What are two great reasons to visit Maui other than the jaw-dropping beaches?

Waves and whales, of course!

The locals know that "Jaws" is the name given to a big wave surfing reef break on the island of Maui, the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The surf break, a deep water reef break, received its name due to the size and ferocity of the waves. The waves at "Jaws" can reach heights of 70 ft. on the face of the wave, moving as fast as 30 mph. The biggest swell in several years lashed the Hawaiian Islands on December 7, 2009 and Pe'ahi (a.k.a. Jaws) on Maui came to life for the cleanest tow-surfing session in ages. An all-star crew was on it, resulting in a number of waves which figured in the 2009/10 Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards. Also included are a few wipeouts, some really good wipeouts, in fact:

Maui is also a leading whale-watching center in the Hawaiian Islands due various populations of Humpback whales. Here is an amazingly close-up video of a humpback whale on a whale watch tour in 2008:


Fast facts:
• Maui's wide variety of landscapes resulted from a unique combination of geology, topography, and climate.
• Maui wintering in the sheltered ʻAuʻau Channel between the islands of Maui county.
• Coffee, macadamia nuts, papaya, tropical flowers, sugar and fresh pineapple are just some of Hawaii's premium exports and are a great example of its diversified agriculture.
• Maui is also an important center for advanced astronomical research. The Haleakala Observatory [1] was Hawaii's first astronomical research and development facility at the Maui Space Surveillance Site (MSSS) electro-optical facility.

St. Augustine Beach, Florida!

The St. Augustine beaches boast miles of luxurious sand with beautiful weather year-round. Barrier islands naturally create the island waterway and miles of gorgeous coastline with many public areas for beach recreation and relaxation. Generally, vehicles wishing to gain access to the beaches may do so for a daily fee of $6.00 for St Johns County Residens and $7.00 for Non-Residents.

Here are a group a vacationers parasailing on the beach:

Here is ten minute video of St. Augustine beach fireworks New Years Eve 2009:

Here is a typical sunrise in St Augustine:

Thousands of turtles invade Indian beach!

The Bay of Bengal is the largest bay of the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered by Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal to the north (where the name comes from), India and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma (Myanmar) and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the east.

While not exactly a hot vacation spot, it is known for thousands of "endangered" Olive Ridley turtles crawling ashore from the Bay of Bengal for their annual mass nesting to lay eggs:

Check out this 10 degree roll aboard the LPG/C Antwerpen, a Liquified Gas Carrier caught in one of the Bay of Bengal's worst Cyclones Nightmare in broad Daylight!!!

Impressions of Jagannath Puri, Golden Beach
To give you an impression of the local "feel", here are photos taken at the Bay of Bengal, in Jagannath Puri, situated at Orissa, India.

Fernando de Noronha - A hidden and lonely beach in Brazil

Can you observe the high quality white sand of this beach in Fernando de Noronha Archipelago? This is a island in the Atlantic Ocean to 350 km from the coastal Northeast of Brazil. With environmental conservation laws, this island is a paradise that some couples seek for their honeymoon.

Sarasota Florida Beaches (Best Rated in The US)

When people think of Florida, they often picture white-sand beaches where families build sandcastles and memories. Check out the award-winning Siesta Key Beach which is consistently rated as a top 10 beach in the USA. And lets not forget the world-famous sand. Its the softest sand imaginable... You simply have to feel it to believe it. When it comes to beaches, Sarasota
and Her Islands are as diverse as it gets.

Siesta Beach and Village is a great place to spend Spring Break! Join us as we take a look at some of the fun. Beautiful girls ride the Segway on the Siesta Beach, experts play volleyball on the whitest finest sands in the world and dancers wait for sunset and get ready to party into the night.

Sand Castles!
Courtesy of Encore Video Productions (Myrtle Beach), this video footage features the construction of the World's Tallest Sand Castle attempt. Team Sandtastic of Sarasota, Fla., worked on the structure May 25-June 2, despite Tropical Storm Barry which hit Myrtle Beach in the final days.