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Quiet nights . . . lazy walks . . . spectacular sunsets to view
à deux
. . . genuine interaction with folks who actually live there . . .
off-the-beaten-path islands offer secret spots and stunning surprises in
every corner of the world. There are hundreds of possibilities. Here
are 10 of the best:
Tobago, CaribbeanFor Eco-Rich Vacations
The tiny island of Tobago—unlike its boisterous cousin, Trinidad—is a
Caribbean
island made for travelers seeking peace, quiet, and time spent with
pristine nature. Visitors can hire a guide and hike through the western
hemisphere’s oldest protected rain forest, accompanied by song from
some 58 different species of birds. The island is also ringed by
shallow-water reefs, giving snorkelers, divers, or passengers in
glass-bottomed boats the chance to spot some 300 types of coral, plus
giant tube sponges, massive rays, graceful sea fans, and fish sporting
more colors than Crayola.
Hike the trail along Tobago’s North Coast for great photos. Kids love
to swim in the Nylon Pool, a fish-rich shallow area in the Lagoon. The
hotels, including the award-winning Coco Reef Resort & Spa, have a
delightfully local feel. It is said that Tobago cooks have “a sweet
hand,” creating dishes that magically blend Creole, African and West
Indian flavors, often complemented by good local rum. Best of all,
Tobago is very eco-friendly. In 2007, the island won the “World’s
Leading Green Destination” honor at the World Travel Awards.
Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam
For a New Definition of Pristine
Tourism is developing in Vietnam so quickly that last year’s great
island “find” swiftly becomes this year’s overcrowded destination.
Pretty Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s largest island, currently remains pristine
and affordable. There’s a betting chance that that may last, since
70-80 percent of the mountainous island is protected as the Phu Quoc
National Forest. The island‘s close proximity to
Cambodia also means that there is an almost-invisible military presence on the north coast.
This still-affordable destination is home to plantations and fish-sauce
factories and miles of deserted beaches, including the aptly named
Long Beach. Nights are so dark that constellation spotting becomes a
competitive sport. Rent motorcycles (and drivers too if you want) to
visit camera-worthy fishing villages. Take out a sea kayak or dive the
reef. The Sea Star Resort, one of many fine beach hotels, is close to
good restaurants. Don’t expect a wild bar scene. Do expect to cherish
the extraordinary quiet—at least for now. If Vietnam is smart, it will
help keep this beach-rich island green and pristine.
Mnemba Island, Tanzania
For Ultimate Privacy
It is so quiet on Mnemba Island, just off Tanzania’s larger island of
Zanzibar, that you can hear the silence. This very private African island, managed by &Beyond Africa, consists of only 10 luxurious
bandas
– cottages hand-woven from palm matting. Sit on your spacious front
porch and watch adorable, dog-sized miniature deer amble by. Scuba dive,
deep-sea fish, or snorkel to your heart’s delight, or simply enjoy a
massage for two in the cool of your banda. Dinner is served on the beach
by candlelight.
The tab here is high: $1,500 per person, per night in peak season (all
meals and activities, including multiple dives, are included) and
$1,155 per person, per night at other times. The high price tag is
justified by the level of laid-back luxury, privacy, and service.
Guests also typically tour Zanzibar, home to historic mansions built by
Arab traders and visit gardens rich with the scent of spices. While in
the capital, Stone Town, shop for colorful local crafts and snap
photos of the statue of Freddy Mercury, the late Queen lead singer who
grew up there.
Guernsey, Channel Islands
For Book Lovers
A few years back, it seemed like every second person was galloping
through the pages of "The Guernsey Potato Peel and Literary Society,"
set on the Channel Island of Guernsey during World War II. Fans of that
novel will find that Guernsey—far sunnier and warmer than
England,
and just two-and-a-half hours away by boat—has changed little since
the 1940s. While the island remains “loyal to the British crown,” it
is, in fact, much closer to
France than England. It is also a major off-shore tax haven, which means that it is both prosperous and pretty (as in well kept).
The tourist board happily provides maps for fans of the novel, enabling
them to visit off-the-beaten path places that they’ve read about. Less
bookish visitors can hike nearly 30 miles of cliff paths above the
sea, stroll past fields filled with Guernsey cows, and explore gardens
bright with flowers. If you can’t actually make the trip, you needn’t
worry. The film version of the novel, directed by
Kenneth Branagh and starring
Kate Winslet, will debut next year. Best advice: If you do go, try to add on a visit to the tiny island of
Sark, the smallest of the Channel Islands— totally car free, and rich with fields of wild flowers.
Molokai, Hawaii
For Finding the “Old Hawaii”
Love the climate? Love the gentle breeze from the trade winds? Hate the high rises and freeways of
Waikiki?
Pack your camping gear, or book a room at the classic Hotel Molokai
(now the island’s only hotel, though condo rentals are available). Book
well in advance if you wish to visit Kalaupapa National Historical
Park, where the Belgian priest Father Damien ministered to victims of
Hansen’s disease (leprosy) and ultimately died from the disease. Choices
to get to this sad but scenic site include riding a mule down and back
up a 2.9-mile trail, with 26 switchbacks, along the world’s highest
sea cliffs; hiking down; or flying in aboard a six-seat plane.
However you get there, Damien Tours’ excellent guides tell the rich
story of this spectacularly beautiful and bitterly poignant place. In
winter, hoards of humpback whales pass by the island. Whale-watching
trips are available, but the giant mammals also glide right past Hotel
Molokai. Shop for the locally grown (and really strong) coffee at
Molokai Coffee Company on the Farrington Highway, and go back on
Saturday evening to enjoy some live jazz.
Roatán, Honduras
For Diving Away from the Crowds
The water surrounding the truly off-the-radar, 2-by-40-mile island of
Roatán is so clear that as the plane circles over the Caribbean Sea
before landing, it is possible to spot, and even to identify, dozens
upon dozens of tropical fish in every color imaginable. Even many
veteran Caribbean travelers couldn’t find Roatán, the largest of
Honduras’
Bay Islands, on a map. Yet it abuts the second-largest barrier reef in
the world, letting snorkelers see hundreds of different fish in
rainbow colors, and offering divers the adventure of a lifetime,
including tackling a couple of challenging wreck dives.
An added incentive: It’s much less expensive to take diving lessons on
Roatán than almost anywhere else in the Caribbean. Non-divers go just
to enjoy sand and sea, and to catch the glorious (some say the world’s
best) sunset from West End Beach. The recent addition of a cruise
terminal, as well as condo developments targeted toward American
retirees, may be changing the scene a bit. Best advice: Go now, while
this long and skinny island remains cheap and serene.
Hvar, Croatia
For Celebrity Seekers
Hvar, a beach-rich island off
Croatia’s
Dalmatian Coast, has long been a favorite of the celebrity set, but
was off most average Americans’ radar screens. Frequent sightings of
the likes of
Gwyneth Paltrow,
Stephen Spielberg, and Gerard Depardieu – not to mention King Abdullah of
Jordan, Princess Caroline of
Monaco,
and Bill Gates – add a certain allure to this very understated, very
green island that shelters the rich and fabulous. Even England’s
Prince Harry
stopped by in the summer of 2011, venturing into an open-air nightclub
called Veranda, where he famously dived backwards, fully clothed, into
a swimming pool.
The addition of more hotel rooms has made it easier for less fabulous
folks to vacation on the island now. Visitors can stroll past
sweet-smelling fields of lavender, sip glasses of plavac (the local
island-brewed red wine) under the stars, hike to rural villages, bask
on quiet beaches, swim in a sea as clear as a glass of vodka, or climb
up to the historic Spanjol Fortess to get great photos of Hvar’s
harbor.
Fraser Island, Queensland, Australia
For Roughing It
Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island, is a mecca for the backpackers who roam
Australia’s
East Coast. Rent a 4x4 vehicle on the mainland, being sure to get a
special permit to drive on Fraser. Stock up on groceries too, before
boarding the ferry at Hervey Bay. It’s worth the trouble. This UNESCO
World Heritage-listed island offers rich rewards. Dense rainforest trees
tower over the sand dunes below, endless ocean beaches offer abundant
privacy, and more than 100 freshwater lakes (some too murky for
swimming) add to the mix.
Hike to see the colored sand cliffs, some 800 feet high, and explore
part of the longest coastal dune system in the world. Start a “life
list” to record sighting of rare shorebirds. Spot the occasional
saltwater crocodile, and perhaps see a wild dingo. One popular
overnight walk takes hikers from Kingfisher Bay, where the ferry lands,
to Lake McKenzie, returning the next day. Also for the to-do-list: A
guided tour of 5,000-year-old Aboriginal campsites and the wreck of the
S.S. Maheno, which served as a World War I hospital ship.
Accommodations on the island range from the somewhat luxurious resorts
to rental apartments to campgrounds.
St.-Pierre and Miquelon, France
For Serious Francophiles
Dying for a perfect baguette? No need to book a flight to
Paris. Just zip up to the tiny French islands of St.-Pierre and Miquelon—the last remaining bit of colonial New France—not far from
Canada’s
cod-rich Grand Banks. That location explains the islands’ abiding
French-ness. Under the 1763 Treaty of Paris, France signed off on all
North American possessions, except St.-Pierre and Miquelon, ensuring
their fishing rights. During Prohibition in the
United States,
however, bootlegging actually beat out fishing, with nearly 2 million
gallons of illegal booze passing through the tiny islands.
Go in summer, to catch the local Basque Festival (watch, but don’t
attempt to compete in, the stone heaving or lumberjacking
competitions), or try to catch Miquelon’s luscious Seafood Festival in
August. Snap photos of the lighthouse. Take a boat tour to the Grand
Banks. See wild horses and alpaca. Visit the small museum and local
craft shops. Hike through rugged landscapes, relishing the quiet. Book
rooms at the cozy Nuits Saint-Pierre, and try tiny local restaurants
for fresh lobster, or cod cooked with French flair.
Kefalonia, Greece
For Romantics
Pretty little Kefalonia, in the Ionian Sea, was largely off tourist’s
radar screens until the 2001 release of the ultra-romantic film
"Captain Corelli’s Mandolin," based on Louis de Bernières novel, and
starring
Nicolas Cage and
Penelope Cruz.
The filmmakers chose their location well, since Kefalonia was, and
actually still is, an old-fashioned, unspoiled Greek island – rich with
romantic vistas.
The island remains pretty and pristine because it lacks major tourism,
and because many of its buildings are relatively new (the result of a
serious earthquake in 1953). Visitors tend to rent villas high up in
the hills to catch the cooling breezes, and use rental cars to explore
the island’s winding roads and catch the many-miles-away vistas. True
romantics can rent speed boats and cruise to isolated beaches (Myrtos
on the island’s west coast is a gorgeous one), or can even zoom across
the sea to
Ithaca—the
legendary island where Homer’s Odysseus ruled. Back in Kefalonia,
nightlife revolves around the local tavernas, and is fun, but not overly
raucous.
