Pacific Ocean

The South Pacific confounds even the savviest map buffs with its splatter of dots spread across the world’s biggest ocean. What you can’t tell from a map, or even most tourist brochures is that these palm-laden pinpricks are as diverse as the region is vast. While the postcards might look similar, Fiji and Tahiti arenotinterchangeable or even much alike when it comes to landscapes and culture.

The South Pacific is a vast and stunning area, covering 11 million square miles stretching from the northern tip of Australia to the Hawaiian Islands. Artists and writers like Paul Gauguin and James Michener have celebrated these thousands of coral and volcanic islands, which are home to fascinating cultures. Some islands, like Tahiti and Fiji, are well-known, while others, such as Aitutaki and Yap, remain less familiar but equally intriguing.