CRUISE DESTINATIONS

Alaska with its many waterways, bays and waterfalls offers a lot to the sailor. Every year, boats set out to make their long journey from big cities including Seattle, California, Oregon and Vancouver to make their "pilgrimage" to Alaska. Here are some of what the sailors have to say.

There are some 90-100 miles of sensational coastline (and an estimated 30-40 miles of sandy beaches) on Banderas Bay, the largest natural bay in Mexico and the seventh largest in the world.

Discovery Islands refer to the group of islands between Campbell River of Vancouver Island and the Mainland of British Columbia. It is part of the chain of 6,000 islands scattered along side the coast line all the way from Washington State to Alaska. They include: East and West Thurlow Island, Sonora Island, Maurelle Island, Quadra Island and Cortes Island. The outer islands include: Stuart Island, Raza Island, East and West Redonda Islands.

The Sunshine Coast is a boater's paradise with its majestic scenery of mountains, forests, wildlife and waterfall. Cruising by boat, one can easily carve out a one-week cruising itinerary travelling from Vancouver to Gibsons, Sechelt, Pender Harbour, Powell River and retracing the route back, or a 10-14 day trip cruising from Seattle and back.

Cowichan Bay, Duncan Located on the south side of Vancouver Island, the Cowichan region is the warmest, year round spot in Vancouver Island, in fact, of Canada.

Tahiti is the most famous island amongst the Polynesian islands. With the influx of tourists, Papeete, the capital of Tahiti has the bustle of any modern metropolis, complete with diesel fumes and traffic. However, the remote areas of the island remain unspoiled with blue water, tropical palms, sandy beaches....

Bowen Island is located about 6 kilometers west of Vancouver Mainland. The small island measures approximately 6 km wide by 12 km long, and is easily within reach by a 20 minute ferry ride which runs every hour.

Phuket is the largest island in Thailand and is Thailand's maritime jewel. A mountainous island, 70% of the place is covered with rainforest. The west side of the island offers beautiful sandy beaches, while the east side consists mostly of muddy flats. North of the island has about 20 km of rainforest.

The jewel in Vietnam's crown, Halong Bay has been designated by UNESCO as a world heritage site for its geological and geomorphological value. Breathtakingly beautiful, it has over 1,600 limestone islands standing tall and majestic in various sizes and shapes.

Singapore is an island state located at the south end of the Malay peninsula. With a total area of 704 square kilometers, it is the smallest country in Southeast Asia and also the smallest island-state country in the world. Singapore consists of 63 islands including the Mainland Singapore. The 4 big islands are Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa.