Scattered like a sparkling Pacific pearl some 1,500 miles north from New Zealand, Niue is a land carved from coral stone and coconut shells. A circular spot of a nation (often hailed as the smallest independent country in the world, despite close political allegiances with the Kiwis and the distinct lack of UN recognition), this atoll is prime territory for intrepid travelers eager to veer from the marked tourist trail through the Cook Islands, Samoa and Fiji. In place of luxurious resort hotels, you can expect untrodden coastal enclaves of spiked rock and mangrove, waxy palm groves buffeted by the trade winds, and a capital – Alofi – so small you could hang a single flowery garland around it. Niue tour guides are hardly at a loss when it comes to attractions and draws though. In this rugged island caving opportunities exist aplenty, whales and dolphins drift in and out of the shores, biking paths crisscross the backcountry fields, golf courses peppered with palms and impossibly green fairways await, and Niuean craftspeople and Vaka canoe fishing folk mix in the villages – the list goes on!