On our 10 hour tour of Iceland’s Golden Circle, we visited Gulfoss Waterfall, went snorkeling in the Silfra Fissure, hiked through parts of Thingvellir National Park, and visited the Geysir hot springs (home to the geyser after which all geysers are named). It’s little surprise that the Golden Circle is considered one of Iceland’s must-do itineraries.
March of the flamingos
The Ardastra Gardens & Zoo in Nassau, Bahamas is home to a group of talented Caribbean flamingos who march and pose at their trainer’s command. At this quaint and friendly zoo, you’ll also encounter rainbow lorikeets, black swans, and Madagascar lemurs, among other small animals.
The best of French Polynesia
There are few places on Earth like French Polynesia. This paradise has some of the best snorkeling we’ve ever experienced, with sharks, sting rays, manta rays, moray eels, myriad varieties of fish, corals, and more. On land, the white sand beaches and lush jungles are breathtaking. And staying in an overwater bungalow is the icing on the cake.
Swimming between two continents
On our trip to Iceland we snorkeled in the Silfra Fissure, a rift where the North American and Eurasian continental plates meet. The 35 degree water is some of the clearest in the world. Even though we were wearing multiple layers and a dry suit, being in the water for 45 minutes was a frigid (but incredible) experience!
View from Hallgrimskirkja Church
Hallgrimskirkja is a beautiful church in the center of Reykjavik. Its central location—and the fact it’s one of the highest buildings in Reykjavik (and Iceland)—means that it has gorgeous panoramic views of the city from the top. It’s definitely worth paying the extra fee to ride the elevator up and see the city.
Ultimate Bora Bora snorkeling day 2
This was our second excursion with Reef Discovery! We had read and heard such wonderful things about this tour, we booked in twice because we wanted to hedge our bets against the rainy weather that had been hanging around the island. On this tour, the highlight was the alien looking coral gardens. Take a look at the video to get an idea of what the tour is like!
Diving in with black tip and lemon sharks
We did a fantastic Shark and Ray Snorkel Safari excursion in Bora Bora with three snorkel stops. The first dive was outside the barrier reef where we swam with dozens of black tip sharks and lemon sharks. The second spot was on a sand bar where there were sting rays and more black tips. The last stop was a coral garden, with stunning coral formations as far as the eye could see. Definitely recommend this excursion.
Ultimate Bora Bora snorkeling
We’d heard such great things about Bora Bora Pure Snorkeling by Reef Discovery that we booked the excursion twice! We saw myriad species of fish, moray eels, an octopus, eagle rays, and even a manta ray. Take a look at the video to get an idea of what the tour is like! This video is of day 1.
Giant moray eel gets really close
We came across this very large Giant Moray Eel during our Pure Reef Snorkeling excursion in Bora Bora. This was one of the highlights of that tour. It was incredibly beautiful, and surprisingly gentle. And did I say huge? I guess that’s pretty evident from the video.
Pod of big eagle rays in Bora Bora
There was a pod of eagle rays that kept going in and out of formation while we were snorkeling above them. We saw them during our first Pure Reef Snorkeling excursion, and then again during our second tour.
Bumpy ride into the mountain in Bora Bora
We did a 4×4 jeep safari excursion in Vaitape on Bora Bora. It was run by Tupuna and our tour guide was nice. We were very lucky that everyone else had cancelled because they expected rain, so we had a private tour on this trip. The ride up the mountain was incredibly bumpy and the shakiness of the video does not do justice to how rough the mud roads were. Check out our full review for more details!
Stunning Matira Beach in Bora Bora
The gorgeous Matira Beach in Bora Bora. Such an incredibly relaxing scene–the soothing water took all my worries away for a few minutes. A great place to meditate! Hopefully this 4K video can recreate some of that magic for you.
Amazing snorkeling in Bora Bora at the Hilton
There were so many amazing fish at the Hilton Bora Bora Nui, from under the bungalow all the way to the main beach. There was also a lot of coral which was beautiful. The coral looked different in different areas of the resort, from the beach to different sections of bungalows. The 300 bungalow section looked to be the best place to snorkel to us. We saw a big octopus, lots of fish and a school of eagle rays in that section.
Curious eel at the beach in Moorea
When we were walking along the beach to go snorkeling at the Sofitel in Moorea, we saw a many-toothed snake moray / eel very close to shore. I decided to put the camera in the water to see if I could get it on video a few times, and the moray just kept getting closer and closer. It was probably not the safest thing to do and I’m glad it did not bite me, but it was fun. I believe it was a many-toothed snake moray: uropterygius supraforatus.
Eagle rays surrounded us under the bungalow
We swam into a group of eagle rays under our bungalow at the Hilton in Bora Bora and luckily had a camera. Although we were told that these rays are friendly and not dangerous, they had so many sharp barbs that it’s probably wise to be a bit cautious. At first, they were on just one side of us (in front) when we arrived to their location. However, after a minute or two, they moved and started swimming in circles around us. It felt like they were studying us. After about 10 minutes of them circling us, we decided to back off and head back up to the bungalow.
Getting to paradise
It took us the better part of a whole day to get to Bora Bora. You can see clips from our journey in the above video. Needless to say, it was most definitely worth the travel day to get there!
Tahitian paradise
There is a lot to do at the Intercontinental Tahiti resort itself. There are a few restaurants, amazing views of Moorea, snorkeling in a lagoon open to the ocean, huge swimming pool, and more. We had a newly renovated Superior Garden View Room and it was pretty nice. Aside from the nice view, my favorite part of the room was the pillow menu. That was a new one for me and I definitely made use of it.
Adventures for two 