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Hoi An, Vietnam
This well-preserved 15th-century port town made its fortune from trade, but today it’s all about the beaches, from the infamous China Beach to the willow-lined Cua Dai. After some sun worship, couples can wander through the town’s picturesque streets, taking in the buildings of varying architectural styles, cafés, galleries, and silk shops.
Check In The new Nam Hai hotel is fronted by a three-quarter-mile stretch of private beach.
84-510/940-000; www.thenamhai.com; doubles from $300.
Don’t Miss A sunset stroll on the banks of the Thu Bon River.
Great Barrier Reef, Australia
While most of the 74 Whitsunday Islands are rugged emeralds of forest studding the waters off the reef, you won’t be roughing it for your desert-isle fantasy. Hayman Island features a chic beachfront resort and a national park with miles of foot trails and reefs teeming with tropical fish and coral.
Check In Hayman
61-2/9268-1888; www.hayman.com.au; doubles from $488.
Don’t Miss The Proserpine rock-wallabies that have nestled into the bushland.
Antigua
With miles of rugged Caribbean coastline and 365 beaches, you’re assured of more than a few private patches of sand. But couples might want to stay put at just one—if they’re at the recently opened Hermitage Bay resort. Etched into a lush hillside overlooking the bay are 25 cottage suites, a private beach, plunge pools, and open-air verandas with billowing white curtains that frame the views.
Check In Hermitage Bay
268/562-5500; www.hermitagebay.com; doubles from $565.
Don’t Miss An island ecotour. Explore offshore deserted islands, hidden caves, and Antigua’s inland wildlife (
www.antigua-barbuda.org).
Mauritius
With perfect water, spicy Creole cuisine, and the liberating feeling of being in the middle of nowhere (the vast Indian Ocean), is there a better place than Mauritius to be marooned for a week or two? Consider: Baudelaire wrote a poem about his stay, and Mark Twain wrote that "heaven was copied after Mauritius."
Check In The splurge-worthy Shanti Ananda Maurice offers beachside villas with private courtyards and pools.
91-11/2689-8888; www.shantiananda.com; doubles from $998.
Don’t Miss The giant Victoria water lilies and 80 different types of palm at the island’s 92-acre Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Gardens.
Pamplemousses; 011-230/243-3531.
Copyright © 2008, American Express Publishing. All rights reserved.
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