The turquoise oceans, blue skies and white beaches of your dreams are in Melanesia
Not many visitors make the effort to explore what is surely everybody’s idea of tropical paradise, with the turquoise Pacific Ocean, blue skies and white beaches.
Simon Buckby
Simon Buckby was a London-based BBC and Financial Times journalist, among other things, before running communications consultancies. He has travelled to well over 100 countries, and recently moved from Hong Kong to Dubai.
The roads less travelled in Sri Lanka: the cultural home of the Tamils and the sites of the civil war in the north, plus the quiet golden beaches of the east
Once the shock of the 2019 bombings has settled, adventure travellers will return to Sri Lanka, where the biggest attractions are along the routes ignored by mass tourism in the years since the end of the civil war: the remote north (the cultural home of the Tamils and the battlefield sites) plus the secluded east (with its quiet golden beaches).
Aruba, Bonaire & Curaçao, the Dutch Antilles’ ABCs: A is for awesome beaches, B is for brilliant shore-diving & C is for colonial colour
There is brilliant diving on all three islands, especially on Bonaire, there are awesome beaches on Aruba, and in Willemstad on Curaçao there is a colourful old colonial city to explore.
Isolated beaches, glitzy hotels and WW2 sites in the Northern Mariana Islands
Only three of the islands are inhabited and they feel remarkably different to each other. Rota is a very quiet, pristine and friendly place that attracts almost no visitors; Saipan is a long-standing magnet for Japanese and more recently also Chinese tourists looking for neon fun amid a slice of Americana; and Tinian has been left as a memorial to the horrors of World War Two.
“Tacos, guns and strippers” along with spam, beaches and US military bases in oddball Guam, target of North Korea
Guam is a brash Hawaiian mini-me, with beaches backed by high rise hotels and glitzy shopping malls; US naval and airforce bases are thrown in too. It is under US jurisdiction and proud to advertise itself as “America’s western border”. In practice that means it is also the frontline of potential conflict with North Korea.
Diving and sailing around its Rock Islands, Palau is the ultimate Pacific paradise
It’s only fair to warn you that Palau has far more than its fair share of natural wonders, especially the spectacular Rock Islands and world class scuba diving, and there’s a very good chance you will be overwhelmed by their mind-boggling splendour. What’s more, they’re all easily accessible off the south coast of this tiny Micronesian country, once you finally get all the way here.
Wreck and reef diving, traditional cultures and ancient ruins in the isolated Federated States of Micronesia
With world-class diving of both wrecks and reefs, ancient heritage sites and traditional cultures, all set among some of the most beautiful islands and atolls going, the isolated Federated States of Micronesia are an absolute joy.
Isolated beaches and spectacular atolls, including the famous Bikini, compose the tiny Republic of the Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands are remote, scattered, and hard to reach, which may explain why they have totally failed to establish themselves as a destination even for island hoping travellers. Yet there are enough exciting boat rides to hidden beaches and exotic dives to keep you interested for a little while and much longer if you have the patience.
Magical Micronesia: world class scuba diving and WW2 battlegrounds on tropical paradise islands
Micronesia is widely overlooked. Yet there is a genuine tropical paradise to be found among these 2,000 tiny Pacific islands: world class scuba diving and World War Two battlegrounds, beaches and remote cultures, in one of the most glorious places there is.
Cuddly lemurs, intrepid hikes and dazzling coastlines; though Madagascar is not as easy as ABD
Madagascar’s geological and natural histories are crucial for our understanding of the way our planet has developed. Though it is not an easy country to visit, largely because of its vast size and dreadful transport, there is a lot for visitors to enjoy. But it’s current economic plight signals just how far our world still has to go.