Sydney to Seattle: Pacific Island Hopper

If you want a snapshot of Australia’s appeal, look no further than Sydney: The idyllic lifestyle, friendly locals and drop-dead natural beauty of this approachable metropolis and its attractions explain why the country tops so many travelers’ wish lists. But Sydney is more than just the embodiment of classic antipodean cool—the city is in a constant state of evolution. A list of what to do in Sydney might start with the white-hot nightlife, with its new cocktail bars and idiosyncratic mixology dens. Inventive restaurants helmed by high-caliber chefs are dishing up everything from posh pan-Asian to Argentine street food, while the famous dining temples that put Sydney on the gastronomic map are still going strong too.

The famed harbor is among the top sights—home to twin icons the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, it is the stepping-off point for some of the city’s best cultural attractions and sightseeing. In one day you can sail around the harbor, get a behind-the-scenes tour of the opera house and climb the bridge, with time to spare for people-watching over a flat white at a waterfront café.

Speaking of water, when you plan what to do in Sydney, you will want to include the iconic beaches, where surfers, office workers and tourists alike converge on some of the most gorgeous shoreline scenery anywhere. Bondi, Bronte and Clovelly are all within easy reach of the Central Business District, as is Manly, a charming seaside town located a short ferry ride from Circular Quay. Beyond the city you’ll discover UNESCO World Heritage Sites and the chance to encounter Australia’s cuddliest wildlife—a perfect way to round out your envy-inducing Sydney photo collection.

New Caledonia’s lush beauty has earned it many names, including “The Island Closest to Paradise” and “The St. Tropez of the Pacific.” The poincianas, or flame trees, will color the island with their bright red umbrellas when you visit.

Easo is the capital of Lifou, the largest and most populated of the Loyalty Islands. Home to around 10,000 Kanak people, it’s a simple, relatively undeveloped and largely unspoiled place, famed for two things: a sandy palm-fringed beach that fans out on either side of the main dock, and a very friendly atmosphere. Cruise ships are often welcomed to this island paradise with traditional tribal dances as well as a colorful local market that pops up to sell food, drinks and crafts. The island itself offers a diverse landscape that ranges from the steep cliffs of the northern coast to the pristine white-sand beaches and stunning turquoise waters along the southern coast. The island’s many walking paths and trails take in pretty churches—including the famous missionary chapel, the Chapelle Notre Dame de Lourdes—and pass scenic observation points, not to mention a wide variety of wildflowers and plants. Visitors can also tour vanilla plantations to learn about this venerable spice and its production, or make day trips to the nearby island of Tiga.

Situated on the island of Efate, Port Vila is the capital city of Vanuatu. This South Pacific paradise is everything you would imagine and more. Enter the magical and mysterious world of ancient Melanesia at Ekasup Cultural Village; swim in rock pools within the cascading waterfalls of a rainforest jungle; and visit Mele Gardens – showcasing Vanuatu’s magnificent flora. Sample shore excursions: Paradise Cove Sail & Snorkel; A Taste of Vila; Village Adventure: Around the Island.

In the time before time, the people who would become the Fijians were shaped of wet earth, pulled from the sea on a giant fishhook and given more than 300 islands to live on. Or if you want to be a little more prosaic, the people of Fiji were part of the great Lapita migration, which began somewhere around Taiwan and headed east. The first boats to arrive stopped migrating when they found this maze of islands formed by the earth turning itself inside out with volcanoes.

The new Fijians spent a couple centuries involved in internecine war and developed the bad habit of using clubs to bop all strangers. But strangers kept showing up for the simple reason that Fiji, especially the southeast coast of Viti Levu, was geographically wonderful: the kind of spot that made mariners chuck their anchors and start trying to make a living as a settler. And who knows, maybe the Fijians just had tired arms, but by the time missionaries came, powers had shifted and the bopping had stopped.

Today that southeast corner of the largest island in Fiji, the city of Suva, holds three-quarters of the nation’s population. It’s also shielded by shimmering green mountains opening to a calm sea, a land lush with afternoon rains.

Welcome to paradise – white sand, clear turquoise waters and 50 luxuriant acres of orchids at the late Raymond Burr’ s Garden of the Sleeping Giant. Sample shore excursions: Nausori Highland Village; Nadi Hinterland & the Garden of the Sleeping Giant; Shotover Jet Boat & Shopping.

Unique in many ways, Tonga is the only country in the South Pacific that has never been colonized. The secret to this tiny kingdom’s lasting autonomy lies with its monarchy – rich in culture and tradition; unafraid to modernize and move forward. You’ll find Nuku’alofa on the isle of Tongatapu – the largest of the 171 island jewels in the Tongan crown. Hopefully the Tongan people, cheerful and welcoming, will treat you to a version of the lakalaka – their compelling art of storytelling manifested in a breathtaking dance.

This dramatic South Pacific island is complete with miles of white sand beaches, glittering lagoons, small villages, and volcanic peaks covered in lush vegetation. Visit the Cook Island Cultural Village and experience the lifestyle of the Maori people; walk the Cross Island Trek amid fragrant frangipani and be rewarded with beautiful views and waterfalls; and of course spend time luxuriating on a peaceful beach as the trade winds maintain a perfect temperature.

Oro, god of war, guards his temple deep in the rain forest of Raiatea. Nearby on Mt. Temehani grows the rare and delicate tiare apetahi flower, whose petals open only at dawn in the presence of lovers. Sample shore excursions: Faaroa River Jungle Cruise; Raiatea – The Sacred Island; 4-wheel-drive Safari.

Shaped like a heart and crowned with emerald-green spires, Moorea is easy to love. The Magical Island, as it’s nicknamed, is celebrated for its untamed landscape and symmetrical side-by-side bays (called Opunohu and Cook’s); it was said to be the inspiration for the mythical isle of Bali Hai in James Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific. Its languid lagoon seems without end, wrapping this 132-square-kilometer (50-square-mile) isle in shades of liquid blue, from pale aqua to intense turquoise. Dolphins and stingrays glide through the waves alongside snorkelers and divers exploring the stunning undersea scene. Venture inland to the valleys and another aspect of island life becomes clear: agricultural abundance, with crops that include pineapples, bananas, taro, sugarcane, coffee and cotton. Moorea has shopping, too, mainly for lustrous Tahitian black pearls and brightly patterned pareus (wraparound skirts).

Wherever you head, you’ll find the South Pacific you have dreamed of, moving to the leisurely pace of island time. It can be hard to believe Moorea is just 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Tahiti’s bustling capital, Papeete.

When Captain James Cook first sailed to Tahiti in 1769, he and his crew all thought they’d found paradise. Cook hinted at it in his journals, in coy language that would have been acceptable in his day; his men felt considerably less reserve, and returned home sporting tattoos and stories of a people who ate what fell from trees, and lived lives of freedom unknown in Europe. All without much need for clothes.

Although all of French Polynesia is sometimes referred to as Tahiti, Tahiti proper is only one island, ringed by a reef that turns the water shades of blue even sapphires can’t come near. Rivers flow down from its high peaks, and every night, the sun goes down behind the neighboring island of Moorea, outlining the mountains like a laser show.

Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, is a bustling business and government center, with black-pearl shops on almost every corner. As you move into the countryside, time starts to slip, and it’s just the changeless ocean and the almost unchanged forests—and much the same sensation that made Cook think he’d found heaven on earth.

When Captain James Cook first sailed to Tahiti in 1769, he and his crew all thought they’d found paradise. Cook hinted at it in his journals, in coy language that would have been acceptable in his day; his men felt considerably less reserve, and returned home sporting tattoos and stories of a people who ate what fell from trees, and lived lives of freedom unknown in Europe. All without much need for clothes.

Although all of French Polynesia is sometimes referred to as Tahiti, Tahiti proper is only one island, ringed by a reef that turns the water shades of blue even sapphires can’t come near. Rivers flow down from its high peaks, and every night, the sun goes down behind the neighboring island of Moorea, outlining the mountains like a laser show.

Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, is a bustling business and government center, with black-pearl shops on almost every corner. As you move into the countryside, time starts to slip, and it’s just the changeless ocean and the almost unchanged forests—and much the same sensation that made Cook think he’d found heaven on earth.

Arriving by sea, you’ll experience the innumerable shades of blue that are the lagoon encircling Fakarava, one of the largest atolls in French Polynesia’s Tuamotu Archipelago. Once you step ashore, you’ll notice the beaches alternate between whitest white and palest pink sand, with a backdrop of coconut trees swaying gently in the tropical breeze. And while this pristine paradise—which counts only around 800 residents on an island 60 kilometers (37 miles) long and 21 kilometers (13 miles) wide—has a healthy tourism industry, it’s also a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. That designation means Fakarava, as well as its six neighboring atolls, are entirely protected—both onshore and in the surrounding waters. No wonder then that Fakarava is famous for its incredible snorkeling and diving. A lagoon excursion, which also spirits you to the atoll’s most beautiful beach—one accessible only by boat—is a great way to complete your Seven Seas fantasy.

Water and fire reign here: This is a land of verdant rain forests bisected by sparkling falls. But the fiery element flares along the volcanic coast of Kohala and the roaring furnace of the Kilauea volcano: Lava has continued to seep from the crater since its last eruption in 1983.

Nature is Hilo’s blessing, as well as its challenge. The beautiful crescent bay served as a funnel to two major tsunamis that battered the city—tragedies that are never forgotten and hopefully never repeated. (Hilo’s Pacific Tsunami Museum remains a leader in safety education.)

Once a busy fishing and farming area, Hilo blossomed into a commercial center for the sugarcane industry in the 1800s. Today’s town—its waterfront rebuilt since the last destructive wall of water in 1960—flourishes as a hub of galleries, independent shops, farmers markets and homegrown destination restaurants. A world-class astronomy center has joined this mix, underlining the awe unfolding through the telescopes atop Mauna Kea (the world’s tallest peak from base to summit, outstripping Everest by 1,363 meters, or 4,472 feet!). Meanwhile, leafy Banyan Drive celebrates more earthbound stars with its arboreal Walk of Fame. Look up, look down: Wherever you glance, Hilo looks good.

Once the playground of Hawaii’s royalty, Kona is synonymous with the famous coffee that grows on the slopes of dormant Hualalai. Here, too, is Parker Ranch, the largest privately owned ranch in the U.S. Sample shore excursions: Kona Outrigger Canoe Adventure; Parker Ranch; Big Island Helicopter Spectacular.

Honolulu, on the island of Oahu’s south shore, is capital of Hawaii and gateway to the U.S. island chain. The Waikiki neighborhood is its center for dining, nightlife and shopping, famed for its iconic crescent beach backed by palms and high-rise hotels, with volcanic Diamond Head crater looming in the distance. Sites relating to the World War II attack on Pearl Harbor include the USS Arizona Memorial.

Get ready for lush fern grottos, grand canyons and the dramatic cliffs of the Na Pali Coast (experienced by helicopter and from the decks of your Holland America ship during an afternoon of scenic cruising). Sample shore excursions: Kipu Falls Zipline Trek; Kauai’s Grand Helicopter Tour.

Bounded by the Puget Sound to the west and Lake Washington to the east, and surrounded by forests and mountains, Seattle, Washington boasts a stunning location.

But the largest city in the Pacific Northwest is as much an homage to human ingenuity as it is to natural beauty. From logging to shipbuilding to aircraft manufacturing to modern-day software and biotech development, the Emerald City has worn a succession of industrial hats, birthing the likes of Amazon and Starbucks—not to mention music legends Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana—along the way.

Visitors are spoiled for choice of things to do in Seattle, with iconic attractions like the waterfront, Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass and Pike Place Market all easily accessible. “Local” and “sustainable” are words to live by in Seattle, an ethos reflected in the profusion of fresh-seafood restaurants, independent coffee roasters and quirky boutiques that are dotted around the city, awaiting a taste or visit between sightseeing.