Off the western coast of Turkey at the central to northern end of the Aegean Sea, the “North Aegean Islands” is a designation used for a loosely grouped set of islands including the Turkish islands of Imbros and Tenedos and the Greek islands of Chios, Icaria, Samos and many more.

Within the 83,000 square miles of the Aegean Sea, it hosts thousands of islands and islets, less than 100 of which have more than 100 inhabitants. But within those islands they hold thousands of years of history, culture and spectacular natural beauty.

The Philippine Islands are an archipelago of over 7000 tropical islands on the eastern edge of Southeast Asia, bordering on the Pacific Island groups of Melanesia and Micronesia, boasting almost 23,000 miles of coastline with plenty of beaches to explore.

This article lists highlights of the islands that form the island group called Micronesia (one part of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean) including Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Marshall Islands, Nauru and Wake Island.

This article lists highlights of the islands that form the island group called Polynesia (one part of Oceania) including New Zealand, the Hawaiian Islands, French Polynesia, Samoa, Tonga, Wallis and Futuna, Nieu, the Cook Islands, American Samoa, Easter Island, Rotuma, Tuvalu, Midway and Tokelau

Maui’s reputation as an idyllic vacation destination is very well-deserved. Those of us who have visited numerous tropical islands know that Maui easily rates among the best of them. What makes it so special?