Forty miles northwest of Cancun, you will find Isla Holbox.  Though this area is little-known, this narrow strip of white sand, only 25 miles long and no more than two mile wide, is the perfect spot for snorkeling in the Gulf of Mexico.  From June through September, the offshore waters are the site for whale sharks to congregate, as they come here to feed on seasonal plankton blooms.  The whale shark is the world’s biggest fish (it can grow to more than 50 feet in length), and can be a vulnerable species.  This is why the Yum Balam Biosphere Reserve was created in 1994 to protect Isla Holbox and its surrounding waters.

 Local guides take tourists to see the whale sharks in season.  Dove6 Water Tours offers packages that include swimming with the whale sharks and scuba diving elsewhere in the Maya Riviera.  Gap Adventures offers eight-day itineraries to Holbox from Cancun, which include accommodation, whale shark tours and other activities.

 The population of Holbox is less than 2,000, and there are no cars in the area (most people get around by bike, golf cart or motor scooter), and the local economy is based largely on fishing.  This also means there are many seafood restaurants in the main town that serve up fresh catches of the day, such as lobster, grouper, red snapper, conch and octopus.

 Cozumel was declared one of the most spectacular dive locations in the world when famed underwater oceanographer Jacques Cousteau happened upon it.  With an average temperature of 76 degrees, Cozumel is a tropical destination that offers beautiful beaches and long stretches of sand on this 30-mile-long, 10-mile-wide Island.  The town of San Miguel welcomes 3 million cruise ship passengers annually and the island feature the world’s second largest coral reef system just minutes away from the shopping and open-aired restaurants of San Miguel.

 After Hurricane Wilma, Cozumel has gone through many renovations to restore it to its previous beauty.  Two of the three cruise ship piers have reopened, The International Pier reopened last May, and Punta Langosta Pier welcomed ships last September, the Puerta Maya Pier looks to be completed in the next year.  Also, the island’s 50 hotels have gone through about $80 million in renovations.

 The best beaches of Cozumel are found on the southwestern part of the island, but there are 37 dive sites strewn along the beaches.  here you can dive and discover tropical fish, marine life, multicolored coral reefs, and limestone caves and tunnels, particular to this area.  Some popular dive sites are Palancar, Tormentos, where you will find moray eels, and Chankanaab Park, where you can swim with the dolphins.

 If you look to adventure on land, you can visit the restored ruins of Maya-Toltec, or visit the Museum of the Island on Cozumel.  You can visit Punta Sur Park ecological reserve, which features tours, a beach area, a lighthouse, a maritime museum, a small Mayan ruin, and a free catamaran ride through mangroves.  Cozumel also offers a four-hour “Jeep Jungle Tour” along remote beaches, this trip includes a Mayan ruin visit, snorkeling at Micro Atolls reef, and a picnic lunch.  This tour usually runs for $80 per adult, and $55 for children.  There is also a four-hour “ATV Jungle and Beach Tour,” for ages 16 and up.  This tour offers some of the most scenic nature views of Cozumel and some tours include kayaking and snorkeling.

 Tahiti is the largest, most populated landfall in French Polynesia.  Known for the beautiful landscape that has been muse to great painters such as Paul Gauguin, Tahiti and her islands are popular for artists, adventurists, and lovers alike, it’s peaks rising through the mist from the lagoons below.

 Of the more well-known islands of Tahiti, Bora Bora is most popular.  With its renowned beauty, it has tragically grown more popular by the passing years.  Among the other popular spots in Tahiti, Moorea features jagged volcanic peaks and lush jungles.

 Some of the lesser-known islands offer what the more popular ones don’t, that is, they are equal in beauty and charm, but rich with tradition and the romanticism that comes along with the less developed areas.  Hauhine features its ancient ruins, as one of the heartlands of ancient Polynesian culture; it’s so much more than just a spot for endless white sands.  In Hauhine you will find Maeva, the old royal village of this island, where you will find hundreds of black stone ruins scattered along the shores of Lake Fauna Nui.  Several of the palaces and temples have been restored, but you can still see other artifacts that are housed in a thatched-roof museum set on stilts over the lake.  Taha, or “Vanilla Island,” is surrounded by coral gardens and beaches.  About an hour’s flight north of Papeete, The Tuamotus is a chain of coral atolls that is generally untouched.  Only four of them (Rangiroa, Tikehau, Manihi and Fakarava) have hotels, and the rest are ideal for diving with manta rays, kayaking lagoons, or bicycling along the sandy roads.  And Marquesas is where one season of Survivor was filmed.

 When visiting Tahiti, you won’t want to pass up a visit to the James Norman Hall Museum, a Victorian house on Tahiti’s north shore that was transformed into a museum for this man who penned Mutiny on the Bounty and many other classics.  Also visit Cook’s Bay, an inlet on Moorea’s north shore, and one of the most beautiful spots in the South Pacific.

 Tahiti and its islands cover 1,200 miles of the Pacific ocean, a top romantic destination, and a diver’s dream, Tahiti offers beauty for any occasion.  Its lagoons are legendary, filled with sharks and a vast collection of species including Mantas and whales.  There are many must-see spots within Tahiti, and here are a few of them.

 First is Bora Bora, the most popular among couples on their honeymoon or romantic getaway.  The morning light lights up the lagoons and the peak of Otumanu, which dominates the island of Bora Bora, which makes this as close to paradise as you can get.  Divers also flock to this destination, diving in Tapu, just outside the main channel, where you can watch surgeonfish, marbled grouper, and bluestriped snapper.

 Second is Rangiroa.  Rangiroa is a ring of land, a narrow stretch of sand and palm trees, consisting of the second largest coral atoll in the world.  Here there are only two places where water flows between the lagoon and the Pacific Ocean – Tiputa Pass and Avatoru Pass.  These lagoons are ideal for diving, with eagle rays and blacktip reef sharks filling the waters.

 Third is Rurutu, where the humpback whales bring in quite a crowd.  every year between July and October, the humpback whales converge in the warm waters to give birth.  Due to Rurutu’s shallow waters which are relatively free of predators, this is the perfect nursery.  There are also two protected bays in which to escape storms here.  The island is only about 35 square miles in size, which makes it easy to have a whale encounter, as they gather just offshore.  This island sees few tourists, which allows tradition to live strong in Rurutu.  One of the most famous traditions here is the amoraa ofal.  Unique to Rurutu, this show of strength occurs in January and July of every year, when the village men and women lift volcanic boulders to show their strength, once the champion is chosen; the island throws a national feast.

 Fourth is Nuku Hiva, full of mantas and eagle rays, hammerhead, barracuda, snapper, trevally, and soldierfish, this island offers a remote area with many dives off its islands.  One of which, Motumano Point, is full of whitetip reef sharks and trevallies.  Another is the shallow Ekamako on Taiohae Bay.  This is a large cavern under a cliff and is one of the few sites in Nuku Hiva with calm water.  Within the cave, dozens of stingrays cover the floor.  These isolated islands offer more than others, with a greeting distinct to this area (“ka oha” rather than the regular “ia orana” one would hear in the rest of Tahiti), the tattoos and woodcarvings that are specific to these islands, and one of the world’s highest waterfalls, Vaipo Waterfall, falls loudly from 1,148 feet high.  It is no wonder that Gauguin and Melville found inspiration here.