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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Away from any current conflict in Côte d'Ivoire, the main attractions are in the south-eastern corner: the exciting party town of Abidjan, the world's tallest basilica in very odd Yamoussoukro, the former colonial capital of Grand Bassam, and one of the most naturally beautiful places on earth at Assinie. For a small country with a small reputation, Côte d'Ivoire packs a big punch.
Ghana was the centre of the slave trade until 200 years ago, with a coastline of colonial castles that were converted into slave prisons that are now respectful memorials of this blight on humanity. It has a well-developed infrastructure and the kind of picture postcard white sand beaches that people pay thousands of dollars to access in the Caribbean.
