.

Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport.

$$$ Ottley’s Plantation Inn ( 800/772-3039 in the U.S. or 869/465-7234; www.ottleys.com $$$ Rawlins Plantation Inn ( 800/346-5358 in the U.S. or 869/465-6221; www.rawlinsplantation.com).

219

Paquetá

Colonial Brazil

Brazil

Join the boatloads of cariocas (cityfolk) who live and work in Rio de Janeiro for a relaxing day trip to Paquetá. You won’t hear car horns blaring on this 1-sq.-km (1⁄3-sq.-mile) island—cars are not allowed—but you will get a taste of 19th-century Brazil. Paquetá has changed little from its days as a pleasant retreat for the Portuguese aristocracy. The streets are filled not with the exhaust of car engines but the melodious clip-clop of horse-drawn carriages and parades of cyclists. Charming colonial buildings and historic homes are framed in cascades of bougainvillea. The island, once a plantation breadbasket for Rio, is lush with royal palm and coconut trees, breadfruit and mango groves, and the African tree baobab, an import known here as Maria Gorda (Fat Mary).

Paquetá is one of 130 islands in Guanabara Bay in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. The lovely beaches are the main draw—the island has 11 small stretches of sand. Although you may see locals swimming in the bay, you might want to reconsider joining them. Industrialization has polluted the waters, not only making swimming risky but also effectively ending a fishing trade that thrived for centuries. Still, sunbathing remains a popular activity, and the views of the bay and surrounding mountains are worth the trip alone.

In the early 19th century, the king of Portugal (and then Brazil), Dom João VI, had a summer home on Paquetá. He and his family had been exiled to Rio in 1807 in the wake of France’s invasion of Portugal. In an odd twist, his own sons would help lead the rebellion in Brazil that won the country’s independence from Portugal in 1825; his eldest son, Pedro, became Brazil’s first emperor.

The quietest and nicest times to visit Paquetá are from April to November, which is winter in Brazil. Weekends are the busiest times on the island, when families fill the ferries that leave from Rio’s Praca XV; both 80-minute ferries and fast ferries (hydrofoils) make daily runs to and from the island. Cars are not allowed on the island, so you get around on foot, by renting a bike at one of the many suppliers on the island, or by hiring a horse and buggy for an old-fashioned tour. Paquetá’s big event is St. Peter’s Festivity, honoring the patron saint of fishermen; St. Peter’s remains a major celebration despite the decimation of the fishing industry. —AF

www.ilhadepaqueta.com.br/paqueta.htm.

Rio de Janeiro.

Barcas S/A ( 800/704-4113 [Brazil]; regular ferry [1 hr.], 55/21/2533-7524; fast ferry, 55/21/2533-4343; www.barcas-sa.com.br).

$$ Hotel Farol ( 55/21/3397-0402; www.hotelfaroldepaqueta.com.br). $$ Hotel Lido ( 55/21/3397-0182; www.hotellido.portalpaqueta.com.br).

220

Gorée Island

House of Slaves

Senegal

Tourism has its darker, more contemplative sides. There’s grief tourism, where people make pilgrimages to scenes of unimaginable tragedy. War tourism encompasses a range of destinations, from battlefields to concentration camps. Here on Gorée Island another sort of pilgrimage is played out daily, when travelers come to honor the millions of West Africans who were forced into slavery hundreds of years ago.

Now a World Heritage Site, Ile de Gorée lies just 3.2km (2 miles) from the west coast of Dakar, the capital of Senegal. It’s the country’s top tourist destination, and its playful charm is drawn from the saucy mix of Senegalese and French colonial cultures. It’s a tiny, picturesque place with sun-dappled palms and fading colonial architecture. For many Senegalese, it’s a tranquil respite from the urban jungle of Dakar.

But Gorée Island is best known for its place in history: as a port of call for the slave trade during its heyday in the 18th century, when 10 to 15 million African slaves were shipped out of West Africa to the Americas. The island’s most famous historic attraction is the Maison des Esclaves (House of Slaves), the first thing you see when you ferry in to the island harbor. This reconstructed late-18th-century structure is billed as a holding place where slaves were imprisoned before their journey overseas. It has a fortresslike exterior; you cross through a “Door of No Return” to an interior with twin stone stairs, thick walls, forbidding basement cells, and an aura of gloom.

It turns out, however, that Gorée’s role in the Atlantic slave trade may be much less significant than earlier believed, and the story behind the “House of Slaves” may be nothing but a fanciful tale. Historian Philip Curtin contends that the island was too small and too inconveniently located to have played a major role in the slave trade, exporting no more than 200 to 300 slaves a year in important years and none at all in others. This is in contrast to nearby Saint-Louis , where the lucrative business of slave trading was conducted briskly, with some 10,000 slaves processed annually. Scholars also debate whether the House of Slaves—actually a wealthy traders’ home—was ever a holding cell for slaves in transit. No matter: Some 200,000 people visit Gorée and the House of Slaves every year, including heads of state (George Bush, Pope John Paul II, Bill Clinton) and dignitaries from around the globe. Its importance as a pilgrimage site for the descendants of slaves and as a symbol of the brutal slave trade remains undiminished.

First settled in 1444 by the Portuguese (whose explorers conceived of the slave trade), Gorée was later held by the Dutch and the British before the French—who had settled on nearby Saint-Louis—wrested control in the late 1600s. The island would remain under French control for nearly 300 years until Senegal achieved independence in 1960.

Connected to the mainland by a 20-minute ferry, Gorée Island is an easy day trip destination from Dakar. Pick up a self-guided walking-tour map from the dockside Syndicat d’Initiative (see below) and stroll the narrow streets of gaily painted brick houses with wooden shutters and roofs of red clay tile. It’s quiet and peaceful—the island has no cars or trucks—a fitting memorial to a tumultuous time. —AF

Syndicat d’Initiative ( 221/823-91-77).

Dakar.

Dakar (20 min., pedestrian only).

$ Hostellerie du Chevalier de Boufflers ( 221/822-53-64).

221

Saint-Louis

French Kiss

Senegal

Saint-Louis is one of those exotic and quixotic places that can seem a tangle of contradictions. This French colonial city is set down on the sandblasted plains of the West African sub-Sahara. Here, bougainvillea spills over pastel walls with peeling French lettering; goats scratch in the dirt for food. Colorful houses with wrought-iron balconies seem plucked straight out of New Orleans’s French Quarter; other architectural relics crumble with decay. Under palm trees and feathery ferns, vendors sell fruit from wooden carts; a block away you can buy pastries at a storefront patisserie. Locally caught prawns and crawfish are served in an elegant sauté of butter and pastis.

Saint-Louis’s faded grandeur belies its heritage as one of the most important and powerful cities in West Africa, the first French settlement in Africa and a vital trading center, through which flowed gold from Ngalam, gum arabic from the Sahelian steppes, and ivory from the Sudan. It was the center of French culture in Africa, but it was also a major crossroads for slave traffic. It’s believed that as many as 10,000 slaves a year passed through the island in the 18th century, many of them routed from the African interior to the Americas.

Founded by French colonists in 1659, the island was baptized Saint-Louis-du-Fort to honor the French king Louis XIV. By the late 1700s, the city was inhabited by 10,000 people. Intermarriages between French traders and freed slaves produced a class of Creoles known as the Métis. The Métis women, known as signares, were famously beautiful and famously industrious. Saint-Louis was named the capital of Senegal in 1872, but its decline began soon after; Dakar replaced it as capital in 1958. Today this remarkable collection of original colonial architecture has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

The geography of the island is just as remarkable as its history. Saint-Louis is ringed by the Senegal River, but the Atlantic Ocean is only a narrow spit of land away. Little more than a dune bordered on either side by tawny beaches, the Langue de Barbarie—some 25km (16 miles) long—is all that separates the river Senegal and the roaring Atlantic. As a result, Saint-Louis is very much a seafaring and fishing center. (The city itself sprawls beyond the island, where its center lies, to the mainland.) This proximity to so much water also means that this low-lying area—including the old city—is under serious threat from rising sea levels.

The island lies in the Sahel, a desert zone that separates the dry Sahara from the wet savanna. In the dry season, the island is swept by sandstorms; in the wet season, tidal pools become fertile feeding grounds for flamingos and other birds (in fact, the world’s third-largest ornithological park, the National Park of the Birds of Djoudj, lies 60km/37 miles north of Saint-Louis). When the pools dry up, the salt that remains is raked and sold at market.

You reach the city of Saint-Louis from mainland Senegal by walking or driving over the Pont Faidherbe, a 19th-century cast-iron bridge said to have been built to drape over the Danube but shipped here instead. The best way to see the town and such historic buildings as the Cathedral—a handsome 1828 neoclassical building that was the first church in West Africa—is on foot. You can pick up a walking-tour map of the town at the Initiative Syndicate of Saint-Louis (see below). —AF

Syndicat d’Initiative Office de Tourisme de Saint-Louis
BP, 364 Saint-Louis du Sénégal
 ( 221/339-61-24-55; www.saintlouisdusenegal.com).

Dakar.

5-hr. drive from Dakar.

$ Hotel de la Residence ( 221/339-61-12-60; www.hoteldelaresidence.com Hotel du Palais ( 221/339-61-17-72; www.hoteldupalais.net).

222

Lamu

Exotic Enclave

Kenya

If it’s your first time traveling to Africa, do the obvious: Go on a safari. And if, after you’ve seen the lions, rhinos, and elephants, the special history and culture of the continent gets under your skin, consider a different, nonzoological type of African destination the next time around. For many, mostly European habitués, that destination is the island of Lamu. Just 2 degrees south of the Equator, off the east coast of Kenya, Lamu is a place that seems stuck in time. For centuries, it was a bustling Indian Ocean port of call and an important link in the spice trade, and that atmosphere is totally palpable here today. Lamu is like an exotic stage set that also happens to have amazing beaches.

The streets of Lamu are quiet, cool, and car-free, lined with thick-walled white stone buildings, their arches and decorative cutouts evoking the centuries of Muslim influence here: Lamu was founded by Arab traders in the 1400s. Virtually every house has a roofed veranda on the top floor. The entire island has one proper town—the busy Lamu Town, which, as the oldest and best-preserved Swahili settlement in East Africa, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Monuments here include the turreted Lamu Fort and Riyadha Mosque (both from the 19th c.), but the most interesting sights are the much more ancient, nameless traditional houses, some of which date back to Lamu Town’s 14th-century foundations. Elsewhere on the island, there are a handful of lesser villages; one of the most well known for visitors is Shela. Here, guesthouses line gorgeous golden sandy beaches where traditional dhows and brightly colored fishing boats with names like Beyonce loll in the surf. Dolphins swim in the waters offshore, and you’ll probably meet a few when you’re out for a dip. There isn’t a single automobile on the island; instead, you’re shuttled around by boat, donkey, or scooter when you aren’t using your own two feet.

There may be donkey droppings in the streets and Swahili spoken in the markets, but Lamu tourism is an exclusive affair. Some of the most famous families in the world have holiday property here, and for all the island’s African authenticity, the cuisine on Lamu is surprisingly inflected by haute-European culinary trends. With its beautiful, simple architecture (most is Swahili, from the 19th c.), gorgeous people (a mix of African and Arab ethnicities), and rich heritage, relaxing Lamu is a magnet for well-heeled travelers looking for something with more cultural cache than the been-there, done-that south of France.

What makes Lamu so attractive—that it’s completely exotic and romantic, without the blight of extreme poverty that plagues so much of Africa—is also what makes vacationing here a surreal and perhaps even guilt-ridden experience. Going for drinks at the friendly and fabulous colonial-style Peponi Hotel (where everybody meets at some point while on Lamu), you might well rub elbows with princes (or Prince himself), and revel in the absurdity of finding such glamour here, a place whose economy hinged for centuries on the slave trade, while just across the water is an entire continent struggling to meet basic human needs.

Getting to Lamu involves flying first to Nairobi, and from Nairobi, catching a small plane to Manda Island. (For a lot more money, you can also fly to Lamu itself, where there’s an airstrip served by small charter planes from Nairobi.) Because Lamu isn’t easy to reach, and because its rhythms take some time to get to know, it’s the kind of place you should plan to visit for at least a week. —SM

A mosque on Lamu.

www.magicalkenya.com.

Lamu airport (all international flights connect through Nairobi).

25-min ride from Manda Island.

$$$ Peponi Hotel, P.O. Box 24 ( 254/020/8023655; www.peponi-lamu.com).

223

Isla Contadora

The Pearl of Panama

The Pearl Islands, Panama

For some U.S. audiences, the name “Pearl Islands” conjures one image: that of CBS reality show Survivor, which was shot here in 2003. Although development is still minimal in this archipelago sprinkled throughout the gulf of Panama, it’s also a place where comfortable hotels and tourist services have grown up amid the jungle vines, and where you can have a slightly less tribal experience than what the contestants of Season 7 had to deal with. The “resort island” of Contadora has the most amenities of the 200-plus Pearl Islands, though it’s by no means luxurious or sophisticated. Anyone seeking a truly cushy getaway would do well to seek out another Central American destination. The advent of the resort business has not diminished the local spirit of Isla Contadora, and it’s still the Pearl Islands’ top destination for an authentic Panamanian experience.

Contadora’s principal attractions are its beaches, a dozen public stretches of sand where sunbathers laze and snorkelers strap on gear to explore the offshore reefs. High tide and low tide can vary by up to 5m (16 ft.) of water depth off Contadora, so the snorkeling is decidedly better during low tide. Close to the beaches of Playa Larga and Playa Sueca (the only nude beach in Panama), you can often spot sea turtles and sharks—some startlingly large, up to 4m (13 ft.) long. A number of species wiggling in the reef here are venomous, so before you set out, it’s essential to familiarize yourself with anything that could be harmful.

Besides its sand and sea, Contadora has a palm-treed golf course where you can play under the steamy Panamanian sun. Beyond that, don’t expect too much culture here: Contadora has no ruins or historical sites, and bugs are omnipresent. But its people are warm and welcoming, and it’s a great place to unplug from civilization for a few days or a week. As you wander around the island, which can be traversed on foot in about an hour, you’ll pass the ritzy vacation homes of wealthy Panamanians who come here to escape their daily rigors. And, of course, if you’re inclined to relive a slice of Survivor: Pearl Islands, you can always grow out your hair and invent an “immunity challenge” for your traveling companions. Contadora has plenty of rustic landscapes that look the part.

On the flight into Contadora from Panama City (which is how most foreign visitors arrive), be sure to get a window seat: The flight takes you right over the Panama Canal, where you can get a fascinating aerial view of ships negotiating the passage and the elegant mechanics of the canal locks. You’ll also get a sweeping panorama of the hundreds of other, as yet uninhabited, Islas de las Perlas. —SM

www.visitpanama.com or www.thinkpanama.com.

Contadora airport (20-min. flight from Panama City).

$$ Punta Galeon ( 888/790-5264 in the U.S. or 507/250-4220; www.puntagaleonhotel.com).

224

Andaman Islands

Escape from the Modern World

India

For a vacation that blends tropical relaxation and edifying colonial history all at a very affordable price, the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean’s Bay of Bengal are a very attractive spot. They also have the added cachet of being a far-flung, authentic destination where Western-style tourism has yet to arrive.

The Andaman Islands—around 550 in the archipelago, of which 26 are inhabited—are historically and politically part of India, though ethnically, they do not belong to the subcontinent. Until recently, the population consisted of mostly aboriginals. Geographically, the islands are much closer to Thailand and Myanmar than to India, with a similar landscape of long, sandy beaches backed by dense rows of palm trees, mangroves, and, in the interior, lush rainforests exploding with tropical flora and fauna.

The city of Port Blair is the Andamans’ capital, located on the 1,536-sq.-km (593-sq.-mile) Middle Andaman Island. Though the historic urban core of Port Blair is busy and dirty, there are plenty of worthwhile tourist attractions within a short drive or boat ride. Just 9km (52⁄3 miles) from the city, Corbyn’s Cove is a classic palm-fringed beach ideal for swimming and sunning in the balmy waters of the Bay of Bengal. The best nature trail in the vicinity is on Mount Harriet, where you can trek for 5km (3 miles) among lush tropical vegetation, butterflies, and birds. Offshore, divers and snorkelers will find one of the richest coral ecosystems in the world, where a vast array of tropical fish swim along the colorful reefs. A bit farther out, the waters teem with sharks, including hammerheads, nurse sharks, and leopard sharks. Sport-fishing excursions allow tourists to try their hand at reeling in a big-game prize like tuna or marlin.

Though most vacationers prefer to spend their time on the beaches and wildlife areas of the island, Port Blair city offers several historical sights that should not be missed, including the infamous Cellular Jail, where British authorities imprisoned and executed freedom fighters during the Indian struggle for independence, when the Andamans were used as a penal colony. A steamer cruise along the harbor is one of the best ways to take in the panorama of the old port town.

Port Blair is often visited in conjunction with Havelock Island (57km/35 miles away by ferry), a smaller island where ecotourism is being heavily promoted. Havelock’s “Beach No. 7,” also known as Radhanagar Beach, is one of Asia’s most stunning. Another island that’s a short hop from Port Blair is Ross Island, which was the British headquarters in the Andaman Islands prior to Indian independence. The island is now a wildlife lover’s dream, with wooded nature walks and resident species of exotic birds. Chidiya Tapu (31 km/19 miles from Port Blair), also known as “Bird Island,” is covered in mangroves and has a lovely west-facing beach with spectacular sunsets.

Part of the Andamans’ appeal is how untouched by modern life they remain. Western tourists do not come to the Andaman Islands in large numbers, so expect that some facilities may be a bit more primitive than those found in more developed parts of the world. —SM

www.andamanisland.com.

Port Blair airport (via domestic Indian airlines from mainland cities Chennai and Kolkata).

$$ Megapode Nest, Haddo, Port Blair. $$$ Sinclairs Hotel Bayview, South Point, Port Blair ( 91/3192/227824; www.sinclairshotels.com).

TOUR Andaman Holidays ( 91/3192/234924; www.andamanholidays.com).

225

Koh Tonsay

Sandy Retreat from Culture

Cambodia

For a well-rounded Cambodian holiday, first go the temples at Angkor Wat, then tour the city of Phnom Penh, and then kiss the cultural overload goodbye with some deserved beach time on the country’s southern coast. The tiny, practically deserted island of Koh Tonsay, just south of the resort town of Kep, is Cambodia’s best-kept secret for seaside relaxation among the natural splendor of the Gulf of Siam.

Koh Tonsay, which means “Rabbit Island” in Khmer, though the etymology is disputed, is most commonly visited as a day trip from Kep, but if you’re looking for a real back-to-basics getaway, consider spending several days here. The island covers barely 2 sq. km (3⁄4 sq. miles) and remains blessedly primitive. There are no cars or motorbikes on Koh Tonsay, and a generator provides electricity from 6 to 9pm only. The only residents of the island are seven families who make their living from fishing and coconut farming. So why come here? For the beaches. Koh Tonsay’s two main stretches of white sand are absolutely pristine and usually empty, and the shallow, calm waters are a shade of turquoise that makes for some glorious, I’m-in-paradise swimming. All in all, this couldn’t be farther from the overwhelming sense of cultural obligation at Angkor Wat.

If you do decide to extend that day trip from Kep, bamboo huts on stilts near the beach are the only overnight option on Koh Tonsay. Your shower and toilet might be outside on the sand, but the units are a bargain at about $7 per night. In the evening, don’t miss a chance to go swimming in the bioluminescent waters off the island, where plankton emit glowing phosphorous, creating a twinkle on the water that perfectly reflects the millions of stars in the unpolluted sky overhead. Simple restaurants on the island are run by local fishermen and their families, who literally pluck your seafood out of the water minutes after you order.

Kep, the base for travel to Koh Tonsay, is notable in its own right for its history as a retreat for wealthy French-Cambodians in the 1920s—though many of the Art Deco villas there still bear the scars of Khmer Rouge destruction, it’s a charming base for exploring southern Cambodia. The 20-minute longboat hop from Kep to Koh Tonsay covers only 5km (3 miles), but once you reach those coconut-lined island shores, you’re a world away from civilization, eastern or otherwise. Enjoy it while you can, because some southeast Asian travel mavens warn that it’s only a matter of time before Koh Tonsay becomes another overdeveloped resort like Thailand’s Phuket. —SM

www.thaigov.go.th or www.tat.org.

Phnom Penh (148 km/92 miles), then bus (4 hr.) and private boat.

$ Bamboo Huts, Koh Tonsay (no phone or website; inquire in Kep). $$ Champey Inn, 25 av. de la Plage, Kep ( 855/12/501-742).

226

The South Island

The Kiwi Playground

New Zealand

Cloven in half by narrow Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand has something of a split personality. Though the South Island is larger by far than the North Island , it only has one-fourth of North’s population—which gives it a lot more room for natural beauty and invigorating sports adventures. On successive days you can surf off a golden-sand beach, sail up a misty fiord, and ski down the face of a glacier; and you can backpack through green misty wilderness for days, then sip sauvignon blanc at posh wineries.

Most visitors fly into Christchurch, known for its formal gardens and graceful Victorian architecture. If you’re an oenophile, however, take the ferry from Wellington right into the quaint waterfront village of Picton, a handy jumping-off point for the Marlborough wine region, where more than a hundred wineries produce easily half of New Zealand’s wine output, and the top-end half at that. Contact Marlborough Wine Tours ( 64/3/578-9515; www.marlboroughwinetours.co.nz) to arrange a tour. North of wine country, one of the jewels in the national park system, Abel Tasman National Park, hugs a dramatic stretch of balmy coast, a great place for sea kayaking and hiking. Abel Tasman Wilson’s Experiences ( 64/3/528-2027; www.abeltasman.co.nz) can arrange journeys there.

Fly into Queenstown, in the island’s midsection, if you have a yen for adrenaline sports—bungee jumping, hang gliding, sky diving, rock climbing, hot-air ballooning, white-water rafting, the whole shebang. Skiers flock here from around the world in winter, that is, June through September, when the northern hemisphere’s snows have disappeared (check out www.nzski.com for the skiing lowdown). Unfortunately, the word is out about Milford Sound, that stunning narrow 22km-long (14-mile) fiord off the Tasman Sea that’s now jampacked with daylong bus tours from Queenstown. Base yourself instead in the charming lakeside resort of Te Anau, where your drive to Milford Sound is a dramatic 2-hour adventure through the primeval landscape that director Peter Jackson captured in Lord of the Rings—vertiginous waterfalls, pristine lakes, virgin forest, and steep peaks surrounding deep-gouged fiords. Vast Fiordlands National Park has several breathtaking long-distance hiking trails: the Milford, the Hollyford, the Kepler, and the Routeburn tracks. The classic 53km (33-mile) Milford Track walk takes 4 days, but Trips ’n’ Tramps ( 64/3/249-7081; www.milfordtourswalks.co.nz) offers guided 1-day samples.

The entire west coast, in fact, seems like one huge parkland. North of the Fiordlands, the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers in Westland National Park, State Hwy. 6 ( 64/3/751-0807; www.glaciercountry.co.nz), plunge spectacularly to the sea, and make this a superb place for guided walks and heli-hikes. Inland, New Zealand’s highest mountain, snowcapped Mount Cook, is a magnet for skiers and mountaineers (Sir Edmund Hillary trained here before climbing Mount Everest). Try a half-day hike on the Hooker Valley trail in Mount Cook/Aoraki National Park ( 64/3/435-1186; www.doc.govt.nz): You’ll cross two swinging bridges over gorges, pass two pristine lakes and alpine meadows full of wildflowers, cross a boardwalk over boggy tussocks, and wind up right at the frosty face of a glacier. That’s South Island in a nutshell for you. —HH

Fiordlands National Park.

www.purenz.com.

Christchurch or Queenstown.

$$ Glencoe Lodge, Terrace Rd., Mount Cook Village ( 64/3/435-1809; www.mount-cook.com $$ Milford Sound Lodge, Hwy. 94, Te Anau ( 64/3/249-8071; www.milfordlodge.com).

TOUR Canterbury Trails ( 64/3/337-1185; www.canterburytrails.co.nz). Real Journeys ( 64/3/249-7416; www.realjourneys.co.nz).

227

Taiwan

Unexpected Splendors Beyond Taipei

Let’s face it: Taiwan doesn’t generally leap out as a vacation destination. Chances are your notion of Taiwan (which is technically part of China) is that of a densely urban island, its streets clogged with traffic and garish neon lights, leading to a sprawl of semiconductor factories. Well, there’s that, but there’s also the other 95% of Taiwan, which holds some eye-popping surprises for visitors.

Dubbed Ilha Formosa (“the beautiful island”) by Portuguese sailors in the 16th century, Taiwan is striking and steep, with hills and mountains accounting for two-thirds of its area. Those dramatic landscapes are traversed by scenic highways that can be traveled with your own car, or for far less hassle, by coach bus (ask for a kuokuang ticket when booking, as this will ensure a more comfortable ride and timely schedule). By far the most popular natural attraction is Taroko Gorge, an out-of-this-world mix of marble and red-rock canyons, crystalline water, and lush vegetation.

Trains are a romantic way to get around, since the country has many original 19th-century depots. Taiwan’s premier train experience is the Alishan Forest Line, a narrow-gauge alpine railway that chugs to the top of Alishan National Scenic Area with spectacular vistas of the sunrise, the sunset, or the sea-of-clouds phenomenon hanging over the dense trees below. Taiwan Railway Administration offers special tourist trains that include accommodations; you’ll ride in fancy salon and dining cars, where guests can even sing karaoke.

The ancient city of Tainan is Taiwan’s cultural capital, with hundreds of temples and almost constant festivals. Within easy day trip distance of Taipei, mountainous Wulai has stunning waterfalls and breathtaking panoramas from its cable car. For the Taiwanese version of a gold rush town, visit the old mining town of Chiufen, whose traditional architecture and teahouses feel like a time warp. Hot springs are abundant in the geological hot spot of Taiwan, and you’ll find no shortage of hotel-resorts where you can soak in the therapeutic waters: Two of my favorite areas are Chihpen and Taian. Kenting National Park at the southern tip of Taiwan and the Penghu archipelago (to the west) are Taiwan’s no-brainer choices for beaches and watersports. Parts of the island were hard hit by Typhoon Morakot in 2009 and, at press time, several villages in southern Taiwan were still recovering from the devastating floods and landslides.

The throbbing capital of Taipei may not inspire love at first sight, but there’s still good reason to give this dynamic metropolis some of your time. The food, for one, is irresistible, whether at proper restaurants or (even better) at roadside vendors, from dumplings to crab cakes to seafood stews. Without a doubt, the cultural trove of Taipei is the National Palace Museum ( 886/2/2881-2021; www.npm.gov.tw), where in 1949 the Kuomintang installed the 10th-century treasures from Beijing’s Forbidden City. The collections here—600,000 artifacts, estimated to be 10% of China’s artistic wealth—are so vast that only 1% are on display at a time. Another highlight in the capital is the ascent to the top of Taipei 101 Tower ( 886/2/8101-8899; www.taipei-101.com.tw), currently the tallest skyscraper in the world (though another contender in Dubai will surpass it in late 2009). Taipei 101’s segmented shape recalls telescoping pagodas, or a bamboo stalk, or stacked Chinese takeout boxes of glass and steel. —SM

www.go2taiwan.net.

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei.

$$$ Landis Taipei, 41 Min Chuan E. Rd., Section 2, Taipei ( 886/2/2597-1234; http://taipei.landishotelsresorts.com).

228

Ischia

The Green Island

Italy

Capri may have the fame and notoriety, but beautiful Ischia is bigger, less crowded, and more reasonably priced than its swanky neighbor to the southeast. Pronounced Ish-kee-ah, this rocky volcanic island is 10km (61⁄4 miles) long and 7km (41⁄3 miles) wide. Its long and sometimes turbulent history owes much to a strategic location in the Gulf of Naples along the Amalfi Coast as well as the presence of healing thermal springs, which have drawn visitors for centuries. Over the years, Ischia has been ruled by the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, barbarians, and various pirates and privateers.

Ischia is known as the “Emerald Island” for its moss-backed volcanic curves, hillside vineyards, and groves of scented pines. Flowers bloom spectacularly in the rich volcanic soil. Whereas Capri is jet set (Jackie O bought her first set of capri pants here), Ischia is laid-back and bucolic. It was not really a tourist destination until the 1950s, when folks escaping the hordes on Capri were casting about for another beautiful island to conquer. Even now, with tourism the main industry, the island is not nearly as crowded as Capri in the height of summer.

Some people like to hit Capri, just 30km (19 miles) away, for a couple of days and then settle in on Ischia for the rest of the week. Many Western Europeans come to Ischia specifically for its health spas, the centerpiece of which are the hot springs and volcanic mud warmed by volcanic gases rising up from deep below the island’s long-dormant volcano, Monte Epomeo, which last erupted in the 14th century.

The island also has lovely sandy beaches, including a few where seawater and hot springs commingle for a double-tonic effect. Most of the activity is concentrated in Ischia Porto, around the main harbor (porto means harbor), and Ischia Ponte (ponte means bridge), by the bridge to the island promontory that flanks a small natural harbor. The promontory was the site of the original settlement, fortified by a castle erected as far back as the 5th century b.c. The castle, Piazzale Aragonese, Ischia Ponte ( 39/081/992834; www.castellodischia.it) you see today was built by the Aragonese over the ruins of the earlier fortifications. You can climb up for panoramic views of the stunning coastal landscape, with glittering blue seas guarded by rugged volcanic cliffs.

The public bus system SEPSA ( 39/081/991808 or 39/081/991828) is very reliable and a good way to see the sights. Or you can do like the locals do and rent a scooter and zoom around on the curving roadways. Either way, Ischia provides a way to experience la bella vita, island-style, without the crowds and the high price tags. —AF

AACST tourist office of Ischia, Corso Vittoria Colonna 116 ( 39/081/5074231; www.infoischiaprocida.it).

Naples.

Medmar ( 39/081/5513352; www.medmargroup.it) runs ferries from Napoli to Ischia Porto and from Pozzuoli to both Ischia Porto and Casamicciola. Caremar ( 39/081/0171998 from abroad, or 892123 from anywhere in Italy; www.caremar.it) runs ferries to Ischia Porto and Casamicciola from Pozzuoli, Procida, and Naples.

$$ Albergo Il Monastero ( 39/081/992436; www.albergoilmonastero.it). $$$ Hotel Regina Isabella ( 39/081/994332; www.reginaisabella.it).

229

Naxos

Substantial in the Cyclades

Greece

Santorini and its spectacular crater apart, the Cyclades islands aren’t generally known for their intrinsic natural beauty. There are other attractions—whether nightlife, archaeology, or beaches—that draw visitors to this mostly scrubby Greek archipelago set amid the wine-dark seas of the central Aegean. But green and fertile, hilly Naxos is the exception. It’s the largest island in the Cyclades—about three times the size of nearby Mykonos —and still a place where tourism hasn’t ruined the local flavor.

From the moment you land at the ferry port below Naxos town (also known as Chora), it’s clear that this isn’t just another vacationer-swamped Greek island. The development here far predates tourism, and though visitors will certainly find warm Greek hospitality, the island doesn’t depend on summer traffic for its livelihood. Naxos is self-sufficient—agricultural income from olives and fruit pays most of the bills—and you really get the sense that the rhythms of life here are for and by the locals. To get into the swing of things on this island, it’s recommended that you stay at least a few days.

Naxos has been continuously inhabited for about 6,000 years, and there are remarkable vestiges of its long and storied past just about everywhere. Architecturally, the island is perhaps best known for its Venetian castles and towers dotting the landscape. These were built from the 13th to the 16th century, when Venice’s maritime republic ruled the island. In those days, the wealthy lived in a walled citadel above Chora town called the Kastro. Today, this area is Naxos’s main tourist attraction, where visitors can wander among evocative arched alleyways and gaze up at the impressive residences of the powerful Venetian families who lived here 800 years ago. One of the palaces has been converted into the excellent Domus Venetian Museum ( 30/22850/22-387), with exhibits and tours that bring the bygone aristocratic era to life. Earlier art-historical treasures on Naxos include many Byzantine chapels, which have fine frescoes from the 9th to 13th century. In the island’s interior, don’t miss a trip to the upcountry village of Apiranthos, with its handsome architecture, laid-back pace, and shady plateas (squares) filled with men playing backgammon.

A church facade on Naxos.

Of course, who plans a trip to the Greek islands without at least some sunbathing on the agenda? Fortunately, Naxos also has some of the Cyclades’ best beaches, like Agios Prokopios, Plaka, and Agios Georgios, whose long strip of golden sand comes as a shock after you’ve seen what passes for a “beach” on most Greek islands. The water offshore is a blissful turquoise, and the seafront is lined with atmospheric tavernas where you can break up the sunning and swimming with some fresh grilled seafood, or a hand-picked salad of local veggies, and a glass of crisp white wine.

Naxos’s central location in the Cyclades, a new airport, and frequent ferry connections from north and south make it very easy to incorporate into any Greek islands itinerary. Accommodations tend to be small, independent affairs with quirks (there are no real resort hotels here), so don’t come expecting five-star luxury and amenities. —SM

www.gnto.gr.

Naxos (served by domestic flights from Athens on Olympic Airways).

From Piraeus, daily ferry (6 hr.) and high-speed ferry (4 hr.); www.gnto.gr.

$$ Hotel Glaros, Agios Georgios ( 30/22850/23-101; www.hotelglaros.com).

230

Dominican Republic

Colorful Caribbean Tapestry

Thanks to a profusion of affordable vacation packages, the sugary beaches of the Dominican Republic have lately emerged as one of the most popular Caribbean destinations for sun-seeking North Americans and Brits. Most make a beeline to the so-called “Coconut Coast,” the eastern tip of the island, which is home to the well-known resort of Punta Cana. But the D.R., which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti , to the west, is more than just the all-inclusive hotels of Punta Cana. The Dominican Republic is a lively amalgam of cultures, with a rich history that runs from Taino Indians to Christopher Columbus to Major League baseball.

In travel circles, the name Punta Cana has become shorthand for “inexpensive warm-weather getaway.” With nonstop flights from much of the U.S. to Santo Domingo lasting only a few hours, it’s even conceivable to go for a long weekend from North America. Miles of brilliant white-sand beach lined with leaning palms and a festive assortment of watersports, beach bars, and boutiques make Punta Cana a great place to unplug and still enjoy lots of amenities. It would be a shame, however, to limit yourself to the resort bubble while so many sights, and the real pulse of the D.R., lie so close by.

On arrival in or departure from the D.R., be sure to carve out at least a few hours to tour old Santo Domingo. The colors and vibrant spirit here are infectious, and the crumbling colonial architecture is wonderfully evocative of the capital’s history as a crossroads for all—French, Spanish, Africans—who fought for control of Hispaniola. Columbus landed here on his famous voyage in 1492, and the cathedral of Santo Domingo houses a funerary monument that may indeed be Columbus’s final resting place (though this is disputed by Seville, Spain, which claims to have the explorer’s bones).

A baseball game in the Dominican Republic.

Not far from the resorts of the Coconut Coast, the cultural pride and joy of the Dominican Republic is, curiously enough, a replica of a Mediterranean village, called Altos de Chavon (www.altosdechavon.com Complete with Renaissance plazas, churches, and shops that look like something out of the Italian or Spanish countryside, Altos de Chavon is de rigueur as a day trip. The village also hosts a music festival, with open-air concerts taking place in its Greek-style amphitheater.

For die-hard sports fans, of course, a mention of the Dominican Republic calls to mind baseball greats. Beisbol is a way of life here, and as a result, the D.R. has been a reliable producer of Major League star players over the decades, from Manny Mota to Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. One of the most fun ways a visitor and sports enthusiast can get into the local passion for baseball is to catch a game in the sugar-factory town of La Romana (near Punta Cana). Here, at Michelin Baseball Stadium, the home team is called the Azucareros (“Sugar Bowls”), a nod to the Dominican Republic’s deep roots as a sugar cane plantation island. —SM

Island Hopping the Shetland Islands: The Furthest Isles

“Breathtaking” doesn’t begin to describe them. The Shetland Islands simply stun visitors with their unconventional beauty—stark, wind-swept, and treeless, with ruffled bogs, wildflower-spangled heath, and jaw-dropping sea cliffs. Shaggy native ponies graze the moors, seals and sea otters slither around rocky coves, and a full 10% of all of Britain’s seabirds nest here in midsummer, when the sun barely sets (Shetlanders call it “the Simmer Dim”). Three oceans—the Atlantic, the Arctic, and the North Sea—collide around this string of 100 islands, only 17 of them inhabited. Lying at Scotland’s northern extremity, they are so ragged in shape, so deeply indented, they have a combined 4,860km (3,020 miles) of coastline. Wherever you stand on the Shetland Islands, you’re never farther than 5km (3 miles) from the sea.

Though the ancient Romans called them Ultima Thule—“the furthest isle”—the Shetlands aren’t nearly as remote as they used to be, since the oil industry has come to town. North Sea oil has been a mixed blessing, bringing economic prosperity and up-to-date facilities but also introducing a flood of short-term residents with little connection to local customs. And Shetlanders fiercely prize their heritage, which is more Viking than Celtic—the Vikings ruled here from a.d. 800 until 1469, when the islands became a Scottish possession, often ruled harshly by its feudal lords. Shetlanders still resist identifying themselves as Scots.

By far the largest island is southernmost Mainland, where the capital, Lerwick, sits halfway down the eastern coast. An old smuggler’s haven, later the center of Northern Europe’s herring trade, Lerwick has long been surprisingly cosmopolitan. The Shetland Museum (on the waterfront at Hay’s dock) is packed with artifacts and exhibits explicating Shetland’s unique culture and history. Drive north of Lerwick and you’ll enter a landscape that must have reminded early Norse settlers of the fjord lands (check out the tiny village of Voe, with its little wooden houses). At the narrow isthmus of Mavis Grind, you can throw a rock to the right into the North Sea and another to the left into the Atlantic Ocean. Head west to Esha Ness to hike along the west coast’s spectacular jagged cliffs. South of Lerwick, check out the Crofthouse Museum in Boddam, set in an old thatched croft house that demonstrates traditional Shetland rural life. Farther south, near Sumburgh airport, Jarlshof is an amazing archaeological museum where excavations have uncovered relics of seven distinct civilizations, from the Bronze Age up to a 15th-century manor house and an entire Viking village.

Puttering around Mainland is fun, but the true Shetland spirit lives on outlying islands—for example, Papa Stour, off the west coast of Mainland (catch the ferry in West Burrafirth). Sparsely populated Papa Stour (the name is Old Norse for “island of priests”) was the site of a 6th-century Celtic monastery, but Viking chieftains prized its strategically sheltered harbor—the Norse lords didn’t surrender this island until the 1600s. An ancient stone circle sits above the beach at Housa Voe, and an excavated Norse house at Da Biggins. Legend has it that the wildflowers grow so profusely on the heathy uplands of Papa Stour, fishermen could use the scent to guide them in from many miles out to sea.

Even farther west lies far-flung Foula, a tiny island only 5km (3 miles) wide by 8km (5 miles) long, one of the world’s most extraordinary birding sites. Its towering sea cliffs are home to about 3,000 pairs of the world’s great skuas, known in the local dialect as “bonxie,” among many other rare species. With a population of only 400, there are more sheep than humans on Foula; until the early 1800s, Old Norse was the main language spoken. The once-a-week mail boat to Foula takes 21⁄2 hours, but in summer you can also fly here, making it a doable day trip from Mainland.

A 20-minute ferry ride from the town of Toft on Mainland, peaceful Yell is the second-largest island in the Shetlands, but the peat lies so thick on its soil that farming is a challenge. Only about 1,000 people live here, mostly on traditional croft farms hugging the coast. Take a bracing coastal hike, and don’t forget to look down at the water’s edge, where hundreds of otters burrow in the peaty shoreline. As you drive north, stop off in Burravoe at The Old Haa Visitor Centre, a museum of local crafts and history set in a merchants’ house dating to 1672. From Yell, the outermost Shetland island, Unst is a 5-minute ferry ride from Gutcher. Unst is loaded with historical sites—a short drive east from the ferry landing at Belmont, there’s Muness Castle, a fine rubble-cast tower house built for Scottish lord Laurence Bruce in 1598; on the southwest coast at Underhoull there’s an excavated 9th-century Old Norse longhouse; nearby Lund offers the ruins of a medieval church. On the northern tip of Unst, the Hermaness Bird Reserve is one of Britain’s most important ornithological refuges, its 182m-high (600-ft.) cliffs loaded with kittiwakes, razorbills, guillemots, and the inevitable puffins. On your way back south, stop off at Baltasound and mail your friends a postcard from the northernmost post office in the British Isles—oh, that’ll make them jealous. —HH

Tourist office, Market Cross, Lerwick, Mainland ( 44/1595/693-434; www.visitshetland.com).

Sumburgh Airport, Mainland, 1 hr. from Aberdeen via Flybe ( 44/871/700-2000; www.flybe.com Tingwall airport near Lerwick flies to Fair Isle, Foula, Papa Stour, and Out Skerries via Directflight airways ( 44/1234/757-766; www.directflight.co.uk).

Overnight car ferry from Aberdeen to Lerwick, 14 hr., via NorthLink ( 44/845/600-0449; www.northlinkferries.co.uk Interisland ferries from Mainland to Yell, Unst, Whalsay, Fetlar, Bressay, Papa Stour, Out Skerries, and Fair Isle: Shetland Islands Council ( 44/1595/743-970; www.shetland.gov.uk/ferries).

$$ Baltasound Hotel, Baltasound, Unst ( 44/1957/711-334; www.baltasound-hotel.shetland.co.uk). $$$ Grand Hotel, 149 Commercial St., Lerwick, Mainland ( 44/1595/692-826; www.kgqhotels.co.uk).

www.godominicanrepublic.com.

Santo Domingo, connections from North, Central, and South America.

$$$ Hotel Santo Domingo, av. Independencia ( 800/877-3643 in the U.S., or 809/221-1511; www.hotelsantodomingo.com). $$ Iberostar Bavaro, Punta Cana (www.iberostar.com).

236

Tasmania

Classy Tassie

Australia

Like the dot under an exclamation point, Tasmania punctuates the Australian continent. Island isolation gave Australia a menagerie of unique species, but Tasmania kicks it up another notch. While Australia’s climate is mostly tropical, Tasmania lies in the temperate zone, which puts an entirely different spin on its ecosystem. Tasmania’s got wallabies, bandicoots, wombats, and opossums, but it’s got different wallabies, bandicoots, wombats, and opossums. It’s also a land of unique tree frogs and parrots, a place of such ecological rarity that its wilderness (some 20% of the island) has won World Heritage status.

Named after Abel Tasman, the Dutch explorer who first mapped this part of the world in the 17th century, Tasmania wasn’t really settled until the early 19th century, when the English government needed a far-flung spot to stash convicts; the sobering remains of a famously harsh penal colony have been preserved on the southeast coast at Port Arthur. Take a 2-hour drive on the state-of-the-art Heritage Highway the convicts built between the island’s capital, Hobart, and the next largest city, inland Launceston; you’ll be continually tempted to stop by the splendid assortment of Georgian and Victorian architecture en route.

In order to properly appreciate Tasmania, however, you have to get into the wilderness. Visitors are often surprised by Tasmania’s size—it’s the 26th-largest island in the world—yet its dense rainforests, mountain peaks, alpine meadows, great lakes, eucalyptus stands, and fertile farmland are all easily accessible. Nearly a third of the island is protected within 14 national parks; only a couple hours’ drive from Hobart, you’ll find yourself in a rugged terrain of incredible beauty.

Cradle Mountain.

Running through it like a spine is the 85km (53-mile) Overland Track (www.overlandtrack.com.au), the best-known hiking trail in all of Australia. At one end the trail is anchored by Cradle Mountain, a spectacular jagged gray ridge face with four craggy peaks; at the other lies the long narrow glacier-carved Lake St. Clair, Australia’s deepest freshwater lake. The trek between them traverses high alpine plateaus, marshy plains of rare button grass, springy heathland, fragrant eucalypt forest, dusky woods of myrtle beech (one of the few Australian native trees that isn’t an evergreen), and one of the planet’s last temperate rainforests. The path is well marked and improved, including stretches of boardwalk and a series of public sleeping huts. Tour companies run 5-to-10-day guided treks along its length; plenty of shorter hikes are available as well.

Along the way, you’ll run into quolls, red-bellied pademelons (the kangaroo’s Tasmanian cousins), and hordes of other scampering marsupials. As for the Tasmanian devil—well, despite their cartoon image, there’s nothing cuddly about those stocky, sharp-snouted little black scavengers. But Tasmanians are perversely fond of these ornery little mascots; they rallied to protect them when news came out of a rare facial cancer ravaging the species. Perhaps that’s because Tasmanian devils are part of what sets Tasmania apart from the rest of Australia, a wondrous land unto itself. —HH

Tourist office, 20 Davey St., Hobart ( 61/3/6230 8233; www.hobarttravelcentre.com.au); also www.discovertasmania.com.au.

Hobart.

Devonport (10 hr. from Melbourne).

$$$ Cradle Mountain Lodge, Cradle Mountain Park ( 61/2/8296 8010; www.cradlemountainlodge.com.au). $$ Macquarie Manor, 172 Macquarie St., Hobart ( 61/3/6224 4999; www.macmanor.com.au).

TOUR Tasmanian Expeditions ( 1300/666 856 in Australia, or 61/3/6339 3999; www.tas-ex.com).

237

Langkawi

Colorful Legends & Ancient Nature

Malaysia

Its undulating terrain, studded by the “rival” mountains of Gunung Macinchang and Gunung Raya, is covered in a blanket of lush rainforest. Where it meets the warm waters of the Andaman Sea, the squiggly coast of Langkawi is fringed with long stretches of soft sandy beach, coconut palms, and casuarina trees. But what sets Langkawi apart from other tropical paradises is its heart: Centuries-old folklore permeates the local culture, and just steps away from the five-star waterfront resorts and golf courses there are still real Malaysian villages where life happily drawls along at a slow pace.

Langkawi is the largest and most inhabited of the Langkawi archipelago, a group of 99 islands off the northwestern coast of peninsular Malaysia. Its name is said to mean “island of the reddish-brown eagle” in Malay, and though there are other legends surrounding the etymology of Langkawi, the eagle one has a passionate following, and a huge 12m-tall (39-ft.) statue of an eagle greets arrivals at Dataran Lang (Eagle Square) in the main port of Kuah. (Folklore alert: Kuah [“gravy”] gets its name because gravy was spilled during a fight that broke out during a wedding between the two families of the mountain’s Gunung Macinchang and Gunung Raya.) Kuah is the only real town on the island, while the rest of Langkawi consists of kampungs (villages), rice fields where buffalo wallow, and flourishing tropical flora.

With an impressive array of natural attractions, Langkawi has been designated a UNESCO World Geopark. The island was part of the primordial landmass of Gondwanaland, and many of the forests and mineral deposits here are more than 500 million years old. A ride on the Langkawi Cable Car up to the peak of 710m (2,329-ft.) Gunung Macinchang provides breathtaking views over the canopy of a Cambrian rainforest. Throughout the island, more than a dozen intriguing caves exhibit elaborate limestone stalactites and stalagmites. Among the island’s several waterfalls, Telaga Tujuh in the northwest corner of Langkawi is the most visited. Its name means “seven wells” for the seven pools of water that are created by the cascade, which flows gently and picturesquely over smooth rock framed by verdant vegetation.

Of course, beaches are the initial draw for most who book a trip here. For gorgeous sand and the best action, tourists and locals alike congregate at Pantai Cenang. Sunbathe or swim along 2km (11⁄4 miles) of palm-backed beach, and then grab your sari and hit the food stalls, markets, and bars of this lively strip. Tanjung Rhu is Langkawi’s “Casuarina Beach” and notable for the striking black rock formation standing in the calm, clear, chalky-blue water just offshore. Secluded Teluk Datai is where the island’s most exclusive and expensive resorts have been developed, and its relative isolation makes it most suitable for romance or anyone seeking a real escape. From any of these beaches, you can arrange watersports and excursions, like island-hopping snorkeling trips or kayaking out in the archipelago.

Though Langkawi has always had many attractions to lure vacationers, tourism didn’t really begin to take off until the past decade. As locals will tell you, this is no coincidence. The most prominent story in Langkawi folklore is that of Mahsuri, a beautiful young maiden who was wrongly accused of adultery. When, as the Islamic tradition dictated, she was put to death by stabbing, white blood ran from her wounds, thus proving her innocence. As she gasped her last breaths, Mahsuri cursed Langkawi to have seven generations of bad luck. Mahsuri died in 1819, and only now—after seven generations—has Langkawi begun to see prosperity. —SM

Langkawi Tourist Information Centre ( 60/4/966-7789; www.langkawigeopark.com.my).

Langkawi International, connections to Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Singapore.

$$$ Casa del Mar, Jalan Pantai Cenang, Mukim Kedawang ( 60/4/955-2388; www.casadelmar-langkawi.com).

238

Santorini

Island of Epics

Greece

It’s the poster child of Greek Island tourism, with whitewashed towns precariously balanced atop the red rim of an ancient volcanic crater that towers over the cobalt waters of the Aegean. The romantic image of Santorini (known as Thira to Greeks) has single-handedly sold countless vacations to Greece. Once a volcanic cone, Thira blew its top sometime around 1600 b.c., and everything but the outline of the crater fell into the sea. This episode gave rise to the myth of the lost city of Atlantis, the existence of which archaeologists have been able to neither prove nor refute. But whether it was the legendary Atlantis or not, no other island—in Greece or anywhere else—possesses quite the same brand of epic natural splendor as Santorini.

When you arrive by ferry at the larger port of Athinios or the smaller Skala, the full drama of Santorini’s spectacular topography comes into focus: The island is steeper and taller than you’d imagined, and you have to crane your neck to see the towns perched on top. Another reality of visiting Santorini—one that’s downplayed in the marketing brochures—reveals itself when you disembark at the dock; that is, you’re not the only one who made the journey here. Especially in summer, expect to share the 13-sq.-km (5-sq.-mile) island with thousands of tourists, honeymooners, and cruise passengers.

The island’s principal town, Fira, has a prime location on the edge of the caldera, looking west over the wine-dark sea and the island’s densest concentration of hotels, restaurants, and accompanying mass-tourism junk. The aerielike hamlet of Oia, on the highest part of the crater rim, is romance central and where you’ll find those impossibly gorgeous vistas—blue church dome in foreground, glittering sea beyond—captured in so many photographs of Santorini. As sublime as the views are from these two towns, the key to experiencing Santorini’s authenticity is to spend time away from Fira and Oia once you’ve had your sunset cocktails and snapped your photos—or to time your strolls through the villages for the early morning or early evening, avoiding the day-tripper crush. Or just come in the off season (Sept–May).

Sunning and swimming in the Aegean are valid pursuits here, though you have to head down from the caldera rim and its hypnotic views, of course, to reach the water. Santorini’s beaches are concentrated on the southern and eastern coasts of the island (not on the inner curve of the crater, but along its slightly less impressive outer edge). Most shorelines consist of black or red sand, which absorb the sun and get brutally hot and crowded in summer—another good reason to schedule your trip for months other than July and August. Ancient-history buffs shouldn’t miss Santorini’s two small but fascinating archaeological sites, Akrotiri and ancient Thira. The former is a mesmerizing time capsule of life during the height of Minoan civilization, just before the catastrophic eruption of 1600 b.c. wiped it out. You can also take boat tours across Santorini’s “lagoon” to another speck of the caldera, the island of Thirassia. On the way, you’ll pass the smoldering Nea Kameni, which emerged from the sea only 300 years ago as a sober reminder of Thira’s violent natural history. —SM

www.santorini.net.

Santorini (Thira) Island International Airport (served by Aegean Airlines and Olympic Airways via Athens).

Blue Star Ferries (www.bluestarferries.com and Hellenic Seaways (www.hellenicseaways.gr) from Athens-Piraeus, other islands in the Cyclades, and Crete.

$$$ Astra Apartments, Imerovigli ( 30/22860/23641; www.astra-apartments.co).

239

Lampedusa

Italian Traditions in an African Landscape

Italy

Named for the lampa (light) that guided sailors safely around its perimeter, Lampedusa hovers in a sort of Mediterranean limbo south of Sicily and northeast of Africa. Here, in a desertlike landscape where agave, prickly pear, and golden-white limestone bake in the sun, you’ll find one of the most exotic places you can travel to and technically still be in the European Union. And because it’s not easy to access from mainland Italy, Lampedusa is one of the few surviving Italian islands with a real sense of local culture, undiluted by mass tourism.

Lampedusa has never been terribly fashionable, and it probably never will be. You won’t find glamorous resorts or nightlife (though the breezy luxury at Il Gattopardo di Lampedusa hotel, carved out of traditional stone structures called dammusi, will impress the style-conscious). Yet there’s something oddly appealing about this scrubby, sometimes derelict island that makes first-time visitors want to become regulars season after season. The island has no historical sights—a nice change of pace for those who feel overwhelmed by the wealth of heritage on display everywhere else in Italy. Even the buildings in town, most of which were built in the 1950s and 1960s, lack architectural character—although the main drag, Via Roma, is lined with elegant bars and bakeries that could have been plucked out of Rome or Florence. Here you can cool down with an espresso granita, sugar up with a fresh cannolo, and toast the simplicity of life on this working Italian island.

The time-honored traditions of Italian community life are alive and well on Lampedusa, and more authentic here than in other more obvious Italian seaside destinations like Capri or Portofino. In the evening, everyone comes together for a collective passeggiata (stroll). Cleaned up from a day’s work, fishermen hold their children’s hands while teenage boys on motorini show off for the opposite sex. The film Respiro, which was shot entirely on Lampedusa, perfectly captures this daily rite and the rhythms, sights, and sounds of Lampedusa in general.

For beach lovers, Lampedusa has a real treasure. On the south side of the island, about 5km (3 miles) west of town, is one of the most beautiful beaches in Italy, called Isola dei Conigli, which refers to the “Island of Rabbits” just offshore. The beach itself is on the Lampedusa side, and is a crescent of sand with waters as close to Caribbean turquoise as you’ll find in the Mediterranean. The bay is so shallow and calm that even kids can wade the 50m (164 ft.) from the mainland to Isola dei Conigli. In summer, caretta caretta sea turtles lay their eggs here, at which time naturalists close off part of the beach. —SM

www.italiantourism.com.

Lampedusa airport (flights from Palermo).

From Palermo, 9 hr.

$$$ Il Gattopardo di Lampedusa, Cala Creta ( 39/011/8185270; www.gattopardodilampedusa.it).

240

Aero Island

Fairy-Tale Island

Denmark

There are places that work hard to create magic. Then there are those real-life spots that feel truly touched by fairy dust. Aero Island is one such place. It’s a small island in the Danish Baltic Sea, 30km (19 miles) long and 8km (5 miles) wide, lined with villages with cobblestone streets and 17th-century cottages, medieval churches, farms built on patchwork hills, and quiet, idyllic beaches. It’s a warm, happy place, not least because Aero gets more sunshine than any other spot in Denmark—summers may be short, but the sun doesn’t go down until 11pm.

Some 7,000 people live on Aero Island, where locked doors are a rarity. There are no bridges to the island; the only way to get here is to take a 1-hour car ferry. Biking is a favored mode of transportation. But for all its old-fashioned charm, Aero is a 21st-century pioneer at the vanguard of sustainable energy. The island has the world’s largest solar power plants and the world’s largest solar collector system for heating. Its goal is to be 100% self-sufficient in renewable energy, and it’s almost there. In 2008, Aero achieved 80% self-sufficiency in electric and heating usage. It’s a remarkable achievement for such a small, off-the-beaten-track place.

You have to really want to get to Aero Island—it’s not an easy place to access. Once you’re there, you can get around by bike, car, or bus (Fynbus; www.fynbus.dk), which links the villages including the island’s largest town and main port, Marstal. Of the island’s 14 communities, little Aeroskobing looks like something straight out of Hans Christian Andersen, a Lilliputian jewel box of remarkably preserved half-timbered cottages hugging neat, one-lane streets—you almost expect to see dolls in 17th-century garb emerging from the gabled facades. But people live and work in these structures, many in thoroughly modern interiors set behind storybook exteriors.

The countryside is no less magical. The rural landscape is one of wheat fields and dairy farms punctuated by the occasional old windmill. Three massive modern windmills were added in 2002; today they are responsible for providing 50% of the island with its electricity. —AF

www.aeroeisland.com Aeroskobing Turistbureau, Vestergade 1 ( 45/62/52-13-00).

Copenhagen.

Copenhagen, Odense, or Svendborg.

Svendborg: Aerofaergerne A/S ( 45/62/52-40-00; www.aeroe-ferry.dk).

$$ Hotel Aeroehus, Aeroskobing ( 45/62/52-10-03; www.aeroehus.dk). $$ Pension Vestergade on Aero, Aeroskobing ( 45/62/52-22-98; www.vestergade44.com).

241

Bimini

Hemingway Fished Here

The Bahamas

Ernest Hemingway put Bimini on the map when he came here to fish and write (but mostly fish) in the 1930s. In fact, it was a 230kg marlin caught off the waters of Bimini that inspired Papa Hemingway to write The Old Man and the Sea. When he wasn’t fishing and he wasn’t writing, Papa was hanging out at the Compleat Angler bar, built—appropriately enough—out of abandoned liquor boats.

With a prime position in the Gulf Stream, whose warm waters favor big game fish like marlin, Bimini is considered by many to be the sport-fishing capital of the world. Despite the tourism industry that’s grown up around Bimini’s extraordinary fishing, the islands—there are actually two, North and South Bimini—have retained a certain tropical rumrunner mystique. It may have something to do with Bimini’s roguish beginnings. Settled in the 1920s by freed slaves from Nassau, the island prospered as a rumrunning port during Prohibition in the United States. (Unfortunately, the same strategic location that favored Bimini during Prohibition has made it a popular station in the drug trade between South America and the U.S.)

Fishing in Bimini.

The most developed part of Bimini is the north island, which measures 12km (71⁄2 miles) long and, in places, just 200m (656 ft.) wide. Here, in crowded Alice Town, the trappings of tourism are inescapable. But it’s also in Alice Town where you find Bimini’s nightlife. Sadly, one of the town’s most famous structures, the historic Compleat Angler hotel and bar, which was filled with Papa Hemingway memorabilia, burned to the ground in 2006. South Bimini and its main town of Port Royale are quieter and more laid-back, with family-friendly condos. The two islands are connected by an easy, 2-minute ferry ride.

Whether you’re an avid fisher or a beach bum, Bimini has plenty to offer the watersports enthusiast. The island has a wealth of scuba- and snorkel-friendly dive spots, from half-submerged shipwrecks like the SS Sapona, which ran aground during a 1926 hurricane, to the mysterious Bimini Road. This intriguing “pavement” of flagstones, lining the sea floor under 5 to 10m (16–33 ft.) of water off the north end of North Bimini, looks uncannily man-made, though there are also convincing geological explanations for its neat rectangular layout.

For the simple pleasures of sun and sand, the beach that runs along much of the western side of North Bimini is lovely—and all yours midweek in winter. Contrary to other Bahamas destinations, Bimini’s high season is the summer. Even though the weather and sea conditions from December to March are ideal for a relaxing vacation, calmer waters mean better fishing. And few sportsmen would want to miss the chance to go on a fishing charter here. Charters can be easily arranged from any of the marinas on North or South Bimini, or from south Florida, just 81km (50 miles) to the west.

Ponce de León came to South Bimini in the 16th century in search of the Fountain of Youth, and though historians say he never found it, the mere fact that he even sought the miraculous waters here has spawned a tourist attraction. Less far-fetched is a saltwater pool called the Healing Hole, whose lithium- and sulfur-rich waters are said to have curative properties. Not surprisingly, local guides are happy to profit from tours to the places associated with these myths. —SM

www.bahamas.com.

Bimini North Seaplane Base and South Bimini Airport (served by charter and scheduled flights from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and Nassau).

$$ Bimini Big Game Resort & Yacht Club, King’s Hwy. ( 800/737-1007 in the U.S., or 242/347-3391; www.biminibiggame.com $$$ Bimini Sands Condominiums, South Bimini ( 242/347-3500; www.biminisands.com).

242

The Big Island

Feel the Mana

Hawaii, U.S.

They don’t call it the Big Island for nothing: The largest island in the Hawaiian chain, Hawaii is big in many other ways as well. It has the world’s tallest mountain, Mauna Kea, and the world’s largest, Mauna Loa. It has not one but several natural microclimates, from misty rainforest around Hilo on the east coast to rolling upcountry hills to blasted lava-rock shelves on the northwest Kohala Coast. Endemic island species abound, from tropical ohia and koa trees to rare lobelias, from elusive little honey-catchers to majestic Hawaiian hawks. Yet for all its outsize attributes, it’s the least populated island in the chain, a place where you can get away from the crowds and really relax into island life. The Big Island’s economy isn’t dominated by tourism either, thanks to cattle ranching and farming; some of the world’s best coffee and macadamia nut crops thrive along the Kona Coast.

With not one but five volcanoes brooding over the island, it’s easy to sense that connection to essential life forces that native Hawaiians call mana. To see Kilauea’s red-hot lava still bubbling through the earth’s crust, take a helicopter ride over Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii Belt Rd. [Hwy. 11]; 808/985-6000; www.nps.gov/havo); you can also drive the park’s Crater Rim Road to really experience the sulfuric smells and hot steam of this turbulent landscape. On snowcapped Mauna Kea you’ll feel you can almost touch the sky, 13,255 ft. (4,040m) above sea level, at one of the world’s great astronomical observatories. Take an excursion to the summit to view its 13 powerful infrared telescopes, and then join nighttime stargazing sessions at the visitor center, halfway up Summit Road, off Hwy. 200 ( 808/961-2180; www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis).

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

The northwest Kohala coast is still encased in hardened black lava flow, where—paradoxically, perhaps—the island’s cushiest resorts have been cultivated in oases of manicured greenery. Many of these coastal enclaves were originally the estates of Hawaiian kings; check out the vestiges of the royal preserves at the Mauna Lani resort (68-1400 Mauna Mani Dr., off Hwy. 19; 808/885-6622), including a set of ingenious fishponds and, alongside the Fairmont Orchid golf course, the Pacific’s largest rock-art site, the spectacular Puako Petroglyphs (Holoholokai Beach Park, N. Kaniku Dr.;  808/885-1064).

While the resorts provide plenty of top-class golf and tennis, watersports are the Big Island’s ace in the hole—including fantastic diving and kayaking in the calm eastside waters and big game fishing off the west coast. If eating local is your passion, you’ve chosen the right island, too. On the southwest Kona Coast, some 600 small coffee plantations line 32km (20 miles) of the Mamalahoa Highway, many of which welcome drop-in visitors (check out www.bigisland.org for a list). Mid-island, around Waimea, prime beef cattle graze on impossibly green slopes; several stables offer horseback riding around those sprawling ranches. Merriman’s, perhaps the island’s best restaurant (65-1227 Opelo Rd. [Hwy. 19], Waimea; 808/885-6822; www.merrimanshawaii.com showcases local produce and meats in its creative Hawaiian regional cuisine. —HH

Big Island Visitors Bureau ( 808/961-5797 or 808/886-1655; www.bigisland.org).

Kona (west coast) or Hilo (east coast).

$$$ The Fairmont Orchid, 1 N. Kaniku Dr. ( 866/540-4474 or 808/885-2000; www.fairmont.com/orchid). $ Volcano House, inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park ( 808/967-7321; www.volcanohousehotel.com).