April

What is the name of this lowest country in the world?

This beach is located on one of the 26 atolls making up this island country in the Indian Ocean, southwest of India and Sri Lanka. It gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1965 and became a republic in 1968.

Covering roughly 35,000 square miles, it is the smallest Asian country in both land area and population. Its average ground-level elevation is just under 5 feet above sea level, making it the lowest country in the world.

St. John

Beautiful Trunk Bay in the island of St. John

March

Which Virgin Island contains beautiful Trunk Bay?

This is a spectacular view of Trunk Bay in the Virgin Islands. National Geographic calls it the most beautiful beach in the world. It features a white sand beach and an underwater snorkeling trail.

The Virgin Islands consist of many small minor islands and three main ones: St. Thomas, St. Croix, and this one. It is the smallest of the three. Since 1956, about 60% of it has been protected as part of Virgin Islands National Park.

Pretty Polynesia

Hawaii

February

What island group constitutes our 50th state?

This island group, the northernmost in Polynesia, makes up our 50th state. It was admitted to the union in 1959.

It is the 8th smallest, but the 13th most densely populated, state in the Union. It is the only state with an Asian plurality, and its 750-mile coastline makes it the 4th longest in the U.S., behind California, Florida, and Alaska.

I was there four years ago, and my parents are heading there next month. In 2003, according to government data, more than 6 million people visited these islands.

Gilligan's Isle, Greek Style

Navagio Beach, on the northwest coast of
Zakynthos Island

January

Navagio Beach is located on what Greek island?

We'll be on "island time" during 2016. Each month will feature a different island.

For January, we have Navagio Beach, an isolated -- accessible only by boat -- sandy cove on the northwest shore of one of the Ionian islands of Greece.

Resting on the white sand are the remains of Panagiotis, a ship that ran aground here in 1981. Believed to have been a smugglers' ship, its presence here gives the beach its nicknames: Smugglers Cove and Shipwreck Beach.