The Pacific & Oceania

Rugged, remote and pocketed with opportunities for off-the-grid exploration, Oceania also ticks multiple boxes when it comes to nature and climate diversity. Its countless small islands are ringed by white sand beaches and fertile coral reefs that give way to tropical rainforests rich in flora and fauna rarely seen elsewhere.

Get up close to humpback whales in French Polynesia with Moorea a magnet for anyone keen to swim alongside these magnificent creatures or divert to the Tuamotu archipelago for some world-class reef diving. The world’s largest coral reef system, the Great Barrier Reef is Australia’s window on an underwater world populated by over 9,000 species including clownfish, manta rays, Maori wrasse and turtles. Alternatively, for a birds-eye view of Bora Bora, and a chance to spot your luxury yacht from the skies above, an island tour by helicopter offers a different perspective.

Straight out of the movies, Oceania is awash with paradisiacal beaches, from Bora Bora and Micronesia to Tahiti, that exude cinematic castaway vibes but offer the best of both worlds, with luxury resorts often no more than a few sandy footprints away.

First Nations and indigenous communities are the cultural and ancestral heartbeat of the region, and time spent learning about their traditions and listening to their stories is a uniquely humbling experience.