Chris Willis of Atlanta and his wife, Ingrid Grillo-Willis, visited Tonga in September:

"Tonga is a very undeveloped but very beautiful South Pacific island kingdom. Southeast of Fiji, it is the only monarchy in the South Pacific, and also is one of the few South Pacific island areas never to be colonized. The Vava'u group is the primary draw for tourists.

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"Vava'u offers crystal-clear water, vibrant reefs and unspoiled white sand beaches. This makes it a superb destination for watersports, and it is also a mecca for recreational sailing. Our primary reason for going there was the opportunity to snorkel with humpback whales, which migrate to Tonga every year from their feeding grounds in Antarctica.

"Tonga is one of only three countries in the world where snorkeling with humpback whales is permitted. The whales are fascinating to watch from the surface as they frequently throw themselves into the air, slap the surface of the water with their tails, and broadcast eerie songs that can be heard for miles using the hydrophones that many whale-watching boats carry.

"The biggest thrill was snorkeling with the whales. Tongan law imposes a number of restrictions designed to protect the whales from harassment, so boats are required to keep their distance. When the whales are cooperating by staying near the surface and not moving too quickly, a group of four tourists, accompanied by a licensed guide, enters the water and swims toward the whales.

"The whales not only tolerate the presence of people in the water, they sometimes become curious and actually approach snorkelers. On my very first trip into the water, a solitary male humpback circled around us, then came straight toward us to take a closer look, approaching within 20 feet and looking us over with an inquisitive eye.

"On another occasion, a 2-week-old humpack calf took a break from playing with its mother and swam to within five feet of our group. Despite her immense size (approximately 45 feet long), the mother never did anything to threaten us and patiently waited for her calf to investigate us. Another boat carrying a BBC nature documentary film crew was 'sharing' this mother and calf pair with us, which made the experience even more special.

"Being in the water with humpback whales allows you to appreciate them in a way that is simply not possible from a boat. In the water, you can see not only the whales' power and grace, but also the tenderness of their interactions with one another and their curiosity about humans. If you are lucky enough to be in the water when a male humpback is singing, the sound is so loud that it vibrates your entire body. Spending time in the water with these whales is an utterly magical experience.

"In addition to snorkeling with whales, Vava'u also offers world-class scuba diving and sailing. But, at least for now, it is not visited by large numbers of tourists. We were told by one local tour operator that a strong tourist season brings no more than 5,000 visitors to Vava'u, and our impression at the time was that there could not have been more than 100 tourists on Vava'u while we were there.

"But with low numbers of tourists comes undeveloped infrastructure, so visitors should understand that accommodations are relatively basic and that delays and other changes of plans are much more likely to occur than in a more heavily visited destination. In our view, the opportunity to see an unspoiled island paradise and to come face-to-face with humpback whales in the water was well worth it."