Have you ever wanted to retreat from the daily grind to an island paradise? What if you could envision them with a bird’s eye view first to help you decide where to go? If Superman took vacation, these are some of the sparkling seas, sugar-white beaches, and stunning locations that he would visit to escape from it all. Flying through blue skies with Superman’s point of view, here are 37 gorgeous island paradises and amazing aerials.
Glover Reef
(image credit: National Geographic)
Two rainbows arc over Glover’s Atoll, a World Heritage Site and Marine Reserve, and Belize’s most remote atoll. An atoll is a ring of coral that first grew completely around the shoreline of an island, but then continued to grow upward on top of itself as the island eroded away. Glover’s Reef Atoll is an oval ring of coral surrounded by the Caribbean Sea. It offers an outstanding place to swim, to snorkel, and to dive. Glover’s Atoll has 700 patch reefs in the lagoon and is surrounded by 50 miles of sheer drop-offs, starting from 25 feet down to 2,700 feet.
Bora Bora
(image credits: National Geographic, yannarthusbertrand2, National Geographic, National Geographic)
The archipelago of Bora-Bora is in the Leeward group of French Polynesia’s Society Islands located in the Pacific Ocean. Waves crash against the ring of coral reefs around this sunken remnant of a 7-million-year-old extinct volcano. The clear lagoon can be seen from the air, but hundreds of tropical fish species live in the turquoise-blue water, showing remarkable biological diversity. Bora-Bora is renowned for sugar-white beaches and the twin peaks Mount Otemanu and Mount Pahia.
Tahiti, another Society Island
(image credit: National Geographic)
Tahiti is the largest of the Windwards, but is another Society Island like Bora-Bora. Together the 35 islands and 83 atolls of French Polynesia are spread out between the South Pacific about halfway between Australia and South America. Tahiti has a mountainous interior, deep valleys, clear streams, and high waterfalls. Most of the island’s population lives along the coastline.
Sulu Archipelago
(image credit: yannarthusbertrand2, yannarthusbertrand2)
The Sulu Archipelago is made up of hundreds of volcanic and coral islands, numerous rocks and reefs in the southwestern Philippines. It is sometimes referred to as the ‘backdoor of the Philippines.’ The deep sea diving is some of the best in the world, a prime source for pearls, marine sea turtles, and exotic tropical fish. The Sulu Sea supplies a large proportion of the nation’s commercial catch. Kurachas, small crab-like shrimp, are sweet to the taste once cooked and another notable thing about Sulu. The most popular entry point for visits to the Sulu Islands is Jolo, where there is outstanding hiking among the volcanic landscapes. The best diving spot in the Sulu Islands is Tubbataha Reef. The Sulu Archipelago includes the Samales Islands, home of this village on stilts as pictured on bottom. It is home of the Badjaos who are also known as sea gypsies.
Republic of the Fiji Islands
(image credit: National Geographic)
In the South Pacific, another archipelago is the 322 chain of islands which make up the Fiji Islands. Of those, only about 106 are inhabited. Only part of the tropical lure, the stunning coral reefs ring around Mondriki Island, foreground, and Monu Island, background. There are divine places to dive, taking in the fish and the coral gardens. Lush rain forests and sparkling white beaches make it an ever popular tourist destination.
Phi Phi Le, near Phuket island, Thailand
(image credit: yannarthusbertrand2)
Another tropical delight is the Phi Phi Archipelago which is nearly 25 miles off the coast of Thailand. It consists of six islands with Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi LePhi Phi considered the mainland. Phi Phi Le (above) is the more unspoiled of the two, a part of the Hadnopparattara-Koh Phi Phi National Park. Phi Phi is home to amazing marine life, an abundance of corals, long white sandy beaches, and limestone mountains with cliffs and caves. From archaeological discoveries, it is believed that the area is one of the oldest communities in Thailand and dates back to the prehistoric period.
Palau Islands
(image credit: National Geographic)
More than 250 beautiful forested and rock islands, wreathed with sands and exquisite seas, make up the nation of Palau. About 500 miles east of the Philippines, Palau enjoys a tropical climate all year round with an annual temperature of around 82 °F. As a bonus, Palau is just outside the main typhoon zone. Tourism is the country’s leading industry as it is legendary for its astonishing marine diversity and beauty. Palau has a rich marine environment which invites snorkeling and diving around its barrier reef walls and World War II wrecks. Named one of the “Seven Underwater Wonders of the World” by divers, Palau holds far more than seems possible in the 170 square miles it covers. The Palau Islands are protected. Under the law of the sea, an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a seazone over which a state has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources.
Los Roques Archipelago
(image credit: webpark)
These scarcely populated Venezuelan Islands in the Caribbean Sea are not known to many people and thus its virgin beauty, wild and exotic, has been maintained. Los Roques Archipelago is a dream landscape with one of the biggest National Marine Parks of the Caribbean. The Los Roques islands consists of about 350 islands, cays or islets and abundant aquatic life surrounding the coral reefs. With only about about 1,500 permanent inhabitants, there is almost no crime and times seems to have nearly stopped. It’s a great place to enjoy calm and crystal clear turquoise bays and sugar-white beaches.
Buccaneer Archipelago
(image credit: yannarthusbertrand2)
Two-billion-year-old rocks make up the Buccaneer Archipelago, about 800 islands off the coast of Western Australia. These islands between King Sound and Collier Bay near Yampi Sound are in almost pristine condition due to the difficulty of gaining access. The Buccaneer Archipelago is compromised of ancient pre-cambrian sandstones with many high cliffs; some islands have patches of rain-forests. Large, fine pearls are harvested by local pearlfarmers in the surrounding Timor Sea.
Eldey Island
(image credit: webpark)
This sheer rock which is over 252 feet tall is Eldey Island, Iceland, but is also called The Fire Island. With over 70,000 birds counted there, it has the largest gannet colony in the world. In the past, different clusters of skerries and rocks have appeared only to disappear again due to tectonic movements and eruptions. In this unstable ocean area, it is not considered very safe for sailing, thus making the area a rich fishing ground for herring and lobsters.
Exuma Cays, Bahamas
(image credits: yannarthusbertrand2)
The Bahama Islands consist of over 700 islands and rocky coral islets or cays. Two James Bond films were set in Exuma Cays, Thunderball and Never Say Never Again. Divers come from all over the world to explore the underwater caves and enjoy the vast marine life. An emerald sea and white sands beaches attract tourists in search of sun, sand, and nature adventures. Exuma National Park is known for its brightly colored fish, exotic birds, and distinctive Bahamian iguanas.
Neuika Coral Reef France
(image credits: yannarthusbertrand2,yannarthusbertrand2)
Varied and contrasting blues of the lagoon surround Neuika coral reef in New Caledonia, France. This is the second longest double barrier coral reef in the world and is also considered endangered. It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The reef encircles a lagoon of 9,300 square miles which has an average depth of 82 feet. Pictured on bottom is the Nuami Islet, an atoll of Nokan Hui, near New Caledonia.
The Maldives
(image credits: wikipedia, ISS twitpic, dyscario, yannarthusbertrand2)
Nestled in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the 26 atolls of the Maldives are a series of ancient coral reefs that grew up around the sides of prehistoric volcanoes. This island chain extends north-south for about 550 miles. The gorgeous Maldives are composed of 1,190 small coral islands which range on average from three to six feet above sea level. From the more modern Male Atolls to the laid back Southern Atolls, all are extremely popular with tourists. Most of these atolls have deep-water lagoons and look like jeweled pieces of tropical treasured paradise.
Sandbank on Whitsunday Island
(image credit: yannarthusbertrand2)
This bizarre but beautiful pattern is a sandbank on the coast of Whitsunday Island, Australia. Whitsunday Archipelago is made up of numerous coral islets from the coasts of Queensland to about 20 miles offshore from the Great Barrier Reef. Whitsunday Island is the largest of the 74 islands with sugar-white sands like on Whitehaven Beach pictured above. It is part of Great Barrier Marine Park.
Belize Blue Hole
(image credit: National Geographic)
This large underwater sinkhole off the coast of Belize at Lighthouse Reef Atoll is a vertical cave. There are quite a few blue holes located worldwide, but the Great Blue Hole is 984 feet across and 410 ft deep. Once upon a time during the Ice Age, it was an opening to a dry cave system. Today it is a hotspot, luring scuba divers to dive the spectacular crystal clear sea among many species of marine life.
Zakynthos
(image credit: yannarthusbertrand2)
The third largest of the Ionian Islands, Zakynthos, Greece, is an amazing place to stroll the sandy beaches or swim in the company of sea turtles. Zakynthos is an underwater paradise, fantastic for snorkeling or scuba diving the underwater caves. This is one of the sunniest islands in the Mediterranean. Zakynthos National Marine Park was setup to help protect this island of sea turtles. Above is one of the most famous beaches in Greece, Navagio Beach. The Shipwreck is home to the wreck of smuggler ship Panagiotis and is often referred to as Smugglers Cove.
Taiwan: Lalu island & Wreck in the Pescadores Archipelago
(image credits: yannarthusbertrand2,yannarthusbertrand2)
On Taiwan’s Sun Moon Lake, the tiny island is what is left of Lalu Island after floods and earthquakes. Sun Moon Lake is one of thirteen national scenic areas in the Republic of China. Before the earthquake, this island was a place to worship the “Matchmaker god” and many young couples participated in “Shueishang Group Weddings.” Lalu Island is regarded as the dwelling place of the Thao, the highest-ranking ancestral spirit.
Pictured on the bottom is one of the Penghu islands. 90 small islands and islets are also known as Pescadores Archipelago in the Taiwan Strait. This is a highly fished area and reefs were extensively damaged by commercial fishing and the practice of fishing with dynamite. Professional diving fishermen sometimes dive with a simple hooka system, a breathing umbilical cord from the surface. This wreck, suspended between the sea and basalt, is one that Superman missed saving due to his last vacation in paradise. It reminds him that he is needed elsewhere.



