Dramatic, fiery and different every night, you'll never tire of looking at them. You'll bore everyone with photos of them. One of your friends proposed underneath one, while another made them the backdrop to her honeymoon. One thing's for sure, Santorini sure does a good sunset.

WHICH island is right for you? Whether you're a hiker or a hedonist, a kite surfer or sun lounger, Spain's Canary Islands have something for everyone

If you somehow find yourself visiting Clipperton Island and lack things to do (understandably), try running around the island and timing yourself; the record circumnavigation time is one hour and 17 minutes.

A chronology of key events

A chronology of key events

A chronology of key events

Key facts, figures and dates

A profile of the US commonwealth territory in the north-west Pacific

Key facts, figures and dates

Key facts, political leaders and notes on the media.

A chronology of key events

An overview of the Faroe Islands including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

An overview of the Channel Islands including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

A chronology of key events

A profile of the British overseas territory in the West Indies

An overview of the Falkland Islands, including key facts, political leaders and the media

An overview of the Caymans, including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

An overview of the British Virgin Islands, including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

Hawaii, the big island

The Galapagos Islands

The Greek Islands

Rhode Island

Sailing In The Greek Islands

The Island of Dominica

Faroe Islands

The Amateur Traveler talks to Harry Pariser about the Virgin Islands. Harry is the author of Explore the Virgin Islands which just printed its seventh edition. Harry takes about the United States Virgin islands (primarily St Thomas, St John and St Croix) and the British Virgin Islands (primarily Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke). The Virgin Islands offer high end luxury resorts, cruise ships but also camping on a beach. They have gourmet restaurants but also local cuisine like conch salad and john cakes. They offer snorkeling, scuba, hiking or just lying on a beach. They take U.S. dollars and speak English making this and accessible island paradise. Harry is making his second appearance on the Amateur Traveler. He was also the guest on Travel to Costa Rica - Amateur Traveler Episode 116.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Stefanie Michaels (better known as @AdventureGirl) about a recent trip to the Marquesas Islands which are near Tahiti (or part of Tahiti depending on who you ask). Stefanie sailed on the freighter Aranui from Tahiti out to these remote islands. She encountered a warm people living in a tropical paradise… with very nice cars and nowhere to drive.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Mike and Hillary of the SpotHopping blog about their trip to Easter Island / Rapa Nui in the South Pacific. They visited Easter Island as a stop on their round the world trip. Easter Island is a small destination and one of the most remote destinations in the world. When you are on the island the only other people within 2000 miles are the 50 people on Pitcairn island. Easter Island is, of course, known for its enigmatic Moai statues and Mike and Hillary were able to visit the quary where they were created. They also explored lava tube caves on the island.

The Amateur Traveler talks about a recent trip to Maui as the guest of the Maui Convention and Visitors Bureau. In this first half of a two part episode Chris gives an overview of the island and talks about the Hawai’i Nature Center, the beaches and the road to Hana. Learn about swimming or hiking in lava tubes, hidden beaches and some of the naive plants of Maui.

Show Notes

Visit Maui Blog
Rainfall map of Maui
Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa
The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua
Kamehameha I
Hawaiian Language

Beaches:

    * Makena (big beach)
    * Chang’s Beach
    * ‘Ahihi Bay
    * Maluaka Beach
    * Wai’ anapanapa State Park
    * Ka’eleku Caverns

The Amateur Traveler talks about a recent trip to Maui as the guest of the Maui Convention and Visitors Bureau. In this second half of a two part episode Chris talks about some of the local culture, food and festivals. He had a chance to explore his rancher roots at one of Maui’s cattle ranches, dine on local produce at some high end restaurants, mix with the locals at the Maui Ag Festival and learn more of Maui’s culture at the Celebration of the Arts.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Melanie Waldman of TravelsWithTwo.com about a recent trip to the Cook Islands in the Pacific. Think of the Cook Islands as Tahiti without the French language and using the New Zealand dollar to make it more affordable. Melanie tells us about this corner of Polynesia with beautiful resorts that she and her husband visited for their 10th anniversary. They hiked the mountainous spine of Raratongo with Pa who knows all of the plants and their uses and cruised the small outer islands of Aitutaki with a guide named Captain Awesome. They also took an archeology tour, drove the ring roads, shopped in the farmer’s market and just hung out on the beach drinking the cocktails of the moment.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Pamela Beck of the Department of Tourism for Prince Edward Island in Eastern Canada. Pamela describes Prince Edward Island (or PEI) as a get away from it all location that is easy to get to. Surrounded by beaches this 140 mile long island features wonderful seafood and champion oyster shuckers. It has miles of bike trails and relaxed helpful locals. Pamela also describes it as a wonderful golf vacation or a place where you can try your hand at lobster fishing (be ready to get up very early), oyster raking or chocolate making through one of their experience tourism programs.

Chris, the Amateur Traveler himself, talks about a recent trip to New Zealand’s North Island where he went to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and took a dolphin watching cruise up by the Bay of Islands. He visited the Coromandel Peninsula with Cathedral Cove and Hot Water beach, toured but can’t talk about Hobbiton near Matamata, climbed Mt Maunganui, saw (and smelled) the geysers and baths at Rotorua, journeyed south to the Capital at Wellington, visited a ski area on a volcano and rafted the caves of Waitaomo.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Gary Arndt of Everything-Everywhere.com about his recent trip to the Canary Islands. The Canary Islands are tropical volcanic islands that are part of Spain but are located off the coast of Northwestern Africa.They are not named after birds.

    The first thing that struck me when I got off the plane was how much the weather was like Hawaii and I have heard a lot of people call it Europe's Hawaii. It is a part of Spain. There are two provinces that constitute the Canary Islands. One with its capital on Grand Canaria Island and the other on the island of Tenerife. Columbus's last stop over was in the Canary Islands. Each of the islands, and there are 7 main islands, have a very different character.