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Step inside the unique and beautiful House of Wunders to discover how you can bring the beauty of the natural world to your home. The home decor items in this unique shop come straight from nature and range from crystals and fossils to furniture from recycled wood. Imagine waking up each morning to the sun sparkling through the crystals in a quartz geode or storing your favorite tomes on a bookcase made from a recycled fishing boat. But even if you don’t have room in your luggage for half of a retired dhow boat, there are plenty of suitcase-friendly gifts to choose from: beautiful gemstone jewelry, tiny trilobite fossils, palm-sized selenite hearts, and collections of shark’s teeth. Some of the shop’s most stunning items are the bowls, plates, sink basins and tables made from polished marble pulled from the Moroccan dessert and filled with fossils. Imagine the conversations started by your very own 550 million year old fossil bowl. Unique, beautiful and straight from nature.

Holbox is my kind of hideaway- clear, warm water, gorgeous skies, hot weather and hammocks. This is the perfect island to get lost and get in touch with nature, whether swimming, canoeing, horse back riding, taking nature walks or whale shark watching. Part of the small island is the Yum Balam Nature Reserve, a protected natural area for nature lovers.

Among the most popular attractions for kids of all ages on the Scheveningen esplanade is SEA LIFE, home to more than 200 sea creature species and over 4,000 individual aquatic animals. At an interactive rock pool, see sharks, turtles, stingrays, clownfish, jellyfish and dangerous piranhas up close and personal. Touch live anemones, hold a hermit crab, and see stars at a collection of knobbed, chocalate chip and sunflower starfish. Discover what other creatures inhabit waters along the Dutch coastline, including dolphins, otters and rare turtles. In 2013, SEA LIFE Scheveningen was honored with ZooSite’s “most special birth” award, recognizing the arrival of Titulus, a black tip reef shark who now swims around in a special cage in SEALIFE’s ocean tank. The aquarium is a pioneer in seahorse breeding, having spawned nine different species over the past two decades. Exhibits are stocked with starfish bred in the park, so none are ever taken from the wild for exhibition purposes. Through extensive breeding, SEALIFE aims to save starfish and other endangered sea creatures from extinction. With its sister brand, Seal Sanctuaries, it annually rescues, cares for and returns more than 100 orphaned, injured and sick seal pups to the wild.

This tiny island is north of Isla Mujeres and Cancun and is only 26 miles long and offers visitors in search of a “Robinson Crusoe” experience the perfect escape. Long, sweeping beaches beckon with water sports, snorkeling, sport fishing, and total R&R. A shallow lagoon gives sanctuary to thousands of flamingos, pelicans and other exotic birds and creatures, allowing visitors the perfect spot in which to commune with nature. Several good restaurants and hotels are available and tours to area attractions can be arranged by ferry and small plane. Getting around the island is via bicycle or golf cart.

Australia is world-renowned for scuba diving, but you don’t have to go all the way to the Great Barrier Reef or Ningaloo. Most people don’t know there is plenty of good diving in and around Sydney, too. One of the best sites is Magic Point off the tip of Malabar Headland National Park south of Maroubra. There’s an extensive reef system and large caves that are home to weedy sea dragons, stingrays, and a recovering colony of grey nurse sharks (which by most accounts are harmless to humans). Local outfitters such as Frog Dive Scuba Centres can lead you there.

Each wooden suite—spread out over the waters of a coral-lined lagoon—has a smartly designed sea-level sun deck, a deepwater pool, and a glass spy hole carved into the floor so you can watch the stingrays and reef sharks glide below. The property underwent massive renovations during 2019 after a fire ravaged the hotel, but it took the opportunity to expand and improve. The resort reopened with 45 luxury villas with furniture made from locally sourced materials.

The miniscule, idyllic island of Granita de Oro (meaning “little grain of gold”) is one of 38 small, wild islands that comprise Panama’s Isla Coiba National Park, in the Gulf of Chiriqui. The cyan-blue waters here swarm with a jaw-dropping array of sea creatures—not just coral reefs swarming with tropical fish, but moray eels, manta rays, sharks, and sea turtles. While snorkeling and diving are the most obvious pursuits here, many travelers enjoy just kayaking, sunning, and picnicking on the powdery beach. Traveling with an intimate group can heighten the experience of exploring Central America. The ship used for Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic Costa Rica & Panama trips accommodates just 62 passengers.

Dinosaurs, pyramids, cave paintings, sharks—if you don’t like the Field Museum then you must never have been a kid. Home to an extensive assortment of magical displays highlighting all facets of natural history from around the world, the Field Museum is a great way to spend a day getting your culture fix. If you start to lose steam, just pop into the café for a meal to reenergize before continuing to explore the multitude of exhibits that await you. And while the museum is a showcase for natural history, it’s been at this spot since 1893, which makes it a part of history as well.

Captain Dave’s ocean safaris offer visitors a different way to see Laguna. Departing from Dana Point, the cruises take place on a high-tech, high-speed catamaran equipped with underwater viewing pods so guests can see marine life up close. The boat also features three tram nets on the bow, offering prime views of everything from blue, humpback, and fin whales to orcas, dolphins, and even great white sharks. Cruises are limited to 49 people so everyone gets a front-row seat—plus Mrs. Captain Dave’s legendary triple fudge brownies that she bakes fresh for every trip.

Nestled between pristine beaches and lush forest, the peaceful town of Watamu is ground zero for water sports in Kenya. One of Kenya’s most renowned kite-surfing schools, Tribe Watersports, is based here and offers three–day courses to get you skimming the warm waves of the Indian Ocean in no time. If you’re happier underwater, Watamu will also appeal. A maze of rich coral reefs skirts the shoreline, so giant turtles and exotic fish can be seen year-round, and at certain times of the year majestic whale sharks pass through this region, making it a snorkeling and diving haven. For accommodation, check out the eccentric and charming Watamu Treehouse.

I recently went to Durban to attend a wedding. While I personally don’t consider Durban at the top of list of places to go on holiday in SA, I will say that Durban is great for the sun and the surf. In terms of tourist attractions, Ushaka Marine World is a great place to take the family. You can spend the day having fun at the water park, catch the dolphin show or get in some knowledge and check out the aquarium. The aquarium is themed to resemble a sunken ship with certain rooms even displaying some of the decor and furniture upside down! Those who are brave enough can even venture into the shark tank where you’ll be able to swim with some of the scary predators of the deep blue sea!

Despite its size (10 square miles) and population (fewer than 170 permanent residents), Little Cayman enjoys a worldwide reputation among serious divers. The island is renowned for its exceptional underwater visibility and vertigo-inducing walls, especially north-shore Bloody Bay. Dive boats flock to Three Fathom Wall, where bulbous coral heads teeming with fish rise to within 10 feet of the surface. Snorkelers are likely to encounter schools of blue tang and stoplight parrot fish, as well as hawksbill turtles and nurse sharks.

One of the most beautiful bits of Bimini are the mangrove forests – yet this unique eco-system rarely gets the attention it deserves. Bimini’s mangroves are home to many important island species, including lobster, conch, sharks, the Bimini Boa, and the critically endangered smalltooth sawfish. This delicate system is seriously threatened by development – an important marine reserve may soon be leased out to hotel developers, who would destroy much of what little mangrove remains. Often, one first-hand experience is enough to show visitors that change is needed. You can support the health of the mangroves by choosing a low-impact tour with a local guide or kayak or paddle board adventure to explore the mangroves – local guide Strata G Smith (as well as Ebbie David and Ansil Saunders) can combine mangrove visits with charter tours (depending on tides and boat size). Photo courtesy Kathleen Fisher/Bimini Healing Arts

Here’s another touristy place, but great for the kids- and adults too, if you love ocean creatures! There’s an underwater shark exhibit, huge jellyfish exhibit, narwhals, sea otters, animal shows, penguins, roller coasters and more. I’d never seen a walrus before up close and dang, those things are huge! This place is a little pricey to go often, so we only go if visitors who stay with us want to check it out. But it’s definitely worth seeing at least once!

This soul food joint thrived for two decades in its unassuming nook on the peninsula’s East Side before being discovered by diners outside the neighborhood. It’s managed its transition to Southern food darling well, retaining its modest checkered floor, plywood walls, and red leather booths while also embracing the new attention by launching a website. Fortunately—and most importantly—the family-run operation hasn’t altered their recipes for favorites like their heaping plate of crab rice, fried local shark steak, or savory lima beans stewed in smoked neck bones and pigtails. Daily specials feature harder-to-find items like oxtails and stew gizzards, but it’s not all offal—you’ll certainly leave smiling after a plate of fried chicken or a hefty baked turkey wing.