Looking for a vacation destination that is truly breathtaking? Fancy somewhere with a beach and sailing opportunities, plus the cuisine and ambiance of a metropolitan city. A perfect vacation that provides all of this is a trip to the French settlement of New Caledonia, located between Australia and Fiji.

This island is situated further south compared to other South Pacific islands, benefiting from southeast trade winds, lots of sunlight and warm weather. If a sailing holiday is what you fancy, New Caledonia is situated in a part of the Pacific that has the biggest coral lagoon in the globe. Sailing charters are freely available and with the assistance of the trade winds you can sail out of the capital city of Noumea along the coastline, past the many small islands that dot the ocean around the New Caledonia. There are also lots of other outdoor activites such as scuba diving, snorkel diving, horseback riding, canoeing, and kayaking.

If you were thinking of a gourmet holiday, you can find everything you could want on New Caledonia. New Caledonia’s capital city, Noumea, also known as the Paris of the Pacific. Noumea features delicate gourmet French food and wine along with the other benefits of a active cosmo town. You can find some of the South Pacific’s best restaurants here. Claimed by France in 1853, New Caledonia has a distinct French influence when it comes to food.

There are lots of eateries, ranging from sidewalk cafes to elegant bistros. French cuisine is easy to come by, but other selections include Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and African food. Seafood is a speciality of the Island, including spiny lobster, prawns, crab, and mangrove oysters. One of New Caledonia’s national dishes is Bougna, which is fish or chicken, combined with sweet potatoes and bananas wrapped in banana leaves and then cooked covered in sand on hot stones. For the adventurous traveller on a epicurean holiday, you can try out a dish popular with the locals, bat stew.

New Caledonia is the holiday destination you want to be: a sailing holiday, a gourmet holiday, or a time to just relax on the beaches.