4 Bucket List Beach Destinations with Mr. C

This travel journal is part of our TravelStore Passport Diaries Podcast. Watch the full episode below, and for more episodes, visit our Passport Diaries Podcast page or follow us on your favorite podcast platform.

We’ve all had those moments where we get frustrated at work and daydream about jumping on a plane and stepping onto the most gorgeous tropical beach destination we’ve ever seen, our worries far behind us. Good news: It’s actually possible and our latest podcast guest is here to prove it, plus tell you all about his mission to see the world’s best beaches!

Meet Brett Cook, the man who ditched the 9 to 5 to travel the world (give or take a little dramatization on our part) and who is living out all our tropical travel fantasies. After getting fed up with administration at his work (his words, not ours), he decided to retire and travel the world to see all of its most glorious beaches. He succeeded in his quest with the help of one of our top travel experts, Susanne Hamer, who specializes in tropical destinations such as Fiji, Tahiti, Bora Bora, the Maldives, and so much more.

All throughout his life, Bret Cook (AKA “Mr. C”) found listening to the waves of the ocean to be one of the most calming and relaxing things to do. So, ready to hit the proverbial road and experience some of the more far-off beaches for himself, he called up a local travel agency…who never returned his call (strike #1). Undeterred, he next contacted AAA to see how soon they could get him to Tahiti; they told him it would be a full year before they could get him there (strike #2). Finally, after flipping through a Travel+Leisure magazine, Bret found Susanne Hamer listed as one of T+L’s top travel advisors. He gave her a call and, much to his relief, she told him she could get him to Tahiti in a month…now that’s more like it!

“I just told her, ‘I just want to visit all of the best beach destinations.’ I had always heard about Bora Bora and everybody talks about Bora Bora” says Bret, “and Susanne said, ‘Well, if you’re going to go to Bora Bora, we can do Tahiti and Fiji all at the same time.’ And I’m like, ‘Sounds great. Sign me up!”

That first trip marked the beginning of a beautiful friendship (or “travel-advisorship”… but that’s not quite as catchy, even when said in a Humphrey Bogart’s melodious voice). Since his first collaboration with Susanne on his Tahiti trip, Mr. C has now traveled to 27 countries, a staggering number made even more impressive when paired with the fact that prior to his post-retirement trip to Tahiti… he had never left the country! With a zest for new experiences, a travel stamina that rivals even some veteran travel advisors, and Susanne’s deep connections and industry experience, Mr. C quickly went from international travel amateur to professional in just about two years.

“We just set it up to where I was home for a couple of weeks and then off for three weeks. Home for a couple of weeks, off for three weeks. And that’s what I did for about a year and a half.” The short stints returning home between trips were mostly to spend time with his dog back home “so that she doesn’t get mad at me!” laughs Bret.

When asked about that first trip and how it sparked his subsequent explorations, Bret says it was amazing experience that only inspired him to keep traveling. One of his top memories and highest recommendation is to stay in an overwater bungalow in Tahiti or Fiji.

“I think everybody in their lifetime ought to stay in an overwater bungalow once in their life” he says. “It’s kind of incredible to be over the water and to be able to see the fish float beneath you. And you usually have a little deck that you can crawl down into the lagoon so you can go out of your own bungalow and right down into the lagoon. I thought it was amazing.”

Listen to our full Passport Diaries interview with Bret Cook to hear about his adventures in just 4 of the 27 countries he’s visited: Fiji, Tahiti, the Cook Islands, and Australia. He takes us snorkeling with manta rays in Tahiti, hiking through Uluru in Australia, surfing in Byron Bay, touring a local village in Fiji, and so much more!