Italy has some of the most beautiful coastal villages in the world. The most famous is probably Manarola in Cinque Terre.
Blue
Grotto in Capri offers a hidden world of brilliant color. Light
filtering through underwater holes in the cave gives the water a
brilliant blue glow that seems to shimmer silver at times.
The mountain village of Calcata, Viterbo, Lazio. The surrounding scenery will leave you speechless.
One of the best resorts in Fiji.The resorts in Fiji Island have a bit of beach, and more white sand for sunning is held in place by a stonewall. The best views are from the original units atop the hill, but the spacious bungalows climbing the hill above the beach are the most luxurious accommodations here. The rooms are cool, inviting, secure and friendly. The mix-and-match decor fills the self-contained units of every resort.
This is the Highest Building in France - Refuge du Goûter is a self-sufficient alpine lodge located high on Mont Blanc. I've searched and I don't think there is anything else like it in Europe at least.
Gorges Du Verdon. Just look at the scenery - need I say more?!
Dune
du Pilat is Europe’s highest sand dune (near Bordeaux) and you can
paraglide, sandboard or ski (when winter brings a dusting of snow to its
impressive 108m). It's also conveniently located near the coastline of
Brittany for a quick dip in the ocean.
Etretat cliffs. Many of Claude Monet’s landscapes draw on local scenes here.
This
is Les Machines, inspired by Jules Verne who was born and raised in the
city of Nantes, where this is located. It is inspired by Verne’s 1880
novel The Steam House, in which British colonists travel through India
in a house wheeled by a steam-powered elephant.
A
few years ago, we were planning a trip to Australia and the Great
Barrier Reef, and decided to take a detour to visit the island nation of
Vanuatu, and it turned out to be one of the most beautiful and
refreshing experiences of my life. The main draw is the natural beauty
and picturesque beaches, but compared to touristy places like Hawaii,
it's way more secluded, and you definitely get the feeling of going "off
the beaten path". I don't remember seeing a single traffic light in the
whole country.
It also has some of the friendliest people I've
ever met, which is unsurprising, given that in the past, Vanuatu was
deemed one of the happiest countries in the world based on the Happy Planet Index.
Here's
some of the things we did in just a few days (although, realistically,
you can do almost all of these in one day because the country is so
small):
Swam with giant sea turtles and reef sharks at Turtle Bay:
Took
a small boat out to this tiny, private island and had a picnic. The
island was only about 100m wide, and we were literally the only people
on it.
Walked up waterfalls at Mele Cascades:
Rope swinger into the Blue Lagoon:
Checked
out the local market in the capital city, Port Vila, where you can get
fresh fried fish or roasted chicken on top of mashed taro or sweet
potatoes:
And ended the day with sunsets like this:
We
only went to the island of Efate, but if you also visit the island of
Tanna, you can see Mt. Yasur, the world's most accessible active
volcano.
If you like adventure, you'll love Wadi Rum. Here you can hire a camel and follow in the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia, climb the highest peaks, or take a safari trip across the rolling sand dunes in a 4x4 vehicle. You can explore by foot the hidden canyons and discover the secret messages carved in the walls over four thousand years ago, or take a hot air balloon trip and soar with the eagles high above this amazing site.
Just an amazing romantic desert hotel in the middle of Lawrence of Arabia country in the heart of the Bedouin Desert lands of Jordan. When it was suggested to us by our Jordanian travel agent, we booked only for one night, not quite sure what we were getting ourselves into. We stayed for three, and would have stayed even longer if we had more time. An oasis of (remarkably) comfortable mud huts (tents available if you want to "rough" it), delicious food, wide open moonlight nights, amazing rock and desert landscapes. There are many things you can do besides a dip in the excellent pool: go for a ride on an Arabian horse or hike the desert with a Bedouin guide. This is another place we would return to some day. Historic, remote, romantic, unique, unforgettable: Bait Ali Lodge, Rum, Wadi Rum, Jordan
We had never heard of it when suggested by our travel agent while
planning a trip to Tahiti and Bora Bora. Basically this is a remote
atoll the size of Long Island with about 500 permanent residents and a
handful of resorts and guesthouses. This is as close as we have ever
come to living by ourselves on a desert island, surrounded by crystal
blue waters, abundant fish life (including friendly sharks!), and
amazing birds. While our resort (30 huts, less than 100 people max) was a
15 minute motor launch from the main and only town, you could kayak it
in less than hour or walk deserted island to deserted island within 2-3 hours. It is one of those places we really would love to go to again. See Tikehau.
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