watersports travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

Perfectly situated amid a beautiful turquoise lagoon, Komandoo Island with its superb sandy beaches is an immensely attractive tropical holiday destination. Spectacular sunsets, soft white beaches and an aquamarine lagoon with exciting diving combine to make Komandoo a popular island honeymoon destination. This is an intimately romantic getaway for two, where you can celebrate your love for each other…

Komandoo Island Resort offers excellent accommodation with beautiful 45 beach villas. Each villa has a private sun terrace that overlooks the soft powdery white sand and turquoise crystal clear waters of the Indian Ocean. Amenities includes partly open air bathroom equipped with hair dryer, air conditioning, safe, telephone, beach towel, CD player and coffee/tea maker.
 

Water sports are extremely popular in this island resort. Komandoo boasts world class scuba diving and a Pro Divers PADI five star dive facility with resident multilingual instructors. Apart from this one can also go for snorkeling, Canoeing, Beach Volley, Fishing, Excursion, Windsurfing, Catamaran Sailing and swimming.

Hamilton Island is situated amongst the 74 tropical Whitsunday islands, at the edge of the Great Barrier Reef. The island is one of the Australia’s favorite destinations. Hamilton Island is the perfect choice for your ideal tropical holiday. Surrounded by amazing coral beaches, the island has its own Jet Airport and 5 Star International Resorts.

It houses underwater coral, tranquil clear water, secluded beaches, azure waters, and a calm tropical ambience. The island includes resort accommodation, boutique shops, swimming pools, restaurants, and etc.

Hamilton offers different activities to entertain including go-karts, mini-golf, the Wildlife Experience with kangaroos, koalas and crocodiles, and etc. Snorkeling and diving are among the most popular water activities. Beach cruises, water skiing, wind surfing, yacht race, sailing, kayaking, game fishing are also available.

For more information click here

 Esch-sur-Sure is a small village set in the mountains, next to the Luxembourg. It is a medieval town which is surrounded by a meandering Sure River. The commune is famous with its open air opera and museums, Flower Parade and eco – tourism, offers 90km of walking paths.
The village is located around a castle built in 927, offer protection against marauding troops of Hungarians. The castle consists of two towers – the lower, built in the 10th century and the upper watchtower which was added in the 16th century. There is a charming view from the valley across the river. The castle is open year round and free admission. Old cloth and candle fabrics have been restored and are again producing typical products of the region. There is a permanent exhibition on the park with cloth-making museum and demonstrations.

A couple of miles from Esch-sur-Sûre are the country’s drinking water reservoir, where a barrage dam makes a fine lake, used for watersports of all sorts. Swimming, fishing, windsurfing, canoeing and sailing are very popular.

The Marquesas Islands also emerged as ”The land of men” are a small group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, a collectivization of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. The highest point in the region is the peak of Mount Oave, located on Ua Pu island at 1, 230m above sea level. Ua Pu is the third largest of the Marquesas Islands and the only major island that was unified under a single monarch prior to the arrival of European explorers.

The capital of the Marquesas Islands is the settlement of Taiohae on the island of Nuku Hiva.  The Marquesas Islands are the island group farthest from any continent in the world, lying between 900 and 1,200 km (550 and 725 miles) south of the equator and 1,371 km (852 miles) northeast of Tahiti.

Besides the lush tropical vegetation that goes culturally, the Marquesas are remarkably dry islands. They are the first major break in the prevailing easterly winds spawned from the extraordinarily dry Humboldt Current. The Marquesas Islands are thought to have formed by a center of upwelling magma called the Marquesas hotspot. The islands are divided in six communes. French and Tahitian are the only official languages of French Polynesia, and therefore of the Marquesas Islands as well, the Marquesan languages, in their various forms.

Accommodations are available in only a few hotels (Nuku Hiva and Hiva Oa) and small family homes on each island. The islands offer a wide range of activities, as Landrover excursions, horseback riding, hiking over mountain trails and to inland cascades, picnics on the beach or mountains, deep-sea fishing, sailing, motorboat rides, visits to archaeological sites, visits to artisansí workshops to buy wood carvings, tapa hangings and monoi perfumed oils.

To get there by boat try the mixed-freighter ARANUI takes up to 100 passenger in air-conditioned cabins for a 16 day cruise from Tahiti to the Marquesas through the Tuamotu archipelago and back. It includes  deluxe accommodation and meals as well as land excursions in the various islands.

 

 It is one of the largest and most desirable resorts in Maldives archipelago. Located along the island’s sandy beaches, Sun Island is about 1.6 km in length and has 426 elegantly decorated rooms, including 72 water bungalows. Considered as the Maldives’ most luxurious resort it is surrounded by tropical vegetation and coconut palms. There are a large variety of water sports, including exciting scuba diving, fishing, wind surfing, catamaran sailing, and canoeing. Explore the fine white sandy beaches and swim with the beautiful fish as they move between the corals.

In the Maldives there are 26 atolls and 1190 islands. Only 200 islands are inhabited and 90 of them have been transformed into resorts. One & Only Reethi Rah is highest world-class standards hotel, boasts some of the largest villas in the world, with a minimum area of 135m2. Set on one of the largest islands in North Male’ Atoll, all villas have direct access to the turquoise lagoon with beautiful ocean views.
A chic 6-star resort offering a level of style, all 130 villas are luxurious and stylishly decorated and surrounded by the crystal blue ocean and twelve powder soft white beaches. In the national language Dhivehi it meaning “beautiful island”.
  One & Only Reethi Rah offers the perfect holiday for relaxation with an extraordinary 6 km of coastline and plenty of activity on the water. Guests can enjoy activities such as: snorkeling, diving, windsurfing, catamaran sailing, volleyball, football, canoeing, waterskiing, aerobics, swimming pools, billiard, tennis, dolphin watching and of course, spa and beauty center. There are three restaurants that serve a variety of cuisine – Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Asian. 
   
Rooms go from $625 to $2,395 a night

 Dhoni Mighili is a luxurious resort, located on a private island in the Ari Atoll, Maldives, to the south west of the capital Mahe. Mighili has six thatched beach intimate bungalows with outdoor bathroom, waterfall showers and private pool which engage all of the senses.

Also there are six luxuriously personified traditional Maldivian boats – Dhonis. These 65 ft handcrafted Maldivian yachts are with own crew. In-cabin entertainment includes 20” LCD televisions, Bose DVD players, air-conditioners and king-size beds. 

Resort Facilities:
- Thakuru – butler services. It is all yours from the moment you alight from your intercontinental jet, until you return.
- Dining – be it on your private Dhoni or a secluded spot on the beach and enjoy with exotic dishes, freshly prepared at any time of day or night
- Spa – The Aquum Spa offers treatments to satisfy body, mind and soul
- Diving – PADI certified
- Water sports center including kayaking, sailing, canoeing, windsurfing and snorkeling
- 65ft Luxury Cruiser
- Catamaran Sailing
- Beach Volley
- Private excursions – including night fishing, deserted island snorkeling

Prices & reservations: click here

Barbados is an independent continental island situated east of the Caribbean Sea in the western Atlantic Ocean. The east coast of the island is home to clean, perfect and enormous waves. The island’s west coast is emerged as: powdery beaches, clear turquoise water, maincured estates, really maincured resorts and even though maincured golf courses. As well as this part of the island is known as the Platinium Coast, due to the color of its sparkling coastline. But this is Barbados of the travel agencies and guidebooks. This is only half the story. Let me tell you about the wild Barbados.

The eastern coast of Barbados is a whole other world. Hide away from the luxury resorts by acres of sugar cane fields, thick verdant forests and trees full of wild monkeys, this is Barbados’s real side. You could spend all your time in the west and never know the real Barbados. The east is run by the locals, not the tourists.

The main town in eastern Barbados is called Bathsheba. The town look as if it was once the playground of mythical creatures, because of the enormous limestone boulders strewn in the shallows. The wind sweeping along the hillside, which is hollowed by the warm blasts and palm trees. It’s a coastline carved by centuries of wind blowing from thousands of miles away.

With such an identity, come characters. This is a place, where people have names like Biju, Yellow and Chicken. But the real celebrity in town is Soup Bowl, the island’s biggest wave. ” When Soup Bowl is good, it gives you goose bumps”, said Ms. Pitcher – a surf teacher.

On a map, Barbados looks as if it is drifting out into the open Atlantic, which is exactly what makes Soup Bowl ideal. Soup Bowl is one of the tip three waves in the world. This wave can travel nearly three thousands miles in the open ocean, undisturbed by sandbars, reefs or land, before it breaks the island.

Aquatic life in Barbados isn’t just for world champions, professional athletes and people who want they could surf before they could walk. Much of the coasts offer makeshift beer bars, street food, vendors selling fried fish and cheap guesthouses that are so appealing to people who prefer to watch surfing, than waxing a board. But the locals will remind you one more time: What makes Barbados unique is that there is a single wave for everyone.

Anyone can surf Barbados and I mean anyone. You can close your eyes and point to the calendar – any day you hit, Barbados will have great beginner and intermediate waves. Action! Do you want a drink? Listen if I say Jamaica you think reggae right, but when I say Barbados nothing comes to mind and that has to change. But I would say also: Popular is good, too popular is dangerous!

American Airlines has nonstop flights from Kenedy Airport in New York to Grantley Adams International Airport in Seawell, Christ Church on the south side of Barbados, about a 25-minute drive from the surf beaches near Bathsheba.

I have written many times about the miraculous country called Cambodia. But this time I will present a really different look of the country. To many tourists Cambodia means only two things: the majestic temples of Angkor Wat and the Killing Fields of Phnom Penh. But the southern coast of the country is ”Another Cambodia” and during the recent years emerged as an alternative to the heavily trafficked beaches of Thailand.

Some people said that almost every place in Cambodia has a ghost story attached to it. This is why Cambodian people practice Theravada Buddhism. Their Gods are able to cross between the border of the world. When you are in Cambodia I strongly recommended you to go in Kep, where a series of funky bamboo and wood tree houses, many with terrific views of the Gulf of Thailand and the Vietnamase island Phu Quoc.

The image shows Rajana in Sihanoukville, a chain of nonprofit stores with wonderful textiles and some clothing and knickknacks. Sihanoukville is a place with white sands, authentic shops and non-restaurant-based night life.

If you stroll down to Serendipity Beach will bring you in contact with fire throwers, mystics, British Vogue photographers, sex tourists and many, many opportunities to indulge in something called a “vodka bucket.” Several airlines, including Cathay Pacific (with a stop in Hong Kong) and Korean Air (with a stop in Seoul), have flights from Kennedy Airport in New York, with round-trip fares in April starting at about $1,300, based on a recent Web search.

The Okefenokee National Park spreads across 685 square miles in the southeastern corner of Georgia and northern Florida. During the winter the temperature rise up to 70 degrees and the dry air holds insects, making the months a perfect time for a canoe trip. The place is very special, due to its old and best preserved freshwater systems in America.

One lifetime is not enough to explore the Okefenokee park. There is so much to do and with almost 402,000 acres (that’s roughly 300,000 football fields in size) of cypress forest, marsh, lakes and islands. Filled with alligators, Sandhill cranes, red-cockaded woodpeckers and over 400 other species of animals, it is a wonderful place to learn about the wildlife of Georgia and Florida.

A flock of birds takes flight. The vast variety of lush greenery make up different habitats from dry upland forests to open wetlands. Golden sunsets and thundering storms gives one to experience this magical place at its most beautiful and most inspiring.

There are a lot of ways to explore the Okefenokee Swamp. Some boat tours taking tourists through cypress forests, historic canals and open prairies. Water trails and platforms allow people to canoe for the day or stay overnight deep within the 354,000 acre wilderness.

Rolling boardwalks and trails head through extraordinary habitats, to observation towers and viewing platforms. There are huge opportunities for nature and macro photography, hunting and fishing are readily available. Some can even drive a car or ride a bike to a restored homestead to discover how “swampers” once made their home here.

One of the very interesting features in this magical national park is the seven overnight campsites in the Okefenokee, including the campsite at Coffee Bay. Most of them are 600-square-foot wooden platforms, some suspended above the water.

 

Photography by: Stephen Morton

Hainan Island is often called the Chinese Hawaii, and it is the only tropical beach destination in China. It puts its arms round the South China Sea and the Gulf of Tonkin, about a 90-minute flight southwest of Hong Kong. The island is a paradise, he sea is a pale, minty hue and empty of people, the sand gleaming white!

The picture displays the south coast around the port city of Sanya, which is experiencing a luxury hotel boom: Ritz-Carlton, Banyan Tree, Le Méridien and Mandarin Oriental. In the past, Hainan had a romantic air. It served for centuries as a place of banishment for criminals, exiled poets and political undesirables.

After Hainan separated from Guangdong to become its own province in 1988, a development boom was started by a bust that left many building projects on the island half-finished. In the recent years, Hainan has welcomed back investors and become a fashionable spot for Russian tourists. The picture shows a dinner at the Resort Horizon in Yalong Bay.

The island also has a reputation as a surfer’s paradise. Between April and September, waves tend to come from the south, while October to March brings a northeastern winter swell.

These ingredients Star anise and coffee beans are used for spa treatments at many hotels.

Despite rapid development on Hainan, stretches of rice paddies and green, mist-covered mountain slopes remain. The warm, humid climate makes the island a bounty of tropical crops.

Perth City is a ideal place for a summer or winter holiday. There the sun always shining and you will found white sandy beaches and amazing scenery. Perth City is Western Australia’s capital with a population over 1 million people, but it’s one of the most isolated metropolitan areas on the Earth. The nearest city is Adelaide in South Australia, which is 2,104 km away. But, don’t worry, with its cosmopolitan atmosphere is always something to see and do there.

  

 There are lots of outdoor activities, including sailing, fishing, surfing and windsurfing. The Perth’s coastline boasts is excellent snorkeling. Also you enjoy with long relaxing walks along sandy beaches or perhaps lazing on a beach towel while watching the amazing turquoise - blue waves.  
 The region is home to more that 40 vineyards, many of which are still run by the original families which started the wineries many years ago.  
 

This cosmopolitan city offers myriad bars, restaurants and cultural activities. Most popular is Perth district of Northbridge. There you will find a range of nightclubs, pubs, cafes and restaurants, offering an eclectic mix of cultures and cuisines.

Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany, perfect destination to explore its culture walking or on water. The port of Hamburg is the second largest port in Europe. Huge numbers of rivers, canals and lakes offer many opportunities for sightseeing the city from water. Hamburg has more bridges than Venice, Amsterdam and London, all together.

The picture shows the Fleetschloesschen, a little canal castle, is a former public restroom, then a customs office and now a cafe and restaurant.

Homeowners in the famous Winterhude neighborhood kept their boats on the Goldbekkanal, one of the many branches of the Alster River. The Alster River flows under the Sengelmannstrasse Bridge in the Hamburg neighborhood of Ohlsdorf, nearly five hours from the city center.

Many of the buildings in Hamburg are converted into lofts and commercial space for publishing, advertising and architecture firms.

Hamburg has more than 40 theatres, 60 museums and 100 music venues and clubs.

The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest island in Maui County.

In Maui is good to visit Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge, a 700-acre natural wetland and seabird sanctuary that is home to endangered Hawaiian stilts, black-crowned night herons, Hawaiian coots and migrating birds.

Kula Farm Stand sells just-picked fruit, like pineapple guavas and mangoes, along with homemade mango bread.

Vases for sale at Hot Island Glass.

An outdoor checkerboard complete with painted coconuts graces the courtyard of the Kaanapali Beach Hotel.

Maui’s wide variety of landscapes have resulted from a unique combination of geology, topography, and climate.

Located on the best beach in Varadero, Cuba, the All-Inclusive 4- star Sol Palmeras hotel. 35.5 km distance from Varadero airport and 140 km from Havana airport. Guests can make use of fantastic watersports, swim under palms in the cool blue pools or sample a mouthwatering selection of cosine.

376 Double rooms, 28 Junior Suites and 4 Suites and 200 Bungalows with one or two bedrooms. Most rooms have either a balcony or terrace. There are special rooms for the handicapped.

Dining choices are wide – with Chinese, grill, Italian and buffet from which to choose. Beach bar with snacks, 24-hour lobby.

Lots of poolside and beach activities. Mini golf and great day and night entertainment programs. Windsurfing, Sailing, Diving, Fishing, Horseback riding, Live Music.

Honeymooners receive upgrade to Sea View Room , a bottle of sparkling wine, flowers, and an invitation to an à la carte restaurant.