Robinson Crusoe 2.0 - ForbesTraveler.com

HOME > CARIBBEAN > ISLANDS & BEACHES

Robinson Crusoe 2.0

Marisa Milanese September 18, 2006

LAUNCH SLIDESHOW

© Young Island Resort
CARIBBEAN DELUXE GUIDE »

Ten single island Caribbean resorts

To reach Petit St. Vincent, a private island resort off the coast of St. Vincent in the Grenadines, you have to fly to Barbados, catch a puddle jumper to Union Island and then hop a motor yacht. If that sounds like an effort, consider the destination: a stone cottage tucked between palm trees and a sugar sand beach. Out front stands your only communication with the world: a bamboo flagpole. Hoist the yellow flag and you'll summon a butler. Hoist the red flag and you'll summon absolutely no one.

It's not surprising that all manner of boldface names, from David Letterman to Oprah Winfrey, keep regular dates with secluded islands. Bruce Willis owns his own villa on Parrot Cay, and David Copperfield owns an entire island resort where he claims to have recently discovered the Fountain of Youth (no word on whether he plans to bottle). But you certainly don't need to be a modern-day Garbo to crave a little peace and quiet anymore. All-encompassing work schedules, and the mixed blessing of 24/7 cellular contact, tend to inspire thoughts of distant shores.

See our slideshow of 10 single island Caribbean resorts.

"These islands are for people whose paramount interests in a vacation are privacy and exclusivity," says Douglas Stallings, Fodor's Caribbean editor. While the South Pacific is a locus of such islands, adds Stallings, you often can get more for your money in the Caribbean. Around 50 are available for rent, according to Chris Krolow, executive director of the listing service Private Islands Online.

To identify the best, we polled seven Caribbean experts, with more than a century of island travel among them.

We asked each to scour the farthest reaches of the Caribbean, from the Bahamas (technically not in the Caribbean but typically on Caribbean cruise routes) to Panama.

The results cater to a range of budgets, from upscale to off the charts: Necker Island, the ultraluxe playground of Richard Branson, can be yours for $30,000 a night, while a two-bedroom villa on Palm Island runs about, oh, two zeroes less. But there are some similarities. Most take the better part of a day to reach, like Young Island, which requires two flights, a taxi ride, and a private boat launch. "There don't tend to be really fabulous places at the end of a nonstop flight," says Terry McCabe.

They also offer isolation. Even Peter Island, one of our list's largest and busiest resorts, still feels private; the island's hilly terrain and irregular coastline provide plenty of nooks and crannies. But above all, each island has the restorative ability to slow time (maybe Copperfield is on to something) and happily reduce life to the most elemental decisions: another nap, another meal, another hoisting of the yellow flag for another daiquiri.

In the near future, even more of us will be able to feel like royalty. The Ritz-Carlton West Caicos Reserve, a private resort and villa compound on an 11-square mile island, was just announced in July. And Mainsail Resort Marina and Spa on Scrub Island in the British Virgin Islands is scheduled to open late next year. But for those who can't wait, our experts' picks deliver tropical privacy now.

See our slideshow of 10 single island Caribbean resorts.

ARTICLE TOOLS

TRAVEL TOOLS

	BOOK A FLIGHT
	FIND A HOTEL