I recently discovered a link to a livestream camera overlooking a bay in British ColumbiaĚýand claimingĚýto show orcas in real time. I hopped on to see what was happening, with the attitude of like I’m really going to see an orca thousands of miles away.ĚýBut I did! And then I spent an hour watching the orca frolic around in the water and listening to its blowhole exhalations. During these uncertain times, it was the only thing that relaxed me that day. (A shout-outĚýto , the world’s largest live-nature-cam network, for setting up the cameraĚýand to the other organizations who make these experiences possible.) LaterĚýI got hooked watching a real-time surfer on Oahu’s North Shore. During a period when we can’t travel, livestream feeds are one of the best armchair experiences. Until we can all get back out there, these webcams will take you on a journey around the world—and inspire future trips.

If You Want to Surf in Hawaii

Listen to crashing waves and catch a surfer or two on this at the Pipeline break on Oahu’s North Shore (where surfing is still allowed for now). And , a website that specializes in surf news and forecasting, has a Cam of the Moment set on a different break around the world at any given time.

If You Want to Go to Yosemite

Relax to the rushingĚýcascade of a huge waterfall in ĚýofĚýthe park’s Upper Yosemite Falls.Ěý

If You Want to Go Diving

The sounds of the current and images of flowingĚýkelp in this Ěýfootage fromĚýCalifornia’s Channel Islands National Park make forĚýanother great offering by Explore. And in this Atlantic OceanĚý, placed 34 miles off the coast of Cape Fear, North Carolina, I saw a bigĚýol’Ěýshark cruise by, in addition to other vibrant marine life, after about five minutes of watching.Ěý

If You Want to Go to New Zealand

Start dreaming about a trip to , the epicenter of adventure on the country’s South Island, by watching the light change on Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables Mountain Range that surrounds the small town.

If You Want See Orcas in British Columbia

One of the many gifts of Explore’sĚýlivestream cameras is its orca offerings in Johnstone Strait, a protected habitat in British ColumbiaĚýwhere 150 or more killer whales spend the warmer months. I like to open up and leave it on in the background until I hear some splashing or blowhole exhalations, and then I clickĚýover to see the action. Different cameras are live at any given time. (If a camera isn’t live, ExploreĚýruns Live Cam Highlights, which are divine.) Here are my two favorites, both from the straight:ĚýThe Ěýcamera overlooks Robson Bight. The second is an Ěýin which you see orcas darting by and—even more awesome—hear them communicate through their high-pitched sounds. It’s a good reminder that nature is still thriving in many placesĚýdespite what’s happening to humanity.

If You Want to Go to Patagonia

Get inspired for a future trip to the Southern Hemisphere by watching this , focused on the stunning Torres del Paine National Park and Rio Serrano. Chilean Patagonia has some of the most pristine wilderness parks in the world.

If You Want to Be on a River

The sound of a river immediately relaxes me. Zone out to the rushing waters of the in Crescent City, California. Or you might catch some kayakers on North Carolina’s famous Nantahala River.

If You Want to Observe—or Be Inside of—a Volcano

Watch the clouds float over the top of in Costa Rica, or look deep inside in Hawaii’s Volcanoes National Park.

If You Want to Go on Safari in South Africa

Streamed daily at sunrise and sunset South African time (GMT plus two), tune in to ’s live, interactive online safaris. Professional gamekeepers and park rangers take viewers out into the savannas of South Africa’s Kruger National Park and Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve to scout for wildlife, giving you the experience of a safari from home. Or if you just want to watch elephants meandering around a water hole, in South Africa’s Tembe National Elephant Park does the trick nicely and also works at night (which helpsĚýgiven the time change).

If You Want to VisitĚýa Caribbean Island

These really got me longing to lounge on a white-sand beach, from chilling atĚý to dipping my toes into the waterĚýbyĚýthe on Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands, with its famous in hand.

If You Want to Tour the Happiest Country on Earth

https://youtube.com/watch?v=UwSJ26G9hns

Take a walk around Helsinki on Webcamtaxi’sĚý of Finland’s capital. Or look at what’s happening atĚý in Lapland, the northern regionĚýof the country. Finland is consistently rated one of the happiest places in the world.

If You Want to Go to the Mountains

The Jungfrau is a mountain in the Bernese Alps ofĚýwestern Switzerland. With the nearby Eiger and Mönch, it forms a group of three peaksĚýknown as the triumvirate. In these , you can appreciate the Jungfrau’s glaciers and jagged contours. (The mountain is sometimes socked in by fog due to a storm, so check back on different days.) The camera was set up by the Jungfrau Railway company, which boastsĚýthe highest train station in Europe a few hundred feet below.

The has long been on my bucket list. Set on 5,200 acres in Walland, Tennessee, the propertyĚýrecently added ridgetop cabins with incredible views of the Great Smoky Mountains. When I’m watching , I pretend that I’m kicking back on a cabin deck with an Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils, looking out atĚýthe Smokies.Ěý

If You Want to EnjoyĚýa Los Angeles Sunset

Thanks to a new campaign from Los Angeles Tourism, every day at around 6:30 P.M.ĚýPacific Time you can watch a from the top of Ěýoverlooking Venice Beach.Ěý

If You Want to Go to the South Pole

This , operated by the National Science Foundation, shows the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station research site in Antarctica, where the high temperature last week was minus 57 degrees. The camera is sometimes idle waiting on satellite connections, but it’s been up most times that I’ve logged on.

If You Want to Go to Venice, Italy

Leave it to the Italians to create the most civilized live cam. streams footage from various cameras around the city’sĚýbeautiful canals and is set to the music of Interpreti Veneziana. We heart Italy.

And a Few More, Because Who Doesn’t Love Manatees, Sharks, and Seals?

The key with many of the livestreams mentioned in this story is patience. I left this Ěýat Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park in Florida on in the background for a day until, all of a sudden, I heard a rush of bubbles. Lo and behold, there were three big, fat adult manatees and a snugglyĚýbaby manatee swimming around. Warning: you may end up Ěýone.Ěý

This next recommendation isn’t quite a livestream, but it’s still really cool. In a worldwide set up by Ocearch, a data-centric organization that helps scientists track tagged marine life in order to study and protect them, you can live-track great white sharks, turtles, and dolphins. My colleague Kaelyn Lynch turned me onto it. She’s been following Katharine, the famous 2,300-pound great white, since the sharkĚýwas tagged in 2013,Ěýon her journey between the North Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico.

It’s hard not to walk away with a smile on your face after watching lounge and flop around the beach in Piedras Blancas State Marine Reserve on California’s central coast.

The post Travel the World with These Livestream Cameras appeared first on şÚÁĎłÔąĎÍř Online.

Feet in sand, cold beer in hand—does life get any better? Not really, which is why the highlight of a tropical beach vacation is often the moment you stumble upon a simple beach bar where the lobster is perfectly done, the proprietor tells stories for hours, and the drinks are tasty but lethal. No matter if you’re camping on the beach, Airbnb-ing it, or bunking at the Four Seasons—a beach bar without pretense is always a crowd-pleaser. Serendipity is, of course, part of the thrill—so we can’t help you there, but here are eight so good they’ve made a name for themselves (some even have websites!) and are worth seeking out.

The Soggy Dollar, British Virgin Islands

This in Jost Van Dyke (the smallest of the four main British Virgin Islands) earned its name by merit of its access route: You had to swim there. Once you’re good and salty, the drink to ask for is the painkiller, said to have been invented here in the 1970s. It is made of dark rum, cream of coconut, pineapple, orange juice, and freshly ground Grenadian nutmeg. Don’t have your own boat to moor nearby? There are ferries and water taxis from Beef Island and St. Thomas—but you’ll still get wet.

La Huella, José Ignacio, Uruguay

More than a dozen years after opening, the beachfront is still the epicenter of the scene in José Ignacio, the thinking man’s exclusive alternative to casino and tourist riddled Punte del Este. The kind of place you go to unwind without hordes of people. It’s an accomplished restaurant serving top-notch sushi, South American-style grilled meats, homemade bread, and vegetables from a nearby organic farms. Book well in advance.

Scilly Cay, Anguilla

Eudoxie Wallace calls every woman who sets a foot in the sand of his “Gorgeous,” and he somehow gets away with it. That’s the first thing you need to know about this Anguilla institution, which Eudoxie and his wife, Sandra, have run for nearly three decades. It’s become such an Anguillan institution that the Wallaces run boats from the mainland, for visitors to feast on decadent lunches of lobster, crayfish, and chicken. (Skip the chicken. The crustaceans are enormous and delicious).

Pelican Bar, Jamaica

“Beach bar” is a bit of a misnomer for this . It’s a quarter mile from the beach—well, from any landmass—and 20 minutes by boat from Jakes hotel on Treasure Beach. The proprietor is a local fisherman-turned-barman named Floyd, and it’s hard to believe the charmingly dilapidated structure is still standing. Stay for a dinner of fried fresh fish—possibly a fish that you’ve caught yourself (bring gear) or by one of the fishermen who ferry guests out to the bar.

Sunshine’s Bar and Grill, Nevis

The owner—called Sunshine himself—won’t tell you what’s in his signature drink, the Killer Bee, beyond “some rum, some passion fruit juice, then some more rum,” but you should take his word for it. There’s a reason has become a Caribbean standout in the 12 years its been around. Sunshine still serves his potent cocktails under a thatched-roof bar that’s been through five hurricanes and two fires, and still fires up the same barbecue grills that got him started.

Bar do Ulysses, near Ubatuba, Brazil

Close to the cool colonial town of Paraty and the surfer city of Ubatuba, embodies the dream of barefoot Brazilian lifestyle. The best way to arrive is by boat from the nearby dreamy small hotel Pousada Picinguaba; the captain of the hotel’s schooner will call ahead to arrange for fresh grilled squid and icy Brahma beers to be waiting. There are hammocks on the beach for post-prandial lounging, as well as an easy access point for stand-up paddling.

La Gloriette, St. Barth

A welcome respite from all the dressed-up, champagne-spewing bars on St. Barth, is a classic feet-in-the-sand kind of establishment. The menu doesn’t extend much further than pizza: the ambitions here are refreshingly in check.

John Moore Bar, Barbados

It looks more like a gas station, but is one of the favorite bars on the island. Brightly painted but simple, the longtime rum shop is now a social community for its regulars and tourists who come to sample the Caribbean’s finest by the glass. There’s fresh local fish to soak up the booze.

The post 8 Spring Break Beach Bars for Grown-Ups appeared first on şÚÁĎłÔąĎÍř Online.

Easy Does It

What a tough guy can learn from an island off Belize

EXACTLY 12 HOURS after walking out the front door of our Brooklyn apartment into a snowstorm, my wife and I stood on the dock at St. George's Caye Resort, in Belize. I was holding my fly rod while she sipped a fruity cocktail and teased me about my bombastic claim that commercial flights do not count as real travel. Any self-respecting adventure traveler, I often say, needs to follow his flight with a couple of days on a train or the top of a bus in order to feel as though he's actually gotten somewhere.

My perspective on the issue was not well supported by St. George's Caye. It's only a 20-minute boat ride from Belize City, yet it feels like a place that should take a couple of days to reach by outrigger canoe. The two-mile-long island is sandwiched between the Belize Barrier Reef and hundreds of square miles of mangrove swamps and bonefish flats that support raucous colonies of seafaring birds and a few local manatees. You could count the permanent human population on your fingers and toes. But my wife didn't need to mention any of this or cite the relevant statistics. Instead, she simply pointed to the school of tarpon lolling in the shallows 30 feet away.

For the rest of the trip I continued to eat my words—along with immense amounts of spectacular food, such as spiny lobster delivered directly to the kitchen by local fishermen. Between meals—served communal style, on the beach, by a smiling crew in flip-flops—we joined a few planned expeditions. There was snorkeling and diving on the reef; a night cruise in search of crocodiles; and fishing for bonefish and permit with a private guide. But, mostly, we took off on our own makeshift adventures. The resort provides plenty of kayaks and sailboats without the fees, rules, and boundaries that too often turn island getaways into chaperoned walks on the beach. We discovered secluded sand, secret swimming holes, hungry schools of fish, and a curious manatee. At night, we kicked back in one of a dozen thatch-roofed cabanas. We could hear the Caribbean roll in just beyond our front porch. Beyond that, nothing. This self-respecting adventure traveler slept well.

GET THERE: St. George's Caye Resort (om) provides guest transport from Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport. Cabanas for two from $218, including meals and local rum punch. One-tank dives, $60; half-day fishing trips, $325.

Fire on the Mountain

Playing in the shadow of a volcano in Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea

New Britain's Tavurvur volcano gets feisty

IN 1994, a 2,257-foot volcano erupted on the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea, burying the city of Rabaul under seven feet of ash and prompting 30,000 people to evacuate. Only 3,000 returned, leaving the town essentially like Kauai pre–Captain Cook, only with more pyrotechnics: The island is populated mostly by members of some 50 indigenous tribes, and the resident volcanoes, Tavurvur and Vulcan, are still very much active. Go now and you can lounge on a black-sand beach and watch Tavurvur burp up lava and small columns of ash as many as four times an hour.

I arrived two years ago to find an ashy town—the swimming pools were gray—set on an active caldera with countless adventure options just beyond the city limits. One can scuba-dive at a reef wall that served as a berth for Japanese submarines in World War II; sample grilled crocodile at a sustainable farm in New Britain's jungle; or take a helicopter flight over inland waterfalls so remote, nobody has bothered to name them. But the highlight of New Britain is the paddling. On my third day in Rabaul, I drove five minutes south to Matupit Island and rented a dugout canoe with a guide from the Tolai tribe. We paddled across Simpson Harbor while a hot ash cloud boiled overhead. Afterwards, my guide brought me back to the Tolai village and served me bananas poached in coconut milk, which he said was a traditional feast commemorating the arrival of Fijian missionaries—whom the Tolai ate.

GET THERE: Air Niugini flies here at least twice daily from Port Moresby, on the south side of PNG's mainland (from $300; ). Lodging in Rabaul is limited to the Hamamas Hotel (doubles from $59; ). Ask the staff about tours of the OISCA farm ($18 with crocodile lunch; ) and rides to Matupit. The Tolai guides will find you; a day trip is $9.

Vieques Rising

Puerto Rico's Vieques has come a long way from when the Navy played war games on its beaches.

Back in 2001, the Navy was still using Puerto Rico's Vieques for war games on the beaches. There was just a handful of restaurants and hotels on the 21-mile-long, four-mile-wide Caribbean island, and it was the kind of place where guests didn't wear shoes. Today, the Navy is gone and the old bombing ranges have been designated a national wildlife refuge. Now, Vieques is exploding in a different way: New roads are being built; old ones are getting paved. One of the military's old bunkers is now a sports bar by day and a disco by night. Swanky hotels, like the W, which opened in March (doubles from $379; ), and restaurants, like El Quenepo (787-741-1215), are popping up.

But don't worry. While it's now possible to have the resort experience, Vieques is still funkier and more laid-back than most Caribbean islands. Book a ł¦˛ą˛ú˛ąĂ±ľ±łŮ˛ąâ€”one-room cottage—at La Finca (doubles from $125; ), a clean but rustic joint with outdoor showers and mismatched towels. Then head for the sand. There are more than 50 beaches—perfect for everything from kayaking (Green Beach) to snorkeling (the islet of Blue Beach) to paddling at night in one of the biggest bioluminescent bays in the world (Puerto Mosquito, a.k.a. “Bio Bay”). The best way to see the latter is in a clear canoe from the Vieques şÚÁĎłÔąĎÍř Company (two-hour rentals, $45; ), which, should you start getting antsy for more action, can also set you up with decent mountain bikes to explore all the old military roads ($25 per day) or take you kayak fly-fishing for tarpon ($150).

Twilight Zone

Happily lost on a Croatian island haunted by vampires.

Lustava

Northern Lustava

Dalmatian dinner, Croatia

Dalmatian dinner.

BY THE TIME we reached Lastovo, we were made of salt water and octopus. For a week, my family—14 of us, from age 78 down to 16—had sailed along Croatia's Dalmatian coast in a 100-foot Turkish gulet, gorging on grilled fish and pickling ourselves with local wine. We'd come far from the cruise ships of Dubrovnik and left the nightlife of Korcula behind. Lastovo (pop. 800) was the last and most remote island, one big national park with, from the look of the charts, great sheltered kayaking. But even our guide, adventure writer Maria Coffey, had never been.

We'd heard there were vampires on Lastovo—in the 1700s, the island had a little problem with vukodlaci, undead corpses that rose, as our guidebook said, “to visit the beds of bored wives and pleasure them in the night.” This sounded fine to some of our clan, but the island still emitted a creepy vibe. Even today, one of Lastovo's biggest celebrations involves the ritual humiliation of a straw puppet led through town on a donkey.

Sure enough, the crags showed little sign of life—just crying gulls and the colorful towels of naked Germans, the predominant pink-skinned species here, found sprawled along Dalmatia's rocky coast. But the little harbor of Skrivena Luka was a miracle, a still blue bay ringed with stone cottages. At the lone restaurant, Porto Russo, the proprietor brought out homemade verbena-infused Croatian grappa, then white wine (from his own grapes), home-cured olives, and local squid cooked for hours pod pekom—under a metal bell in a wood-fired outdoor oven. Later, in Lastovo Town, a 15th-century wonderland of vineyards and minaret-topped churches teetering on the island's summit, the local street sweeper—who still uses a broom—dragged us into his courtyard for thick, sweet coffee.

Did we come here by plane? Was the World Cup still going on? What was my name again? The Dalmatian islands aren't exactly off the beaten path, but in Lastovo you can feel like you sailed in and discovered them yourself.

GET THERE: Hidden Places owners Maria Coffey and Dag Goering guide ten-day kayaking-and-sailing trips along the Dalmatian coast for $4,550 per person ().

Sweet Bondage

There's no vacation quite like a Colombian-prison-island vacation.

BETWEEN 1960 AND 1984, visitors to Colombia's Isla Gorgona arrived shackled and blindfolded and slept behind barbed-wire fences, on wooden bunks without mattresses. The 2,500 inmates of Gorgona Prison were warned that, if they escaped, the venomous snakes on the tropical island would kill them and, if they braved the ocean, the sharks would get them instead.

Today, the lush, 6.5-square-mile island, 30 miles off Colombia's Pacific coast, is a national park; the lodging here has been managed since 2006 by the winner of the Colombian version of the TV show The Apprentice. Which is to say, this is one strange escape. I arrived last September via speedboat from the coastal town of Guapí. Upon touchdown, military police searched my bags for alcohol (it interferes with the requisite antivenin) and weapons. The other guests—the island hosts 130 at a time—were mostly schoolchildren and besotted couples, enjoying king-size beds in the updated guard quarters by the beach.

I spent my days exploring: first, the grisly ruins of the mammoth stone penitentiary, said to be modeled after a Nazi concentration camp and now overrun with capuchin monkeys and foot-long basilisk lizards, then the dense tropical jungle that covers 85 percent of Gorgona, for which the island provides obligatory boots. There really are pit vipers and coral snakes here, as well as easier-to-spot (and mostly harmless) boa constrictors.

The trekking's good and the kayaking better—I spent a few afternoons dipping into the equatorial water as blue-footed boobies and frigates flew overhead—but the main activity on Gorgona is diving. The island has a fully equipped dive center, and I'd regularly see 20 to 30 moray eels at any site, many as thick as my thighs. Gorgona's nature preserve extends to a six-mile radius around the island, so fish and turtles are plentiful, intrepid, and big. But size is relative. From July to September, humpbacks come to Gorgona's banks to mate and calve, and to see them breach and slap the surface with their gargantuan tails is to forget that once this was a place no one ever, ever wanted to go.

GET THERE: Three-night packages, including three meals daily, island transfers, and flights from Cali to the coastal town of GuapĂ­, in the Cauca department, from $463 (). Two-dive day trips from Gorgona's dive center, $90. Kayak rentals, $5 per hour.

King Kauai

Lush greenery, volcanoes and an endless supply of hidden beaches.

The Big Island has size on its side, not to mention fun volcanoes. Oahu has the storied North Shore. And Maui—well, let's just say that the honeymooners storming its beaches year after year don't come for nothing.

But little Kauai has it all: lush greenery, volcanoes, small towns not yet overrun, and a seemingly endless supply of hidden beaches for surfing, snorkeling, and sunbathing.

This year, all those options are more accessible than ever. On the island's north shore, the St. Regis Princeville opened its doors last October (doubles from $385; ); after taking over the historic Princeville Resort, St. Regis revamped the whole place with a classy retro look. (Think coconut palm floors and a new spa and restaurant by ĂĽber-chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.)

But you don't go to Kauai to lounge. Join the locals for stand-up paddleboarding in Hanalei Bay—there's a great SUP surf break by the Hanalei Pier—or along the flat calm of the Hanalei River. Kayak Kauai offers lessons and boards (rentals from $42 per day; ). In the nearby Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge, a coastal wetlands teeming with endemic bird species, you'll find the Okolehao trail—a windy, two-mile path offering views of Hanalei Bay and the mind-blowing Na Pali coastline. If it's surf you're after, head 45 minutes south to Poipu, rent a board at Nukumoi Surf Co. ($6 per hour; ), and try the Poipu Beach surf break, one of the island's best. Afterwards, crash just 50 yards away at the year-old Koa Kea, the first and only boutique property here (doubles from $299; ).

Trippin' on Indo

Short-term memory loss in the South Pacific.

Indonesia

Shrines decorated for the Hindu Odalan festival.

Indonesia

Lembongan traffic

LEMBONGAN ISN'T EXACTLY out of the way—just seven miles southeast of tourist-clogged Bali—but it stays perfectly out of your way. Nothing about the place gets between you and your vacation. A three-square-mile speck of coral reefs, empty beaches, and hillside bungalows, the Indonesian island is what Henry Miller meant when he said of Big Sur, California, “There being nothing to improve on in the surroundings, the tendency is to set about improving oneself.”

The easy access from Bali—plus the presence of several consistent surf breaks and dive spots—has given Lembongan a small but steady tourism economy to supplement the traditional kelp farms. My wife and I thought it might be a nice change of pace during our 16-day honeymoon on Bali. It ended up being the highlight of our trip.

It's hard for either of us to say exactly why. I know we surfed and took a beginner scuba excursion. But mostly what we have are hazy recollections of long naps, afternoon strolls, and laughing over dinner about how we'd managed to fill another day doing … er, well, we were never quite sure. And still aren't. We barely even have any photos from our stay. That's Lembongan's gift: letting you let go.

I imagine this empty-mindedness is the sort of self-improvement people seek from meditation retreats. But this retreat has cold beer and a really hollow reef break—from what I can remember.

GET THERE: Island Explorer Cruises offers day trips to Lembongan for $85 per person, including food and activities, and beachside bungalows for two from $90 per night ().

Have Lots, Want Not

The curious challenge of living it up on a private island in Fiji.

Fiji

Three acres of paradise: Wadigi

Indonesia

Wadigi's open air suites

I HAD TWO WHITE-SAND beaches and an infinity pool that overlooked an endless sea. I had a boatman ready at a moment's notice to take me snorkeling, water-skiing, windsurfing, fishing, or paddling in a glass-bottom kayak. I had two chefs waiting to prepare any whim; an open-air villa; an on-call masseuse; and a statuesque hostess who greeted me with a fruity cocktail in a fresh-cut coconut. In other words, I had Wadigi, a tiny islet in Fiji's Mamanucas, at my command.

I'd been sent there by a dive magazine to experience the singular indulgence of a private island. And, as a chronically underpaid writer, I planned to soak up every last perk. But after a couple of days of diving among spiky lionfish at half a dozen world-class sites, dinners with too many courses to count, and enough gin-and-tonics to get me kicked out of any self-respecting American bar, a funny thing happened: I found myself doing absolutely nothing.

As it turns out, when you have everything you might want, your wants start to subside. OK, so I never did get bored with that glass-bottom kayak, but I spent most of my free hours simply lolling around and contemplating the preposterous views. On my last evening, instead of ordering extravagant cocktails and back-to-back massages, I ate all the home-baked cookies in the jar and then simply sat in the pool watching the sun dip below the horizon and the clouds sweep across the mirror-still sea.

GET THERE: From $2,327 per day for two, including meals, most activities, and lodging; two-tank dives, $100;

New Outposts

Seven island getaways to fit every fantasy.

Anguilla

The Viceroy, Anguilla

FISH
Islas Secas, Panama
A group of 16 private islands, Islas Secas sits 25 miles off the Pacific coast, close to the wahoo, marlin, and grouper crowding Hannibal Bank. On land, the place is Gilligan's wildest dream, its seven solar oceanfront yurts holding only 14 guests. Go for the surfing or diving, but mainly go fish: Last winter, fishing director Carter Andrews helped a guest set seven world records here. In a week. Six nights, $6,600 per person;

SAIL
Scrub Island, British Virgin Islands
This 230-acre private island, which opened in February, is the first new resort in the BVIs in 15 years. At the heart is a 53-slip marina, the perfect base to launch a sailing excursion of the BVIs. Or stick around in one of the island's 52 rooms to enjoy day sailing, diving, hiking, and three restaurants. Doubles from $359;

DIVE
Shearwater Resort, Saba
Set some 2,000 feet atop Saba, a five-square-mile volcanic island in the Neth­erlands Antilles, Shearwater offers panoramic ocean views but is only a ten-minute drive from the docks. There, dive boats will take you out to some of the Caribbean's best snorkeling and scuba. (Ask Shearwater about custom packages.) The newly renovated rooms offer flatscreens, iPod docks, and wi-fi. Doubles from $175;

WATERSPORT
Viceroy Hotel and Resort, Anguilla
With three restaurants and three pools, you might be inclined never to leave the grounds of this year-old, 35-acre resort on the shores of both Barnes and Meads bays. But do: The 3,200 feet of coastline on the two bays offers spectacular sailing, snorkeling, and swimming. Doubles from $595;

SURF
The Atlantis Hotel, Barbados
Following a complete refurbishment in 2009, this swank, eight-room lodge on Barbados's east coast offers fast access to Sand Bank, a beginner-friendly beach break, and Soup Bowl, a tenacious reef break that Kelly Slater has called one of the best in the world. Doubles from $255;

MULTISPORT
The Landings, St. Lucia
A 19-acre waterfront resort on the northern tip of lush St. Lucia, the Landings offers complimentary 78-foot sailboats, snorkel gear, and sea kayaks . Pick up one of the latter and paddle 400 yards to little Pigeon Island for a hike to an 18th-century British fort. And don't forget to look inland: St. Lucia's Piton mountains offer some of the Caribbean's best hiking and vistas (you can see neighboring St. Vincent). Six nights, $1,755 per person, double occupancy;

INDULGE
Terre di Corleone and Portella della Ginestra, Sicily
Until recently, these properties were owned by mafia bosses Bernardo Brusca and Salvatore Riina. Thanks to a 1996 Italian law that uses government-seized mafia assets for social purposes, they've been converted into inns and cooperative farms producing fresh pasta, honey, legumes, and, of course, plentiful red and white wines. Doubles from $45;

Fresh Trips

Seven island getaways with the perfect balance of adventure and indulgence.

Belize

Off Ambergris Caye, Belize

PADDLE
Palau
Boundless Journeys' Oceania Odyssey starts with infinity-pool luxury at the Palau Pacific Resort, on Koror, before going rustic: For the next week, no more than ten guests camp on two smaller islands; snorkel over sunken World War II planes; sea-kayak the saltwater Black Tip Lake, accessed by marine tunnel; and dine on fresh-caught parrotfish. January–October; from $4,695 per person;

SAIL
Isle of Skye, Scotland
On the new seven-day Sailing & Walking Around Skye trip from Wilderness Scotland, local skipper Angus MacDonald Smith will ferry eight guests around Skye on his 67-foot yacht, Elinca, seeking out the old pirate anchorages, hailing passing fishermen to buy prawns, and cruising up inlets to launch guided hikes in the steep Cuillin Hills. Go in May or June for 20-hour days and peak seabird nesting. $1,400 per person;

MULTISPORT
Madagascar
Gap şÚÁĎłÔąĎÍřs' Madagascar Experience focuses on inland beauty. From the capital of Antananarivo, your crew will head south by minibus, stopping to hike in lush rainforests, bike around (and swim in) Lake Andraikiba, and explore the eroded sandstone Isalo Mountains. March–December; $1,449 per person;

FISH
Seychelles
On Frontiers Travel's new six-day Desroches Island Flyfishing şÚÁĎłÔąĎÍř, guests cast for hard-fighting bluefin trevally at offshore atolls by day and crash in private villas by night. Casting arm need a break? Explore the 3.5-mile-long island with kayaks, bikes, or snorkels and fins. $7,600 per person, double occupancy;

MULTISPORT
San Juan Islands
REI şÚÁĎłÔąĎÍřs' San Juan Islands trip is a six-day mash-up through Washington's Puget Sound, including a 50-mile road-biking spin around Orcas Island, sea kayaking with killer whales near Sentinel Island, and one night at a remote campsite. (The other four are spent at the Lakedale Resort's tent-cabins, which have real beds.) From $1,899 per person;

DIVE
Half Moon Caye, Belize
On the seven-day Lighthouse Reef trip from Island Expeditions, you'll kick back in safari-style tents and napping hammocks strung in coconut groves on 44-acre Half Moon Caye, some 50 miles off the mainland. Of course, you'll probably spend most of your time in or on the water, diving the Blue Hole—a famous, 400-foot-deep well—snorkeling in shallows, and exploring the reef by kayak. From $1,789 per person;

RIDE
Crete
Backroads' new six-day Crete cycling trip starts from Iráklion, on the northern coast, and ends, after 268 miles of pedaling, at Akrotiri Cape, in the west. In between, you'll spin past lush vineyards and olive groves and Venetian harbor towns, where fresh seafood and plush inns await. $3,598 per person, double occupancy;

The post Cay Party appeared first on şÚÁĎłÔąĎÍř Online.

Leeward Islands
By Matthew Joyce, Tom Morrisey

Ěý

The islands of the Lesser Antilles' northern chain may share a location sheltered from prevailing northeasterlies, but that's about all they have in common. Name your sport, then pick your island.

Anguilla
The scrub-covered, flat, dry interior of this 35-square-mile island is no place to spend your hard-earned time off, but if you keep to the perimeter you're in beachgoers' heaven. Of Anguilla's 33 stellar beaches, hailed as the best in the Caribbean, first prize goes to Rendezvous Bay, a two-mile-long sandy crescent on the island's southwest side, where you can search for driftwood and seashells among the dunes. First runner-up is palm-shaded Savannah Bay, on the relatively undeveloped east end, which serves up respectable bodysurfing waves and a steady onshore breeze. Also in the east end is Shoal Bay Beach, a favorite among the locals because of its beachfront cafés and snorkeling on a close-to-shore reef.

When the ocean is calm, Dive Anguilla (two-tank dive, $70; 809-497-2020), in Sandy Ground on the northwest side, can take you to Prickly Pear Reef, an underwater canyon eight miles off the north coast, where you can swim among huge staghorn corals, sergeant majors, and striped squirrelfish. Closer in is Sandy Deep, a mini-wall rising 15 to 60 vertical feet. After dark, fill up on lobster and beer at Johnno's in Sandy Ground, where locals gather for barbecues and live reggae.

For beachfront digs, you could splurge at Cap Juluca Resort (doubles, $595-$1050 per night, including breakfast and all water-sports; 800-323-0139), a Moorish extravaganza of white-domed villas on Maunday's Bay in the west end, but your money goes twice as far at La Sirena Hotel (doubles, $230-$295; villas, $295-$495; 800-331-9358). Near Mead's Bay Beach, also on the west end, it has 20 rooms and five villas spread around two pools and a landscaped garden. For bargain rates, stay in one of three beachside studio apartments at La Palma Guesthouse in Sandy Ground (doubles $75; 809-497-3260).

Nevis
During the seventeenth century, provincial Nevis became the social hub of the Caribbean when it attracted European aristocrats to its renowned Bath Hotel and Spa just outside Charlestown, the capital. The spa spent a long time in ruins, but a recent renovation has opened it to twentieth-century travelers (a 15-minute soak costs just $2).

You can get to Nevis from its sister island, St. Kitts, via the daily plane (one way, $25), but it's better to approach this laid-back, 36-square-mile island on the old green ferry (one way, $4) that links Basseterre, the Kittitian capital, to Charlestown. During the 11-mile, 45-minute ride, the island comes into focus: cloud-capped Nevis Peak, long-abandoned sugarcane fields, and the remnants of the old sugar mills that once were the island's economic mainstay.

The best way to see the island is on foot. Because of a welcome dearth of tourist-oriented businesses, arrangements for hikes, walks, and horseback rides are best made through individual resorts. Golden Rock Estate (doubles, $245, breakfast and dinner included; 809-469-3346), in the hills above the east coast, is a 16-room former sugar estate with bougainvillea-covered stone buildings, hiking trails, and 96 acres thick with orange, mango, and grapefruit trees.

The oceanfront Nisbet Plantation Beach Club (doubles, $355-$455, including breakfast and dinner; 809-469-9325), on the north shore, recalls its previous incarnation as an eighteenth-century coconut plantation with a reconstructed great house and 38 ceiling-fan-cooled rooms. Horseback riding along the beach and through old plantation pastureland ($45 for two hours) as well as guided hikes ($30 per person) can be arranged through the hotel. The most challenging is a five-hour vine-and-root-grabbing ascent of 3,232-foot Nevis Peak, but given the clouds that often obscure the mountain, you may see more scenery 50 feet under at Monkey Shoals reef, where you'll spot nurse sharks and octopuses hiding among sea fans and fluorescent sponges. Scuba Safaris in Oualie Beach (two tank dive, $80; 809-469-9518) handles everything from resort courses to full certification.

Montserrat
With lush rain forests, waterfalls, black-sand beaches, and sawtooth mountains, Montserrat inexplicably ranks among the least-developed and least-visited islands in the Eastern Caribbean. and the volcano spewing ash at press time certainly won't help. Nevertheless, the 39-square-mile island is well-known among road cyclists and mountain bikers, who appreciate its tortuous terrain. Montserrat's perimeter road measures less than 28 miles, but it climbs from sea level to 800 or more feet seven times, making it a challenging ride for even the fittest cyclists. Mountain bikers come for the annual Montserrat Mountain Bike Challenge (this year, November 8-15; see calendar, page 24), a weeklong festival sponsored by Island Bikes (rentals, $25 a day, $140 a week; 800-675-1945) in Plymouth, the island's only real town.

The most spectacular route for hiking or biking is a day-long trip through the South Soufrière Hills. It starts with a climb to the top of 1,700-foot Galway's Soufrière, then races downhill through head-high ferns and dense bamboo thickets before crossing elfin woodland, steep gullies, and banana fields and ending with a rollercoaster ride over the Centre Hills back into town.

Settle in at the Providence Estate House (doubles, $77- $92; 809-491-6476), a secluded two-room bed-and-breakfast plantation home that has hosted Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. But the island's best digs are at the Vue Pointe Hotel (doubles, $140; cottages, $195; 800-235-0709) with 12 rooms and 28 hexagonal cottages perched above the gray sands of Olde Road Bay on the northwest coast. Snorkeling, diving, and fishing trips with local boat captains can be booked through Aquatic Discoveries at the hotel (two-tank dive, $65; charters, $200-$350), which also rents sea kayaks (half-day, $45; full day, $75).

Guadeloupe
Your high-school French comes in handy on this tropical-island outpost of France, where English speakers are as common as Wonder bread in a boulangerie. Located near the southern end of the Leeward chain, the 530-square-mile island has a butterfly shape and a split personality. Grande-Terre, its eastern wing, is as flat as a crepe and fringed with beaches, while its wild, mountainous western half, Basse-Terre, gets fewer visitors than downtown Detroit.

Hikers should head for the 74,000-acre Parc National on Basse-Terre, where Organisation des Guides de Montagne de la Caraïbe (011-590-80-0579) leads daylong treks amid the rainforest-covered peaks ($122 per person), as well as half-day sorties ($75 per person) up the sulfur-spewing, 4,813-foot La Soufrière volcano. Mountain bikers can work off their French-Creole suppers with a thigh-burning climb up 16-mile Route de la Traversée over a 2,350-foot pass. Bikes cost $16 a day or $96 a week at Locatesse (590-88-9143) in Sainte Anne, a fishing village turned resort town on Grande-Terre's south coast.

Pigeon Island, off the west coast of Basse-Terre, ranks among Jacques Costeau's ten best dive sites for its sponge-encrusted walls and teeming schools of tropicals. Les Heures Saines (590-98-8663) offers single-tank dives ($38) and weeklong dive/villa packages ($662 per person, including lodging, breakfast, and ten dives) at Le Paradis Creole, a ten-room hotel with patios overlooking Pigeon Island.

Boardsailors hang out at Centre UCPA ($500 per person per week, including lodging, meals, equipment, and lessons; 590-88-6480), a no-frills, 60-room complex on the southeast coast. You can also stay in Sainte Anne at HĂ´tel La Toubana (doubles, $187-$318, breakfast included; 590-88-2578), with 32 air-conditioned, red-roofed bungalows on a bluff above Caravelle Beach.

Saba
There's unmistakable charm in an island where conch shells serve as alarm clocks, cottages are chalk-white with red roofs, the only “highway” is called simply The Road, and the capital, situated at the foot of the mountain, is officially called The Bottom.

It is Saba's other bottom that attracts most of the 28,000 annual visitors to this five-square-mile island. The Saba Marine Park (011-599-4-63295), which protects Saban waters down to 200 feet, contains some of the most pristine reefs and walls in the Caribbean. It maintains moorings on 26 designated sites ($2-per-dive use fee), ranging from the 45-foot-deep Hot Springs, where the geothermal-spring-bathed sand is warm to the touch, to Third Encounter, a seamount at 90 to 100 feet.

Winter water temperatures here are in the high seventies, perfect for attracting pelagics. If the currents are right, you can swim due west from Third Encounter and, after a minute or two, a skyscraperlike form begins to resolve from the underwater mist. This is Eye of the Needle (90 feet), a slender volcanic pinnacle festooned with sponges and frequented by barracuda and blacktip sharks. For a shallower dive, you can circumnavigate Man of War Shoal (70 feet), which offers encounters with virtually every species of Caribbean reef fauna.

A small-party specialist charter is Saba Deep Dive Center (two-tank dives, $80, equipment included; 599-4-63347) in Fort Bay Harbor. Somewhat larger boats are operated by Sea Saba Advanced Dive Center (two-tank dive, $89; 599-4-62246) and Wilson's Dive Shop (two-tank dive, $80; 599-4-62541), but Saba really has no cattle-boat operations.

On Saba, most divers stay in the town of Windwardside. One of the largest properties is the Captain's Quarters (doubles, $135, breakfast included; 599-4-62201), with 12 rooms. The newly opened Cottage Club (one-bedroom units, $105; 599-4-62386) has ten cottages on the edge of a ravine. Willard's of Saba (doubles, $180-$300; 599- 4-62498), secluded high on the mountain, is Saba's luxury hotel, with seven rooms, a pool, and tennis courts.

See also:

The post Leeward Islands appeared first on şÚÁĎłÔąĎÍř Online.