Lulworth Cove is a cove near the village of West Lulworth southern England.West Lulworth lies near the coast between the Isle of Purbeck and Weymouth. Lulworth is included amongst England’s UNESCO sites and its World Heritage. Lulworth Cove was formed approximately 10,000 years ago by the awesome powers of a river and the sea.

At Lulworth Cove, there is the famous Fossil Forest. The area supports a remarkable array of diverse natural life, particularly butterflies. There are glauconitic sandstones, sponge chert, cyclical Chalk, oil sands, lignite, ostracods, stromatolites, crocodile and fish teeth, an oyster bed, a transgressive marine pebble bed, a fluvial channel conglomerate, phosphatic strata, carbonate breccias, charophyte limestones etc.

At the western point of Lulworth Cove is Stair Hole, a series of arches formed by the action of the sea on the soft Portland and Purbeck limestone. Also Lulworth Cove is famous with the Lulworth Crumple, Durdle Door and and Man o’War, just a short walk away over the surrounding Hills to the west.

Lulworth beach provides a great place to relax where you can swim in the cove, take a boat trip, or just take in the stunning scenery. There are pubs, restaurants, cafes and beaches all within easy walking distance!

Suomenlinna or Viapori (Finnish), or Sveaborg (Swedish), is an inhabited sea fortress built on six islands, today within Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The Sea fortress Suomenlinna is a unique architectural monument, a popular recreation area and museum. Although the island is located off the coast of Helsinki, it is part of the city. The Fortress was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage in 1991!

Suomenlinna Sea Fortress was built over 250 years ago and once had a population of 4600, larger than the population of Helsinki at the time. The Swedish crown commenced the construction of the fortress in 1748 as protection against Russian expansionism. All the effort didn’t hinder the Russians taking over in 1808. Finally in 1918 the Fortress became Finnish. Nowadays it is a popular park with museums, interesting flora and beaches.

Today, the island is inhabited by 1000 residents and so you will see some kids biking around. There is a big Visitor Center, which has a 25 minute “multi-vision show” and computers about the fortress.

There are plenty of nice spots for a picnic and you can also swim and sunbathe in various locations on the island – be prepared to walk a bit though. The trip to the fortress in Suomenlinna could be carried out by using the inter-island connecting motor boat from the Port in Katajanokanlaituri.

‘Macca‘ rests at the ends of the earth. The remote wilderness is tucked away in the southeast corner of the Pacific, halfway between Australia and Antractida. A tiny fragment of land, it is of huge significance on a world scale, yet was only discovered by accident by Frederick Hasselbrorough in 1810 while he was looking around for new sealing grounds. Photo by: ailsa45

Under Tasmania’s wing, the only human inhabitants on this extraordinary wildlife sanctuary are from the Australian Antarctic Division, based on the north of the island. Over the centuries scientist have been endlessly drawn to this unsung wonder of the natural world. Each spring, around 3.5 million seabirds, mostly penguins, and 80,000 elephant seals pull themselves up on to the rocky shoreline to breed. There are pinguins galore – rockhoppers, kings, royals and gentooes. Rabbits are a less welcome sight and are literally eating away at this World Heritage Site. Photo by: cmg099

You have to work extremely hard to get to this island, but the rewards for true lovers of wildlife and wilderness are unparalleled. It’s cold inhospitable place at the best of times, but you don’t go there for the weather. Photo by: ailsa45

When to go: In the breeding season – over the summer months and early autumn. Even then the weather can be challenging. Population: Uninhabited ( expect 20 – 40 members of the Australian Antarctic Division who are based here every year). How to get there: Very unlimited access. Most visitors spending up to two days on the island and tourist boats. Photo by: esjohnson

Kia Ora Sauvage is a little heaven of peace on a private “motu” islet. On the atoll of Rangiroa, just an hour by plane from Papeete, the capital of Tahiti. Created with traditional, natural, Polynesian materials – each bungalow is a work of art. For the visitor who truly wants to get away from it all!

It only has 5 beautifully decorated beach bungalows bordering white sand beaches. Each thatched-roof bungalow has been hand-crafted from native wood, bamboo and palm. The bungalows equipped with Mosquitoes net, shower (hot water). Rooms with a king size bed and a single bed.

Simple, healthful meals emphasizing fresh seafood; a cocktail and snack bar.

Activities: canoes, snorkeling and skin diving, deep sea fishing, swimming, windsurfing, sailing, glass-bottom boat excursion, boat rental with pilot, bicycles, table tennis, volleyball, petanque.

Offers outdoor tables, with  views of the lagoon by day and stars arching overhead at night.

Just one kilometre long and 500 metres wide, Daydream is always popular with its easy access from Hamilton Island. The resort is located in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef. The low rise resort buildings, pools, restaurants and sporting facilities blend seamlessly with the natural beauty of the island’s waterfalls, secluded beaches, lagoons, rainforest and  gardens.

Of its three beaches one is fringed by outcrops of coral and colorful fishlife.

It has a unique outdoor aquarium, with exotic sea life from the barrier reef. The aquarium has about 80 different types of sea life.

You’ll be able to snorkel directly off the beach to the fringing reef or go sea kayaking, water skiing or even windsurfing. Budding golfer’s can practise their putting skills on the 19-hole themed mini golf course.

You can fly direct to nearby Hamilton Island from most Australian cities and transfer to Daydream by launch. Or, fly to Proserpine on the coast, travel by coach to Shute Harbour, and then by launch. Helijet or seaplane also available.

These Lagoons are of exceptional natural beauty. The New Caledonia Barrier Reef is located in New Caledonia in the South Pacific. It’s the third largest coral reef structure in the world.

The Lagoons of New Caledonia are a group of six lagoons that contain coral reef ecosystems. Its flora and fauna are one-of-a-kind in the world, with more than 1,000 species of fish and 6,500 species of marine invertebrates.

The reef encloses a lagoon of 24,000 square kilometers (9,300 sq mi), which has an average depth of 25 meters (82 ft).

The lagoons features an exceptional diversity of coral and fish species and a continuum of habitats from mangroves to sea grasses. About 5,000 pairs of Roseate Tern ( Sterna dougalli ) have been found.

The reef complex is globally unique in that it is “free-standing” in the ocean and encircles the island of New Caledonia.

The Lagoons of New Caledonia were recorded on the prestigious list of sites that are declared a World Heritage by UNESCO, which is a first for an overseas territory of France.

The Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii

Located within Mauna Lani Resort, the hotel offers really luxurious accommodations. Hotel Description: 540 rooms, 6 floors, 4 restaurants, 10 tennis courts, 5 bars, a fully equipped fitness center, swim pool, and spa center. The guest rooms at The Fairmont Orchid feature minibars, high-speed Internet access, cable TV, air-conditioning, safes, video games, hairdryers, irons and marble bathrooms with bath amenities. The resort is consistently lauded as one of the world’s top golf resorts by readers of “Conde Nast Traveler Magazine”.

The Fairmont Orchid’s most extravagant feature is the spa with no walls – a series of open-air massage houses nestled among natural beauty of Hawaii, surrounded by streams, waterfalls and lily ponds. The spa center offers fitness and relaxation classes such as daily seaside yoga, meditation, vision fitness, pool aerobics, and spa facility with 2 lava-rock spa tubs.

The resort also offers a variety of activities including: golf, tennis, biking, billiards and board games, hiking, fishing, kayaking, sailing, snorkeling, squash, horseback riding, and diving. Other amenities include: a business center, cell phone rentals, babysitting services, gift shops, laundry services, hairdresser and parking.

Malpelo Island and the surrounding marine environment are located 500 kilometers west of mainland Colombia. This vast marine park, the largest no-fishing zone in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. It has a land area of 0.35 square kilometers (86 acres). The highest point, “El Cerro de La Mona”, is 376 m above sea level.

The island is a largely barren oceanic rock. Plant species are few and small: ferns, leguminous and grassy shrubs, mosses, lichens and algae which are also widespread underwater.

Sea birds like the pique, the tijereta de mar and the pico rojo nest on the hilltops, which serve them as a way station.

Malpelo holds a unique shark population; swarms of 500 hammerhead sharks and hundreds of silky sharks.

Endemic to the island are one crab species, two starfish, various species of coralline fish, and two reptiles.

As it is an oceanic island at quite a distance from the continent, Malpelo is a living laboratory, ideal for scientific research, as well as nature tourism-related activities like diving.

UNESCO declared the area a World Natural Heritage Site by virtue of its marine biodiversity!

It is a popular seaside holiday resort on the Aegean coast of Turkey. Didim is home of the antique city of Didyma with its ruined Temple of Apollo. Located about 150 km away from Izmir, Didim was a sacred place starting from the 8th century B.C. The word Didyma meant “twins” and was associated by some as being the meeting place of Zeus and Leto to have their twins Apollo and Artemis.

Didim is a very popular tourist destination attractive with its long sandy beaches, clear blue sea, Didyma antic city ruins to visit. With hundreds days of sun a year and warm winters, the resort offers opportunity to enjoy with watersports facilities even in January.

Bishop Rock is the smallest island with a building on it in the world, according to the Guinness Book of Records. It is one of South West England’s most dramatic and most remote locations imaginable. One of 1040 islands around Britain, known for its lighthouse, the Bishop Rock is scary even on the calmest day of the year.

The Bishop Rock Lighthouse stands on a rock ledge 46m long by 16m wide, 4 miles west of the Scilly Isles. The 35 m high tower contained 2,500 tons of granite and cost £34,560. It took seven years to complete the tower and the light was finally lit on the 1st September 1858. The Bishop Rock Lighthouse is one of the finest feats of engineering to be found around our shores, which may sound like a bit of an exaggeration until you actually go out into that heaving ocean to witness what it can do.

There are about 5,700 tones of granite without any steelwork, glass engines and helipad at the moment.
Today the lighthouse has ten floors, and up to four visitors can stay here for a week to three weeks.

The largest of the 74 islands in the Whitsundays, located off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Located on Whitsunday Island is the magnificent Whitehaven Beach – 7 kilometres of dazzling, pure white silica sand. 99% pure silica sand, You can melt it down and get pure glass.

At the northern end of Whitehaven Beach is Hill Inlet, a stunning inlet where the tide shifts the sand and water to create a beautiful fusion of colours. Access is only by boat with most vessels choosing to anchor in Tongue bay and enjoying the pretty bush walk up the northern face of Whitsunday Island.

Cruise Whitsundays have created several different cruises, all featuring Whitehaven, island visits and the corals and fish life of the ‘inner reef.

Part of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, the reefs contain an outstanding variety of corals. If you are lucky you may spot turtles, baby sharks, sea eagles and spotted stingrays..

Enjoy swimming, snorkelling, beautiful beaches and bays.

The Casa Marina Resort in Key West, Florida opened its doors on New Years Eve in 1920 to great acclaim.A great hotel with high ceilings, beautiful hardwood floors and an overall elegant atmosphere.

Nestled along the southern edge of the island – spanning more than 1,100 feet of private beach. Casa Marina is a flawless merging of old Key West ambiance and contemporary luxury.

311 Rooms, 4 Floors, Meeting Facilities, Room Service and other.

Room amenities include air conditioning, coffee maker, ironing board, hairdryer, in-room safe, mini-bar, cable television, toiletries, multiple closets, high speed Internet, alarm clock and radio, and direct dial telephone.

Full-service massage studio, offering an array of treatments. Jacuzzi and spa.

Pools are very warm and completely over chlorinated, and the beach area is too rocky with very slimy ladders for entry and exits.

Water activities – jet ski rentals, scuba diving, snorkeling, boat charters, deep sea fishing.

The hotel amenities five restaurants, six bars, and disco.

Just off the coast of Northumberland, (England) lies a group of some 20 tidal islands. Divided into groups they are also known as ‘Farnes‘. Apart from a few seasonal bird wardens, they are uninhabited, rugged and bleak, the smallest islands are just bare, rocky peaks, while the largest support vegetation on peaty soil. Photo by: hsacdirk

To the north of Farnes lies mystical Lindisfarne, also emerged as Holy Island. Connecting by a tidal causeway to the mainland, much of it is a National Nature Reserve, protecting internationally important winter populations and rare migrant birds. There is Lindisfarne monestery locate in one of the most important early Christian sites of Eng;and. Also on the island is Tudor castle. Owned by the National Trust, it was built in the 1570s and restored by Edwin Lutyens in 1901. Photo by: iancowe

When to go: The best time for birds is during autumn and winter, but Lindisfarne is at its best during spring and summer. Population: The Farne Islands are uninhabited. Lindisfarne 162. How to get there: By boat to the Farnes, foot or car to Lindisfarne, depending on the tides. Photo by: law_keven

Highlights: Scuba diving over the many wrecks surrounding the Farne Islands. The ruined Lindisfarne monastery, its museum and visitor centre. Photo by: left-hand

Photo by: gingiber

The Svalbard Archipelago lies north than Alaska and is northernmost part of the kingdom of Norway, lying about half way to North Pole. There are three large islands in the Svalbard Archipelago – Spitzbergen, Nordaustlandet and Edgeoya and the Gulf Stream current sink close to them. The islands are rugged and desolate, with around 60 per cent of the land covered with glaciation. Photo by: Paul Zizka

The mountains there look like steep piles of rubble, with peaks jutting out of all angles. Some are covered in snow all year round, there are no trees on the islands, but the warm season brings many Arctic flower into bloom, make parts of the islands into colorful meadows. Photo by: _Zinni_

Being so far north, Svalbard gets the midnight sun from 20 April to 23 August, although the sun itself may be hidden by fog. The polar night, when the sun does not rise above the horizon at all, is from 26 October to 15 February. Most visitors stay away during this period, unless they are there to see the Northern Lights. Photo by: _Zinni_

Most visitors come there to explore the raw climate, see the midnight sun and try their luck at some of the exciting  activities – snowmobile trips, kayaking, ice cave exploration, dog-sleding, skiing and horse riding. The tourist board organize many tours and activities, some of which include one or more nights of wilderness camping. Anyone staying outside the main settlement is required to carry a rifle, and know how to use it.

When to go: April to August. How to get there: Fly from Oslo or Tromso to Longyearbyen, or go on an organized cruise. Photo by: _Zinni_

The Cape Grace hotel is located at Cape Town’s Victoria and Alfred Waterfront and built on one of the old quays, South Africa. It was rated Worlds Best Hotel by Conde Naste a few years ago!

Each room is custom-designed with unique and refreshing decor to reflect the beauty, and elegance that Cape Grace is famous for. All 122 guestrooms and suites offer space and privacy, with French doors inviting the mountain and maritime views.

The hotel offers balconies, cable television, and minibars; rooms also include refrigerators, coffee/tea makers, and bathrobes.

Amenities: Business Center, Concierge, Disabled Access, Fitness Room, Swimming Pool, Spa/Massage, Meeting Facilities, Babysitting, Restaurant, Fireplace, Whirlpool Bath.

Waterfront Restaurant offers a blend of Mediterranean, Asian and local dishes in a contemporary and relaxed setting.

56-foot yacht – Spirit of the Cape, is available for tailor-made charters along the Cape’s magnificent coastline.