Fakarava

Fakarava, the Tuamotu Archipelago's second-largest atoll, reveals itself in layers, making each visit more interesting as you peel back another layer of the atoll. The atoll is roughly rectangular, measuring 60 kilometers (37 miles) long and 21 kilometers wide (13 miles). Fakarava has two passes and a wide and deep lagoon with a surface area of 1,112 square kilometers (429 square miles).

At both sites, as well as most other places around Fakarava, it is common to see huge Napoleon wrasse alongside swarms of sharks. Enoha Pater, a local, can teach you all about the medicinal plants that grow here and lead low-tide walks on the ocean side of the atoll at night, where you will see creatures you wouldn't see snorkeling during the day. You can't go wrong with Havaiki Lodge, which has an onsite black pearl farm and resident nurse sharks that frequent its pier, for a sweet little bungalow right on the beach surrounded by flowering hibiscus and frangipani.

Location: Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia