I'm looking for a Zelda game (I have not yet played) with good 'exploration' of secrets.

[anonymunchy]

I don't agree with the sentiment that the sailing in Wind Waker is tedious, at least not in the HD version. The fast sail and ability to check the map and sort items while sailing is more of an improvement than what it first may seem.
It's a game you can 100% without too much hassle of you explore while going from a to b.