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.

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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 ��������ñ���ٲ�—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 ���ϳԹ��� 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 Guapí, 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 über-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 ���ϳԹ���s' 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 ���ϳԹ���, 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 ���ϳԹ���s' 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;

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Getting far, far, far away from it all is easier—and cheaper—than you think. Presenting seven adventure-packed Caribbean island escapes.

The Over-Under

SABA, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES

The most challenging part of a trip to Saba, a five-square-mile volcanic island 28 miles southwest of St. Maarten, is the arrival. Saba has the shortest commercial runway—1,312 feet—in the world. Think of it as an aircraft carrier made of rainforest and cliffs. But once you touch down, your toughest decision is whether to hike into a cloudforest or dive among coral-covered seamounts. Base yourself in a hot-tub-equipped cottage at Dutch marine biologist Tom van't Hof's Ecolodge Rendez-Vous (doubles, $85; ). Then hike past sweeping ocean vistas on the way up 2,877-foot Mount Scenery. Post-hike, head for the centrally located village of Windwardside, home to Sea Saba Advanced Dive Center. The outfitter leads half-day snorkeling trips and four-day scuba-certification courses in Saba National Marine Park, which van't Hof founded 20 years ago (snorkeling trips, $35; dive course, $450; ). Winair flies daily from St. Maarten to Saba (from $150; ).

Surf and Slip

BARBADOS

Among diehard surfers, Barbados is famous for Soup Bowl, a nasty curl off the eastern shore. Less known—and far more appealing for mortals—are the dozens of forgiving swells surrounding the 166-square-mile island. Newbies will find Freights Bay, near Barbados's southern tip, plenty welcoming. Fryers Well, outside of Speightstown, is a good intermediate option. And Tropicana, a left-hand break north of Holetown, offers hairball thrills. Seek lessons from Christ Church Parish–based surf master Melanie Pitcher ($70; ). On land, do as the locals do: Drink the world's best rum. First, hit the Mount Gay distillery (), where charred-oak barrels give the rum its caramel flavor. Then make for the parish of St. James, home to the John Moore bar, one of Barbados's finest rum shacks. Here, cricket matches are fiercely debated over strong punch and grilled bonita. A solid oceanside crash pad is the Peach & Quiet, in Inch Marlow (doubles from $110; ).

Little Big League

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

In this nation of 9.5 million, béisbol is not the pastime we know in the States. It's a way of life. Discover as much in Santo Domingo's training grounds, where teams like Aguilas Cibaeñas play in front of crowds that make the Fenway faithful look like sushi eaters (tickets generally cost less than $20; schedule available at ). The pro season runs from October through January, but baseball never stops. Coming this winter? Head to Boca Chica, 45 minutes east of Santo Domingo, and see tomorrow's stars at the New York Mets' new 37-acre training complex. For off-field thrills, drive 2.5 hours north to the adventure ranch Rancho Baiguate, outside Jarabocoa (doubles, $145; ). The guides here are versatile. One day they'll float you eight miles down the Class II Yaque del Norte River ($50). The next, they'll start a multi-day trip up 10,417-foot Pico Duarte, the Caribbean's tallest peak ($385).

Where the Wild Things Are

MONA ISLAND, PUERTO RICO

Think of this as Puerto Rico's version of the Galápagos. Mona Island, 46 miles west of Cabo Rojo, is open to just a few hundred visitors at a time, with the only overnight stays at campsites along its white-sand beach. Inland, nearly 90 percent of the terrain is 200-foot cliffs, riddled with half-mile-deep caverns. These contain the skeletons of many a conquistador and pirate. (Legend has it Captain Kidd once stayed here.) But come for the wildlife. On a four-day trip with mainland-based Acampa ���ϳԹ��� Tours, let four-foot Mona iguanas come to you like poodles, chase after blue-footed boobies, and spy on feral boars (you can also hunt them with bow and arrow in winter). Acampa arranges pickups throughout Puerto Rico, and trips should be booked one month in advance (roughly $750 per person for groups of ten; ).

Ghost Fish

SOUTH ANDROS ISLAND, BAHAMAS

Bonefish are hard to catch. Don't let anyone tell you differently. They look alternately like the white sand and mirrory water they swim between, and hooking them can require pinpoint casts of up to 70 feet. And that's the easy part—they fight like Japanese motorcycles. A good guide is not just recommended but necessary. Raised within sight of the water they traffic, the crew at Andros South, a fishing-first lodge situated on the eastern shore of South Andros, are as good as it gets. Expect about ten of the hardest-fighting fish you've ever encountered on a fly rod, every day. Back at the no-frills lodge, munch on conch fritters and swill Kalik (Bahamian beer) as the sun gets low. Three-day trips from $2,000 ().

Blue Yonder

ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES

The 32 islands and cays of St. Vincent and the Grenadines offer the most varied cruising in the Caribbean. Find Barefoot Yacht Charters, the region's best outfitter, off the southern tip of St. Vincent. Their six-night, American Sailing Association–certified cruise school, aboard a 40-foot yacht, teaches guests to clear the anchor, trim the main, and laze on the beaches of Mayreau ($1,300; ). Already skippered? Hire a sail from Barefoot and drift ($1,800 per week). Your destination: the 16-square-mile Tobago Cays Marine Park, home to a sand-bottom lagoon and six island playgrounds (). Kick your feet up, bounce between islands, and tell your friend the hawksbill turtle you're never going home.

Time Out

CORN ISLANDS, NICARAGUA

Two chunks of sand 40 miles east of Nica­ragua, the Corn Islands are the Caribbean in its primal state. Beaches are empty and wet-T-shirt contests won't make landfall for another 20 years. What to do? Just wander around with a snorkel, a cerveza, and a grin. The puddle-jumper from Managua leaves twice daily for the airstrip on Grand Corn ($165 round-trip; ). The “Grand” part is relative—the island is about four square miles. Dive Nautilus runs trips out to a sunken 400-year-old Spanish galleon ($20; ). Sleep in a bungalow at Casa Canada, where the owners arrange guided jungle hikes (cabanas from $115; ). For dinner, spiny Caribbean lobster runs about $15 at the restaurants near the dock (try Lidia's Place). A trip to Little Corn, a patch of sand 30 minutes north via speedboat, is a must. The Dive Little Corn shop rents snorkeling gear (from $15; ). Crash at Casa Iguana, a wind-and-solar-powered eco-lodge (doubles from $35; ).

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Australia’s fabled surfie hangout emerges as a multisport playground Byron Bay may be the modern surfer’s idyll—Australia’s most consistent waves pound the white sands around Cape Byron, which rises like a giant snake’s head from the blue Pacific—but veterans of the sport still reminisce about the days preceding its discovery. Indeed, there was a time before the late sixties when the hippies, Buddhists, Hare Krishnas, and naturists of all stripes flocked to the easternmost point of Australia, 570 miles north of Sydney. This fabled era, when Byron Bay was a working-class town supported by logging, dairy farming, and whaling, evidently had its pluses and minuses.

Consider the salutary tale of Bob and Terry, a couple of Sydney beach bums who in 1962, at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, tossed their malibus onto a train and made their escape to Byron Bay. Picked up by a friendly passerby at the railway station (“G’day—did you come to find some waves?”), they spent a day riding the perfect swells at an empty beach called Watego’s. It seemed to them a reasonable approximation of paradise. Unfortunately, local cops roared into their campsite, grabbed them by the hair, gave them a short-back-and-sides trim, and then dropped them on a road out of town.

But 40 years is a long time in Aussie beach culture. Not long after Bob and Terry got rolled, redneck Byron Bay became Australia’s countercultural Shangri-La—a half-mythic place where surfers could park in their panel vans by the beach, sign on for the dole, and live on a diet of bananas, fish ‘n’ chips, and illicit local herbs. Today, surfing is not only respectable at Byron Bay; it’s downright establishment. In fact, while I was reading Bob and Terry’s Easy Rider tale—I was at the scene of the crime, Watego’s Beach, flipping through an ancient copy of Pacific Longboarder magazine—a svelte surfie couple dropped their boards outside the lone restaurant, where they chowed down on Thai prawn salad and Tasmanian champagne.

Yes, there are the occasional whiffs of a Hamptons Down Under, but Byron Bay has in fact blossomed in a uniquely Australian, democratic way, balancing its competing interests to keep a low-rise beach paradise intact. To get the lay of the land, newcomers should nurse a schooner of beer at the area’s most famous pub, the Beach Hotel. You can play at being a celebrity in hiding—Keith Richards had left just before I arrived in March—or join the international backpacker set on the beach at night, spinning fire sticks as if practicing for Cirque du Soleil. You can eat from sushi bars or vegan buffets, catch an art-house movie, or browse for local indie-rock CDs. And the Aquarian spirit is alive and well: Yoga classes are held at dawn on the beach, crystals are revered in souvenir shops, and radicals are given full voice. (I opened the official tourist guide and enjoyed a lurid essay on the Iraqi war.) Somehow it all seems right in the eclectic Byron Bay soup.

The good news for outdoor fans is that Byron Bay has branched out from surfing—reinventing itself as the Boulder of the South, Telluride on a warm beach. The wonder is that it has taken so long, given the setting: The offshore waters host some of the most fertile marine grounds in Australia, while the mountain hinterland of the Great Dividing Range is thick with subtropical rainforest. Right now, Byron Bay’s outfitters are making up for lost time. I strolled through the compact village one afternoon—the adventure companies are clustered together in rabid competition, with names like Wicked Travel and Cape Fear—and within an hour I had signed on for a decathlon of Aussie outdoor escapades, covering land and sea. Admittedly, I skipped the naked bushwalking for beginners, but I was up for everything else, on day trips led by itinerant Aussie guides, many of whom seemed to be on sabbatical from snowboarding in the Canadian Rockies.

For starters, Nightcap National Park, 25 miles inland, has miles of mountain-bike trails, from easy to hardcore. On a wet morning, a sunburned surfer named Lindsay led ten of us through the mist-filled rainforest, where eucalyptuses soared like Grecian columns. The 13 miles I covered felt more like 50, feathering down or grinding up, skidding over sinuous roots, taking in grandiose vistas and secret swimming holes.

With just as much zeal, the Zodiacs slip like sea iguanas off Clarks Beach every dawn. In November 2002, a stretch of the Coral Sea, along Byron Bay’s beaches from Brunswick Head to Lennox Head, was declared the Cape Byron Marine Park; a mile and a half offshore, an outcrop called Julian Rocks is rated one of Australia’s top ten diving spots, thanks to the thriving piscine community lured by the confluence of warm and cool currents. A dive master named Evan—crew-cut, tongue-pierced, tattooed like a Polynesian sailor—led the underwater trail past squadrons of butterfly fish and angels to the scene-stealers of the dive: moray eels, loggerhead turtles, eagle rays flapping batlike overhead, and ten-foot leopard sharks that drifted so close my fingers brushed their flanks, strangely rough as sandpaper. (In winter, gray nurse sharks pass through—keep your distance.)

Why stop there? I thought. The next morning came a ride on a microlite—Byron Bay’s latest craze, a motorized hang glider that soars above the activity—and, of course, I signed up for a surfing lesson. This is still the number-one breadwinner for Byron Bay’s outdoor operators, thanks to water temperatures that fluctuate between 65 and 81 degrees and strong year-round swells producing waves between three and six feet tall. Here, a surf scene materializes wherever there is a stretch of sand. The most coveted spots include Cosy Corner and Tallow’s, on the south side of Cape Byron, where bushland and the cornflower-blue sea collide. And picturesque Watego’s, the most easterly beach in Australia, still tops the charts for where to see and be seen.

Back home in New York, color-coded terrorist alerts were going from yellow to orange. Here in Byron, they also employ color coding. Like schools of fish, surfing students are grouped by the color of their wetsuits. As I proceeded to learn the difference between riding goofy and natural—hopping on my padded board, falling off, hopping on again—the rest of the world seemed very, very remote.

DETAILS:
Lodging: Experienced Byron hands stay at a beach called Belongil Spit—it’s away from the center of town, has great cafés, and you can walk along the sand for 15 minutes to reach the action. Belongil by the Sea has four cottages that sleep two to nine, with kitchens, on two acres of botanical gardens, starting at $63 a night (011-61-2-6685-8111, ). Film stars prefer Rae’s On Watego’s (rooms start at $145; 011-61-2-6685-5695, ).
Sports: There is good beginner surfing year-round in Byron Bay. For lessons, try Black Dog Surfing, a school that runs beginner classes several times a day ($30 per three-hour group lesson; 011-61-2-6680-9828, ). The more experienced can take private lessons from former U.S. surf champion, longtime Byron Bay resident, and local celeb Rusty Miller (a two-hour private lesson costs $56 for one person, $99 for two; 011-61-2-6684-7390, rustym@mullum.com.au). Besides surfing, the whole gamut of outdoor sports is on offer in Byron Bay—operators line Jonson Street and the competition keeps prices down. Rockhoppers (011-61-2-6680-8569, ) runs mountain-biking trips ($52 for a solid day), hikes to watch the sunrise from 3,800-foot Mount Warning ($39), and caving/rappelling trips ($79). Byron Bay Dive Centre (011-61-2-6685-8333, ) takes divers out every morning to Julian Rocks ($50 per single-tank dive). Hang-glide or microlite with Skylimit ($92 for a tandem flight; 011-61-2-6684-3711, ).

The Dish on Soup Bowl

In Barbados, Surf Kings Happily Serve Up Lessons for Plebes

Barbados sports a tight-knit surfing community and a refreshing lack of attitude

In stuffy Barbados, where islanders worship cricket and neckties flourish, the unlikely badass surf scene is a splash of hot pepper sauce on the otherwise bland national dish: flying fish with okra-and-cornmeal mash. The Caribbean’s most consistent waves roll in from the east, pounding the pear-shaped, 166-square-mile island, the easternmost outpost of the West Indies. And Bathsheba, an east coast village where a tumble of bright houses clings to a palm-studded hillside, is the nexus. Thirty yards off the beach lies the world-famous Soup Bowl, where a north and a south swell collide to create waves from 3 to 25 feet tall.

Soup Bowl attracts Kelly Slater and other elite surfers for the Independence Pro competition every November and provides locals—and visitors—with the perfect aquaturf for honing their moves. Mark Holder, 35, and Alan Burke, 33, reign as the surf kings of Barbados, competing in international tournaments and regularly carving the Soup Bowl waves. Both are natives; Holder, a laid-back rasta “soul-surfer,” and Burke, a sixth-generation descendant of water-loving Irish immigrants, have had a friendly rivalry for two decades, and there’s an ongoing debate among the island’s tight-knit surfing community over which of the two is supreme.

Best of all, each gives private lessons. Imagine showing up in Maui and calling Laird Hamilton for a few hours of one-on-one. In Barbados, you can do the equivalent, getting personal instruction from Holder and Burke on tamer waves, on the south end of the island, with the hope of working up to the Soup Bowl’s powerful right break. The lack of attitude here is reassuring for wobbly neophytes, who won’t find chiseled surf studs staring them down while they’re learning to stand on a board, as well as for seasoned old-timers, who return year after year.

The windsurfing and kiteboarding are also superb, especially along the southern coast near the resorts at Silver Sands and Silver Rock. It’s not unusual to see pro windsurfer and official island character Brian “Irie Man” Talma working his moves off Silver Rock Beach; he owns a rental shop there, and you can take lessons from him.

Or just find a comfortable spot in the sand and watch local youngsters rip it up. “There are little kids who will ride anything they can get their hands on,” says Holder, a surfer since age six. “There are guys riding plywood boards.” Holder describes the Barbados riding posture: “Local style is the most radical—flinging your hands, hanging down low to the board, and getting into the groove.”

My lesson, with Burke, takes place among perfect two-footers at Freights Bay, a mile from Long Beach on the south coast, where he runs a surf school. After learning to turn turtle (flip the board over myself in a wave) and other basic moves, we paddle out. I manage to catch a wave… for a few seconds. My moves, however, are an amusing parody of local style—flailing my arms, tripping off the board, and falling overboard.

DETAILS:
Lodging: Check out the Bajan Surf Bungalows (doubles from $54; 246-433-9920, ), owned by Melanie Pitcher, one of the country’s top surfers.
Sports: July to September is the best season to catch beginner waves. Contact the Barbados Surfing Association (246-429-6647, ) for details. For lessons, call Mark Holder (246-420-3611) or Alan Burke (246-228-5117). Holder charges $50 per hour for one-on-one lessons; Burke charges $40 for a two-hour lesson. For surfing, kitesurfing, and windsurfing gear, as well as rentals and lessons, head over to Brian Talma’s Irieman Action (246-428-2866, ), in the Silver Rock Hotel.

Surfing Lite

A Perfect Set in Costa Rica is One Part Mellow Paddling and Two Parts Extreme Leisure

So you want to learn to surf. You want to experience the good-vibrations, enlightened-oneness-with-Mother-Ocean thing, but you’ve outgrown the sleep-under-the-pier, suffer-for-your-wisdom technique. Besides, more than simply learning to hang ten, you’d like someone else to make breakfast, fold the towels, and dial you in to the local scene. For this you’ll need a guide—and the man to see in Costa Rica is Alvaro Solano.

HQ is Vista Guapa Surf Camp, which 28-year-old Solano opened in September 2002 above the Pacific coast town of Jacó. Three sunny duplex casitas cascade down a narrow ridge, pointed right at what may be Costa Rica’s most reliable surf break. Each air-conditioned surf shack is aligned to ensure unimpeded valley views and discreet distance from fellow guests. There are no more than a dozen surfers during each weeklong session, and though you’re only a ten-minute walk from Jacó’s main drag, it’s easy to forget there’s anyone else in the valley when you’re on your deck. From the beach below the lodge, Solano took his first rides on a broken plank as a kid and polished the moves that have made him Costa Rica’s four-time-consecutive national surf champion. He picked this spot for his camp because it offers a beginner-worthy break with waves that average three to four feet—yet advanced-rider hot spots like Boca Barranca, the world’s third-longest left, are nearby.

Though it’s not quite sink or surf, the Vista Guapa doctrine emphasizes learning by doing. Classes are taught by Solano or Lisbeth Vindas, a three-time national champion; I had just one fellow pupil for my first attempt at the sport. Solano showed us how to count wave sets and mark reference points for the likeliest takeoff spots—and then let the waves do the instructing. At first, I waited, watching the ocean and letting my mind wander before turning, taking a few strokes, and dropping in. Solano’s approach worked: I caught the first wave I pursued.

Soon I’d found my own rhythm, on and off the board. I slept in each morning, missing the 6:30 sunrise and the dawn asana session on the outdoor yoga deck but rising in time to shuffle over to the main lodge for the monstrous breakfast of beans and rice, omelets, and fruit, during which Solano ticked off tide times and entertainment options. Each day passed in a blur of watching and paddling, and soon enough we’d start debating the big question of the day—where to have dinner—wrestling between the pan-seared tuna at Playa Hermosa’s Jungle Surf Cafe and Juanita’s seafood platter over in Playa Herradura.

Surf’s up a maximum of four hours daily, which leaves ample time for the multisport cornucopia within an hour of town—Class III-IV whitewater rafting on the Naranjo River and zip-line tours of the forest canopy, for starters. Learning that extreme leisure is the necessary counterpoint to surfing, I started easy, hopping in Solano’s minivan for the tranquillo cruise south to Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio. There I met the surfer’s spirit animal: a three-toed sloth, slung like a sack of mangoes from a branch. But most afternoons were spent in my hammock, where I found myself able to spend hours meditating about which flip-flops to buy.

My big breakthrough came on the fourth morning. Straddling my board, watching the sets roll in, I experienced a moment of the transcendent clarity I’d always imagined would come from being one with the ocean. Suddenly it was all very clear: I could have the shrimp and the lobster for dinner.

DETAILS:
Lodging: The Vista Guapa Surf Camp (011-506-643-2830, ) charges $675 per person per week, $1,200 for two people, including twice-a-day surfing at one of 22 surf breaks, lodging, breakfast and dinner, rentals, and field trips to attractions.
Sports: The surfing around Jacó is consistent year-round. Green Tours (011-506-643-2773) offers a gamut of nearby outfitted adventures.

Liquid Samba

Surf to the Rhythm of Bahia, the Soul of Brazil

“Did you hear the big news?” my surf instructor, Adriano dos Santos Sarmento, asked when I arrived in the sleepy Brazilian fishing village of Itacaré. “The fishermen caught three massive tiger sharks—right where we’re taking you to surf tomorrow.” Then he added, “The price of shark meat went down 200 percent today.” This Peter Benchley info-moment got my attention, but because shark attacks are unheard of here, I was undeterred from my plan to enlist in surf boot camp.

I ventured to Itacaré, in the eastern coastal state of Bahia, 186 miles south of Salvador, because Brazilian friends told me it possesses the “soul” of Brazil and a legacy of African-influenced music, cuisine, dance, and religion. The Afro-Brazilian culture, they said, imbues Bahia with a mysticism that affects the spirit and the senses—and, I figured, maybe the surf.

The road to town was paved five years ago, not long enough to have made Itacaré a jaded tourist area. And having noted the dreamy look in the eyes of graduates lounging around EasyDrop, a six-year-old surf camp, I set my own goal as nothing short of spiritual deliverance. For the next two weeks, seven multilingual instructors—led by the owner, German ex-fencer and musician Hans-Benjamin Kromayer—would take me and five other recruits (two Brazilians, two Canadians, and a fellow American) to half a dozen of the best surf spots in a 20-mile radius.

I quickly fell into the routine. Classes began with jumping jacks on the white sand. “Choose your wave carefully and always pay attention. Abaixa mais,” Sarmento said, seamlessly mixing English and Portuguese. His suggestion to stay low came right before my surfboard jettisoned me, making me wish that I hadn’t skipped so many balance-building yoga sessions back home.

When I needed a break, I paddled out on my longboard and meditated on the warm, poochy swells that trundled in. May through July, the waves would be eight feet high, not the three feet they were in January, and ten times as intimidating. The mile-long beach, cupped by lush Atlantic rainforest, was deserted except for a little girl decapitating coconuts and selling them to surfers.

Every morning as I strapped on my leash, I swore that I would take the afternoon to raft the nearby Río de Contas or explore the mangrove swamps. But after four hours of surfing, I invariably collapsed into a lactic-acid-induced nap. Only when the heat lost its chokehold on the day did I rouse for the evening video screening—a ritual replete with a professional critique from Kromayer. Then we fueled up on moqueca (a whitefish drenched in a thick coconut and palm-oil broth and served over rice) at Tia Deth, a family-run restaurant with homemade oil paintings tacked to the walls.

“God, this is perfect,” a fellow surfie said at dinner, setting down his caipirinha, a Brazilian cocktail. I didn’t know if he meant the exquisite blend of sugarcane booze and lemon, the tropical breeze that tumbled over the bows of small wooden boats and onto our rickety table, or the delicious soreness of well-used muscles. It was all perfection.

DETAILS:
Lodging: EasyDrop (011-55-73-251-3065, ) offers a two-week package of instruction, lodging at a pousada, and breakfast for $817-$859, depending on the season.
Sports: Mid-September through December and March through April are the best times for beginning surfers to visit. Get surf gear at Pousada Hanalei (daily surfboard rentals, $7-$11; 011-55-73-251-2311). For rafting the Class III-IV Río de Contas, try AtivaRafting (011-55-73-251-2224, ). A 17-mile trip from the put-in at Taboquinhas, in the Itacaré district, costs $14 per person.

Hawaii 911

Who Better Than Firefighter Surf Gods to Initiate Novice Riders?

Neophyte surfers cowed by the Pacific’s powerful crush will find comfort in the collective résumé of the 25 teachers at Oahu’s Hawaiian Fire Surf School: They’re Honolulu firefighters certified in every conceivable lifesaving skill—from emergency medical treatment to open-water rescue. More important, they’re born-on-boards guys. They surf almost as frequently as they eat—catching waves before and after work and spending their days off teaching hodads like me. That the trio who coached me last fall were short on attitude, long on skills, and just happened to be built like surf-mag cover gods was a bonus, one certainly not lost on the female contingent of our six-member student body.

Firefighter John Pregil, 40, started Hawaiian Fire Surf School in 2000 with Garrett Vallez and Kevin Miller and two goals: to teach surfing with “aloha spirit” and to do it in an environment of safety. Today, their burgeoning practice has a full lineup of men and women instructors and draws clients from Waikiki hotels; the school runs a free van service out to the near-secret beach where they teach.

That would be Barbers Point, a two-mile strand of southwest-facing sugary-white sand about 25 miles west of Waikiki in Kalaeloa, on the site of the recently decommissioned Barbers Point Naval Air Station. Locals know it, but most surfers prefer bigger quarry than these undaunting one- to two-footers (albeit with nice shape and just enough power to drive a long ride in shallow, 80-degree water). The same conditions make it a great choice for bodysurfers and surf kayakers, and its length and seclusion mean it’s always uncrowded. As a bonus, the point is flanked by Kalaeloa Beach Park, a 13-site campground with picnic tables, showers, and barbecue pits shaded by ironwood trees. Though camping is allowed only on weekends, the area is open for day use during the week.

“The only way you can screw up is by not having fun,” Ken Waters said as he wrapped up our ground-school session. Waters and cohorts Glenn Parker and Mike Jones had given us a thorough briefing on how and when to spring to our feet on superbuoyant foam-padded boards. But to their credit, the teachers didn’t want us bogging down with too much technique. They wanted us to surf.

I had plenty of opportunities for long, smooth rides to shore. I emphasize: plenty of opportunities. I mainly specialized in “pearling” (diving off the surfboard for nonexistent underwater treasures when the nose gets caught in a wave). But, heck, I did get a few rides in and earned the nickname “Big Wave Bob” for my fussiness in wave selection. I also had time to watch the others founder and to surf-gab with my teachers: “You guys are all great surfers. Don’t you get bored with this?”

“Are you kidding?” Parker answered me. “You’re our daily entertainment! And if you get good, we get to surf. Really, we just love to get people stoked. If we’ve accomplished that, then we’ve had a great day.”

DETAILS:
Lodging: The Department of Parks and Recreation (808-523-4525, ) requires a free permit to camp at Kalaeloa Beach Park (Friday, Saturday, or Sunday only).
Sports: Catch the best beginner surf between April and October. Hawaiian Fire Surf School (888-955-7873, ) charges $79 for a half-day group lesson, $97 for a full day, including equipment, lunch (full day only), and transportation from Waikiki. To rent a board ($20 a day), try Blue Planet (808-922-5444, ). The island’s best surf-kayak shop is Go Bananas Kayaks ($30 per day for a single, $43 for a tandem; 808-737-9514, ).

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Best Surfing Waves

BATHSHEBA, BARBADOS: Soupbowl, a reef break with a powerful right on the island’s undeveloped east coast, has been hosting wintertime surfing competitions for 20 years, but thanks to an Atlantic exposure, good waves can be found year-round. The Soupbowl scene heats up in November, when the Independence Pro (celebrating Barbados’s 1966 break from Britain) draws surfers hoping for southwest winds and deep barrels. Kelly Slater won last year. For details, contact the Barbados Surfing Association (246-228-5117, ).

HALEIWA, OAHU, HAWAII: Its exposure to huge swells makes Oahu’s North Shore (a.k.a. the Seven Mile Miracle) the most epic surf magnet in the universe. Winter storms generate rolling monsters made famous at spots like Pipeline and Sunset Beach, but beginners can enjoy Chuns Reef and Puaena Point, where weaker currents and a softer bottom make for a gentler entrée to the sport. For lessons ($65 for a three-hour group lesson) and rentals ($24-$30 per day) contact the Surf-N-Sea shop (808-637-7873, ).
PUERTO ESCONDIDO, MEXICO: The “Mexican Pipeline” is a legendary beach break with left- and right-hand tubes at Zicatela Beach. In March, the Central Surf Longboard Invitational is held here, kicking off the summer season of big southern swells. If the Pipeline’s too gnarly for you, walk a bit farther south to La Punta, where you’ll often find an easier point breaking left—a slower, rounder learner’s wave. For classes, check in with the Central Surf Shop ($50 per two-hour lesson and $10-$12 for all-day board rentals; 011-52-954-582-2285, ).

Best Hipster Hangouts

JAKE’S JAMAICA: Eclectic Jake’s, part of the super-chic Island Outpost group (owned by Island Records’ Chris Blackwell), is an intimate jumble of adobe buildings—accented by a thumping reggae soundtrack—atop a south-coast cliff near Treasure Beach’s dark sands. Denizens of cool are many here—you could bump into Bono in the mosaic-tiled saltwater pool if you’re not lazing about in Seapuss, Sweetlip, or one of the 11 other brightly painted gingerbread cottages done up with island paintings. Be sure to try Jake’s pumpkin soup at the restaurant (doubles from $95; 800-688-7678.

HOTEL DESEO, MEXICO: Pack the Gucci shades—this “hotel and lounge” on Playa del Carmen’s Fifth Avenue places a heavy emphasis on the lounge part of the equation. Note the Euro-tinged accents wafting through the air as bronzed gods and goddesses sun away last night’s party on daybeds lining the upstairs deck. Grab a cerveza at the bar, then hop in the outdoor Jacuzzi. The 15 elegantly sparse guest rooms—grooviest on the Mayan Riviera—feature marble toilets and clawfoot tubs (doubles from $118; 011-52-984-879-3620, ).

LALUNA, GRENADA: Sixteen airy villas—each with a Balinese four-poster bed and an expansive private deck that includes a plunge pool—cover a hillside above Laluna’s secluded beach. Welcome to an Italian-owned and -designed enclave of fabulousness near Morne Rouge. When you’re not diving or kayaking, sample the fresh Mediterranean pasta in the beachside restaurant and keep an eye peeled for former megamodel Jerry Hall (doubles from $270; 473-439-0001, ).

Best Beaches

SECRET BEACH, KAUAI, HAWAII: At the base of 150-foot cliffs west of Kilauea, this two-mile stretch of gold-glowing sand draws its name from its remote location (and the presence of nude sunbathers). To get in on the Secret, you have to drive two miles west from Kilauea to Kalihiwai, go a half-mile down a muddy road to the trailhead, then walk five minutes on a rocky path. Once you’re there, you’ll want to comb the beach and lounge around, but it’s best not to swim: From October to May, swells can be quite large, and currents are always strong. The folks at Kayak Kauai are knowledgeable and can help with directions (800-437-3507, ).

SANDY CAY, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS: This uninhabited 14-acre nirvana southeast of Jost Van Dyke can be reached only by boaters, namely yachties, but its crystalline waters and gleaming white sand make it well worth chartering a ride yourself. Daytrippers are welcome to anchor on the island, owned by Laurance Rockefeller, and bask on his beach or hike the 20 minutes it takes to circle Sandy Cay or venture up the trail through its interior. Call Caribbean Connection for charters (284-494-3623).
ST. JOSEPH PENINSULA STATE PARK, PORT ST. JOE, FLORIDA: Rated America’s best beach by Dr. Beach himself (Stephen Leatherman, a coastal geologist who assesses the health of the nation’s sandy stretches), the 2,516-acre park is bounded by St. Joe Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, with 14 miles of coastline. Highlights include snowy sand dunes, wildlife (this is a primo spot for spotting hawks and monarch butterflies), and the bliss of seeing nary another soul (campsites, $15 per night; 800-326-3521 for reservations, 850-227-1327 for information).

Best Eco-Lodges

LODGE AT PICO BONITO, HONDURAS: The 8,000-foot peak of Pico Bonito sets the backdrop for this 200-acre nature resort close to the Caribbean coast, where 21 cabins (constructed from hurricane-felled timber) are tucked among a grove of cacao and coffee trees. A poolside bar serves fresh grapefruit juice straight from the orchards on the property, while a restaurant with an outdoor patio offers Meso-American cuisine. Pico Bonito National Park is next door, and the Class II-IV Cangrejal River flows nearby. For a less frothy adventure, paddle a canoe through the mangroves of Cuero y Salado Park, near La Ceiba. Watch for 275 species of birds, including the long-tailed manakin, as well as jaguars, kinkajous, and monkeys (doubles from $155; 888-428-0221, ).

EXOTICA, DOMINICA: The lodge’s eight wooden cottages overlooking the sea on the slopes of 3,683-foot Morne Anglais have a genuine eco-pedigree—they’re run by the president of the Caribbean Conservation Society, Athie Martin. The units have tropical-hardwood verandas, pine-paneled living rooms, and fully equipped kitchens with gas stoves and solar-heated water. Guests can prepare their own meals with fresh-picked produce from an adjoining organic farm or dine at the lodge’s café. Aside from soaking in the get-back-to-the-land vibe, there are diversions: Wander old hunting trails through forests looking for bananaquit birds, hike an hour up to Middleham Falls near Cochrane, or go play in the sea (doubles from $140; 767-448-8839, ).

HOTELITO DESCONOCIDO, MEXICO: Here’s proof that a stay at an eco-resort doesn’t have to be an exercise in austerity. Sixty miles south of Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific coast, Desconocido is as plush as environmentally oriented accommodations come: Think Mexican fishing village meets luxury safari camp. Palafitos (wood-floored bungalows with palapa roofs) are set up on stilts around a stunning lagoon and a 100-acre beach reserve where sea turtles nest from June to January. Use the lodge’s equipment to windsurf, or take a horseback ride along the beach, then head back to one of the 30 rustic-chic guest rooms, which feature canopied beds, open-air showers, and embroidered linens—but no electricity. Solar energy powers the resort, and countless candles provide soft lighting (doubles from $215; 800-851-1143, ).

TIAMO RESORTS, SOUTH ANDROS, BAHAMAS: Sea kayaking, sailing, diving, snorkeling, and a quiet beach are all a coconut’s throw away from Tiamo’s lodge and eight bungalows on stilts with views over South Bight’s teal waters. The resort is supremely eco-friendly—it’s solar-powered and uses composting toilets; guests are asked to pack out their plastic goods for recycling. Bring your fly rods—bonefish are abundant in the flats right out the front door. Afterward, head to the main lodge for Chef Jared’s seared tuna with red-pepper-and-mango sauce (doubles from $205; 800-201-4356, ).

KANANTIK, BELIZE: Situated on 300 private acres (with an airstrip) in southern Belize, Kanantik Reef and Jungle Resort redefines “isolated”: The only neighbors are the jaguars and toucans that haunt the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, four miles south, and the whale sharks that migrate offshore. Ancient Mayan building traditions have been updated to 21st-century cush in the 25 spacious cabañas that line the palm-fringed beach, where you can launch a sea kayak. You can also dive, fish for bill- and bonefish, sail one of the resort’s Hobie Cats, or tour the temples at Xunantunich ruins, near the Guatemalan border. Refuel with the restaurant’s Creole-Mediterranean fare (doubles from $265; 800-965-9689, ).

Best Dive Destinations

Into the Caribbean’s clear blue wonders

DRIFT DIVING LITTLE CAYMAN’S BLOODY BAY WALL MARINE PARK: Bloody Bay is a notch every diver wants to carve into his or her weight belt, with good reason—gliding over the edge of a mile-deep vertical drop as the wall disappears into the depths of the Caribbean Sea is an unbeatable thrill. Orange and brown sponges jut from all directions, and sea turtles, spotted eagle rays, and groupers swim about. Three-night packages, including lodging, meals, and diving, start at $645 at the clubby Little Cayman Beach Resort (800-327-3835, ).

VIEWING WHALE SHARKS OFF UTILA, HONDURAS: Your best bet for encountering 25- to 40-foot whale sharks, the largest fish in the sea (don’t worry, they eat plankton, not humans), is to sign up with Princeton, N.J.-based Shark Research Institute. During a weeklong visit at their field station at Utila Lodge, on one of the Bay Islands off Honduras in the Caribbean Sea, you’ll learn how to find the mammoth spotted creatures, dive with them, and help researchers with population studies. Seven-night packages, including lodging, meals, and diving, cost $1,150 per person (609-921-3522, ).

DIVING THE SHORES OF BONAIRE: The shore-diving capital of the world has outstanding dive sites just duck walks from the beach. (Salt and Old Town piers are favorite spots.) The strictly regulated Bonaire Marine Park surrounds the island—a 111-square-mile Dutch outpost off the Venezuelan coast—and protects its coral, sea turtles, and fish. Buddy Dive Resort (866-462-8339, ) offers eight-day, seven-night packages, including rental car and six days of unlimited air fills, starting at $965 per person.

DIVING PINNACLES IN SABA MARINE PARK: Saba—a five-square-mile mountainous outcrop in the Netherlands Antilles—is legendary for its underwater pinnacles and seamounts, including Third Encounter and Twilight Zone. Covered in red and orange fans and sponges, they rise from the floor of the Caribbean Sea to within 85 feet of the surface, and are frequented by six varieties of shark. Sea Saba Advanced Dive Center (800-883-7222, ) offers three-day, six-dive packages starting at $399 per person at the eco-funky El Momo Cottages.

Best Archaeological Sites

TIKAL NATIONAL PARK, GUATEMALA: The overused term “lost world” finally feels appropriate when you first glimpse the Mayan ruins of Tikal, once a thriving metropolis of 100,000 people that peaked around a.d. 700. Temple IV, Great Plaza, and South Acropolis, the major ruins in this 143-square-mile park in northern Guatemala, poke out of a mist-shrouded canopy, while toucans flutter, monkeys chatter, and coatimundis cross your path. Visit when the park opens at dawn—trails of vapor rise from the ruins like departing spirits. You’ll find the rustic, backpacker-friendly Jaguar Inn (doubles, $48; 011-502-926-0002, ) near the entrance to the park.

FORT JEFFERSON, DRY TORTUGAS NATIONAL PARK, FLORIDA: The seven islands that make up the Dry Tortugas National Park—70 miles west of Key West—were discovered by Europeans in 1513, when Ponce de Léon arrived and named them after the sea turtles that fed his sailors. The islands are still known for their marine life, but the ruins of Fort Jefferson, on 16-acre Garden Cay, are the main attraction. Construction on the red-brick fort began in 1846 but was never completed. Reach Garden Cay by seaplane ($179 per person round-trip; Sea Planes of Key West, 800-950-2359, ) or boat ($109 per person; Yankee Fleet, 800-634-0939, ). As you approach it, the six-sided, three-story fort hovers over the Atlantic like a mirage. In 2003, camping will be available on the beach ($3 per person; 305-242-7700, ).
RIVER OF RUINS TRIP THROUGH MEXICO AND GUATEMALA: This Indiana Jones-style river tour of Mayan ruins begins in Palenque, Mexico. You’ll fly to Tikal National Park in Guatemala, and then ride back to Mexico by river on 20- to 80-foot plank boats called lanchas. During your cruise along the Pasion, Petexbatun, and Usumacinta rivers, you’ll frequent 1,500-year-old sites like Aguateca and Yaxchilan, accessible only by hiking. A ten-day trip with Ceiba ���ϳԹ���s (800-217-1060, ) costs $2,550 per person.

Best Fishing

Walk this way: stepping into Cuba’s Cayo Largo

BONEFISH—LA TORTUGA IN JARDINES DE LA REINA, CUBA: Combine live-aboard and lodge fishing in these pristine flats 40 miles off the island’s southwest coast. A lack of commercial fishing and a dearth of people mean you can cast a fly into waters few others have ever fished. Avalon Fishing and Diving Center is based at a floating lodge—three large boats with 17 cabins—and uses a fleet of skiffs for fishing. Expert Cuban guides pole you through shallow water around cays as you cast for the elusive fork-tailed torpedoes. Eight-day trips cost $2,400 (011-39-335-814-9111, ).

TARPON—RÃO COLORADO, COSTA RICA: With howler monkeys screeching at you from the trees onshore while a 100-pound tarpon hurls itself out of the Río Colorado at the end of your line, it’s hard to imagine a more intense fishing spot than here in northeastern Costa Rica. But just keep concentrating and you’ll be reeling in tarpon aplenty at this spawning ground where the river meets the Caribbean Sea. Base yourself at Archie Field’s Río Colorado Lodge, which offers 18 plain but comfortable rooms on stilts, right on the riverbanks ($380 per person per day, including guides, meals, and boat; 800-243-9777, ).

PERMIT—ASCENSIÓN BAY, MEXICO: In the heart of the Yucatán’s Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, a 1,304,688-acre UNESCO World Heritage site, this massive expanse of saltwater flats is one of the world’s best places to catch a permit on a fly. Your odds of hooking a bonefish or a tarpon are pretty good, too—Ascensión Bay is often called the Grand Slam Capital of the fishing world. Most anglers situate themselves in or near the tiny fishing village of Punta Allen; the best place to stay is a four-bedroom guest house, SeaClusion Villa, five miles from town ($2,500 a week, per person, including transport from Cancún; 888-829-9420, ).

Best (Affordable) Beachfront Resorts

HOTEL HANA-MAUI, MAUI, HAWAII: When you get a load of the sea crashing practically right into this place, you won’t be surprised that scenes from Fantasy Island were shot on the 66-acre grounds. Sure, there’s tennis on site, hiking in Haleakala National Park, cycling along the winding coastal roads, and snorkeling nearby at Hamoa Beach, but after soaking in the stars and the ocean views from the hot tub on your room’s huge deck, you won’t feel like doing much else. The resort’s 47 plantation-style cottages, all with ocean views (and surrounded by a 4,500-acre ranch), are situated near the little town of Hana on Maui’s east coast. A main dining room, with streamers dangling from the ceiling to diffuse light, serves scrumptious meals with local produce (doubles from $275; 800-321-4262, ).

NUEVA VIDA, MEXICO: This tiny resort’s Swiss Family Robinson-style rooms, with mucho wood and palm thatch, are housed in bungalows built ten feet off the ground to maximize the sultry ocean breezes and gorgeous ocean views. What to do? Tulum’s sweep of white-sand beach and one of the Yucatán’s most dramatic clusters of Mayan ruins are right outside your door (you can also explore the nearby ruins of Cobá and Chichén Itzá)—or let the hotel’s massage therapist noodle you silly. Leave the blow-dryer at home: The sun and wind power the lights and aren’t up to the task of drying your hair (doubles from $65; 011-52-984-877-8512, ).

EDEN ROCK, ST. BART’S: If you want a whiff of Saint-Tropez in the Caribbean, try this red-roofed resort, which crowns a rocky promontory jutting into Baie de St. Jean. You’re more likely to see guests wearing Prada than Patagonia—most of the 16 rooms cost at least $600 per night—but the common denominator is a love for the luxe beaches that stretch out below the hotel. The trick: Reserve the Captain’s Cabin at about half the cost of a room. When you tire of snorkeling around the reef surrounding Eden Rock, you can gorge on French cuisine, pamper yourself in the spa, sip fruity cocktails in the beach bar, or laze on the topless beach (cabin rental is $375 per night from January to April and less during the summer and fall; 877-563-7105, ).

WINDMILLS PLANTATION, SALT CAY, TURKS AND CAICOS: On laid-back Salt Cay, you’re in the company of wild donkeys, windmills, and migrating humpback whales; the perfect place to slow yourself down is this eight-room, plantation-style hotel overlooking a 2.5-mile stretch of beach. The hotel has a saltwater pool and snorkeling off the beach; divers can explore the coral walls and the Endymion, an 18th-century wreck, with Salt Cay Divers. At day’s end, repair to rooms whose colorful walls and dark wooden antiques from colonial-era plantations take you back to the days when those donkeys hauled salt from mines to ships bound for distant ports (doubles from $325; 800-822-7715, ).

Best Hikes

PICO DUARTE, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Hike from steamy jungle to cool forest on this strenuous 29-mile trek to the top of the Caribbean’s highest peak, Pico Duarte (10,128 feet). Traverse Parque Nacional Armando Bermúdez, which typically sees fewer than 200 tourists a year, and listen to your guide spin stories around the campfire. On the trail, look out for wild boar and the rare Hispaniola parrot. Iguana Mama’s three-day trip costs $450 (809-571-0908, ).

PARQUE NACIONAL DARIÉN, PANAMA: This 1.2-million-acre UNESCO World Heritage site, stretching almost the entire length of the Colombian border, is home to 6,000-foot mountains, Emberá Indians, and 450 species of birds, like macaws and the green-naped tanager. Fly into a renovated gold mining camp (sleeps eight) at Cana, a valley in the Pirre Mountains, for day hikes. The five-mile Pirre Mountain Trail climbs 1,000 feet to a cloudforest camp; the two-day Boca de Cupe Trail is the only way out of the park by land. Ancon Expeditions offers a 14-day Darién Explorer Trek ($2,495; 011-507-269-9415, ).
PU’U KUKUI, MAUI, HAWAII: Each year, 5,788-foot Pu’u Kukui Mountain receives buckets of rain (about 30 feet), but few visitors (about 12). The 8,661-acre nature preserve is owned by the Maui Land and Pineapple Company, which one day a year, in August, helicopters up a dozen hikers (at $1,000 bucks a pop!) for a three-mile tour and lunch, led by the Kapalua Nature Society. The cloudforest hides 12 of Hawaii’s 150 indigenous plant communities and the nearly extinct i’iwi bird. Contact Kapalua Nature Society (800-527-2582, ).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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