The Houtman Abrolhos archipelago, commonly known as simply the Abrolhos, is made up of over 100 islands and coral reefs off the coast of Geraldton, and provides a rich habitat for sea lions, green turtles, wallabies, carpet pythons and a fantastic array of bird life.

Named after an English pirate and explorer, the Dampier Archipelago is an extraordinary and ancient place, in a region that is home to the greatest concentration of rock engravings on earth. As well as aboriginal heritage, the archipelago is home to wildlife including flatback and hawksbill turtles, ospreys, sea eagles and the Rothschild’s rock wallaby.

The Lacepede Islands, situated just off Australia’s Kimberley coast, are a fantastic destination for birding enthusiasts, supporting over 1% of the world’s population of brown boobies and roseate terns. Other bird species here include masked boobies, Australian pelicans and lesser frigatebirds, and it’s also a key breeding site for green turtles.

Talbot Bay is home to one of the world’s most unusual natural wonders, the ‘Horizontal Falls’. This amazing spectacle occurs when tidal movements force water through the narrow gaps in the ridges either side of Poulton Creek, with the water building up on one side quicker than it can flow through the gap, causing a spectacular waterfall effect.

Vansittart Bay lies close to the northern tip of Western Australia, and is home to some interesting examples of aboriginal rock art. You can also take a trip across a lagoon to visit the intact wreckage of a C-53 aircraft that crash landed here during the Second World War.

More of a large town than a city, Darwin is less about what’s contained within the city limits and more about the huge expanse of wild landscape that’s outside it. Closer to Jakarta than Sydney, the city really does feel remote in its tropical perch.

The protected marine reserve of Triton Bay rivals Raja Ampat as one of Indonesia’s premier locations for snorkelling and scuba diving. The biodiversity here is remarkable, with species ranging from pygmy seahorses to mighty whale sharks, and it’s also a nesting site for green turtles.

Misool is one of the main islands in the Raja Ampat archipelago, surrounded by some of the most spectacular coral reefs on earth. Snorkel, swim and kayak amongst these rich, biodiverse waters, and explore white sandy beaches, mangroves, lakes and jungle-clad limestone peaks.

Sparsely populated and spectacularly beautiful, the Raja Ampat archipelago is a treasure trove of jungle-smothered islands, white sand beaches and some of the best diving in the world. The crystal clear waters are teeming with tropical fish, while on land you can see parrots, hornbills and birds of paradise.

Madang, first settled by Germans during the 19th century, was once known as the ‘prettiest town in the Pacific’, and retains its charm despite significant damage during the Second World War. There is some great snorkelling and diving just offshore, while the city’s towering casuarina trees support a noisy population of flying foxes.

Garove is a flooded volcanic caldera, with most of the inhabitants living on the outside of the volcano, and just one village inside the steep-sided caldera itself. Visiting ships are met by curious locals in outrigger canoes, and you may be welcomed ashore with a traditional ‘sing-sing’.

Looming over Rabaul is smouldering Mount Tavurvur, an active volcano that buried much of the city when it erupted in 1994, and which still periodically belches smoke and ash. Rabaul is also an appealing destination for history buffs, with several World War II sites still scattered with rusting wreckage.

The lush island of Santa Ana, also known as Owaraha, is home to just three villages, and visitors are usually welcomed to the island with traditional songs and dances. You will find a few stalls where you can buy locally-made souvenirs, and you can also snorkel in the surrounding lagoon.

Champagne Beach is a stunning stretch of perfect white sand on the east coast of Espiritu Santo, the largest of Vanuatu’s islands. The beach is named after a bizarre natural phenomenon, in which gas escaping from volcanic rocks on the sea floor causes the water to bubble and fizz at low tide.

Ambrym is known as the ‘Black Island’ due to its dark volcanic soil, with two active volcanoes, Mount Marum and Mount Benbow. The island is also known for its magic and sorcery, and for its traditional Rom dances, when locals don elaborate masks and costumes.

Lautoka is Fiji’s second largest city, known as the ‘Sugar City’ due to its important role in the local sugarcane industry. The waterfront area is pleasant enough, but we’d recommend using Lautoka as a jumping off point to visit some of the smaller surrounding islands, or the forests and waterfalls of the interior.

Leleuvia is a small coral island, home to a laid-back resort and not much else. The colourful reef is easily accessible from the island’s western beach, home to marine life including tuna, barracuda, manta rays and turtles, while bird species recorded here include sacred kingfishers, swallows and orange-breasted honeyeaters.

Close your eyes, imagine a South Pacific island, and you’re probably picturing somewhere like Uoleva. This quintessential desert island has no roads and no shops, just dazzling white sands, gently swaying coconut palms and shallow turquoise waters where you can snorkel amongst the thriving reefs.

Neiafu is the second largest city in Tonga and the capital of the Vava’u group of islands, situated next to the deep water Port of Refuge. Humpback whales pass through here between June and November, while on land the ‘Ene’io Botanical Garden is well worth a visit.

The sleepy island of Aitutaki is big on natural beauty, thanks to its stunning reef-enclosed lagoon. It’s also a deeply spiritual place: in the village of Arutanga you’ll find the oldest church in the Cook Islands, dating back to 1829, and services here are a spellbinding spectacle, with hymns featuring unaccompanied four-part harmonies.

Palmerston is a sleepy coral atoll with an unusual history, home to just three families, all descended from a single man. William Marsters, a ship’s carpenter from Gloucestershire, arrived on the island in 1863, and fathered a number of children with three different Polynesian wives.

Bora Bora is the very definition of idyllic, a diminutive Polynesian island dominated by rainforest-clad volcanic peaks, overlooking an electric blue lagoon ringed by coral reefs. The beaches and over-water bungalows are particularly popular with honeymooners, and the clear waters of the lagoon are perfect for snorkelling.

Papeete is the capital of French Polynesia, situated on the northwest coast of Tahiti. The port is not the most magical spot, so we advise venturing forth to luxuriate in the turquoise lagoons, relax on the white sand beaches fringed with palm trees, and explore the rugged mountain peaks.

The Rangiroa atoll is one of the biggest in the world, a ring of over 400 motu (islets) surrounding a vast lagoon. This stunning area is a popular destination for divers and snorkellers, and the waters are home to marine life including sea turtles, bottlenose dolphins, hammerhead sharks and manta rays.

Nuku Hiva is the largest of the Marquesas, an island of towering basalt peaks, cliffs and canyons, carpeted with verdant jungle. From the pretty little capital, Taiohae, you can strike out into the unspoilt countryside in search of the island’s many archaeological sites.

Remote and unspoilt Fatu Hiva is the southernmost of the Marquesas island group, known for its tapa bark paintings and wood carvings. There are just two settlements on the island: the village of Omoa has a church and a small museum, while Hanavave lies on the staggeringly beautiful Bay of Virgins.

Remote and unspoilt Fatu Hiva is the southernmost of the Marquesas island group, known for its tapa bark paintings and wood carvings. There are just two settlements on the island: the village of Omoa has a church and a small museum, while Hanavave lies on the staggeringly beautiful Bay of Virgins.

Hiva Oa is the last resting place of the artist Paul Gauguin, who spent the final years of his life here, and the Gauguin museum in Atuona documents his time in the South Pacific. This beautiful island is also home to some evocative archaeological sites, including ancient petroglyphs and stone tiki statues.

The remote South Pacific island of Pitcairn was settled by a party of British sailors and Tahitians following the famous mutiny on the HMS Bounty in 1789, and their descendants still live on the island. The tiny capital, Adamstown, has a population of around 50 people.

The enigmatic moai statues of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) remain one of the world’s most intriguing archaeological mysteries. Descendants of the Polynesian settlers who carved them still live here, though these days the island belongs to Chile, despite being separated from the mainland by over 2,000 miles of Pacific Ocean.

Situated 400 miles off the coast of mainland Chile, Robinson Crusoe Island is part of the Juan Fernández archipelago, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. The sailor Alexander Selkirk was marooned here from 1704 to 1709, and his story is thought to have inspired Daniel Defoe’s famous novel.