Malediven

Warm sand between your toes, cyan-blue waters lapping at the shore and coral gardens teeming with fish – each of the Maldives’ 1,192 islands fits the tropical paradise bill, yet no two are quite the same. The most exclusive resorts sit on private islands, where you can snorkel on dazzling house reefs, go dolphin watching at sunset and slip straight into the Indian Ocean from your overwater villa. If luxury lodgings aren’t your thing, you could drift around the islands on a traditional dhoni sailboat and sleep on uninhabited sands, or join the new wave of budget travellers who are hopping between islands via public ferry, staying in simple guesthouses and immersing themselves in local life.