1. MYKONOS, Greece
On many bucket lists for a reason, this Cyclades island is Miami without the vice. The sunbathing and partying are equally hectic. And then there is Delos nearby. And gliteratti to spot among the good life and great eats. And really, it’s not all that expensive, even! Stay at either the cascading caves of Cavo Tagoo (from €414 for rooms with pools; cavotagoo.gr), for classy local colour and a superb spa with underground heated pool, or the very minimalist-stylish Bill & Coo (from € 295 for rooms with sundecks; bill-coo-hotel.com — remember the movie?). And of course both wrap their restaurants around their (main) pool, to take advantage of the blues (and show of A-list guests?)
2. ARIARA ISLAND, Philippines
An island all to yourself, complete with dive instructor and fully crewed private yacht, and big enough to bring your friends to show off. The Ariara Island Resort is exclusive-use for minimum 7 nights only (from $475 per person for groups of 15, and climbing for fewer; ariaraisland.com), and the accommodation’s delightfully designed by celebrated Filipino architect Jorge Yulo. The chef is Swiss and operates her own dairy farm in Manila, but does a mean lechon (spit-roasted pig) along with other Euro-Asian eats.
3. HAMILTON ISLAND, Australia
Yachting mecca is here, come Whitehaven Day in August. It’s on the Great Barrier Reef, part of the Whitsunday Islands. It’s touristy, but you won’t feel too jostled at the private, five-room Ala Moana ‘beach house’ (from A$5,500 per night; alamoana.com.au). It is as spectacular as its surroundings, and comes with its own yacht and skipper, no worries.
4. TSARABANJINA, Madagascar
The very best diving site in Madagascar is just off the northern coast of the main island. Burial site of the Sakalava kings of the Mitsio archipelago (their people still bring offerings of money, honey…and rum), Tsarabanjina is a small and sacred little islet. Seabirds roost by the flockful on the Quatre Freres rocks. The 25 unique, thatched bungalows (Constance Tsarabanjina; from € 427; tsarabanjina.constancehotels.com) lord it over white sand beaches in barefoot luxury.
5. SONG SAA
Koh Rong archipelago, Cambodia
Some half an hour off the mainland, the twin ‘sweetheart’ islands make a great honeymoon destination. A footbridge exists, and wi-fi. Paved roads and ATMs are not to be expected, however. The new Song Saa resort (from $1,336; songsaa.com) corralls Koh Ouen and Koh Bong under its private umbrellas, with villas over water, on sand and in jungle featuring driftwood and salvaged wood. Surprisingly environment conscious (they have established their own marine reserve of 1 million sq m) and startlingly luxurious after the launchpad of backpacker town Sihanoukville. There are a score of desert islands around to explore, besides local fishing villages. And the food is fantastic.
6. RANDHELI, Maldives
Last year’s parting gift to the tourist season of this most touristy of honeymoon destinations was the über-fashionable Cheval Blanc resort (Cheval Blanc Randheli; tariff on application only; randheli.chevalblanc.com), the world’s second, on the Noonu Atoll. So exclusive and exciting that it has even inspired a luxury timepiece from Hublot—the Oceanographic 4000, exclusively available on site and luminous at 4,000m underwater! The spa offers a ‘sun ritual’ and there is yoga on the beach…by moonlight. Also excellent accessories are the edibles, from Japanese to Iberian, prepared by a Michelin-starred chef.
7. CHIOS, Greece
Old as chewing gum — or gum mastic, anyway — Chios also boasts heritage status for its medieval-to-Byzantine historic landmarks. It lays claim to being the birthplace of Homer, and has certainly been the workplace of Saracene pirates in later years. Art lovers and bookworms may expect special treats while sightseeing here. Easter brings unusual celebrations, and white sand and pebbles beckon year round. Treat yourself to a stay at Argentikon’s luxury suites (from € 380; argentikon/gr), founded 1550 by Genovese nobility. Please bring us back a bowl of that more-ish mastiha spoon sweet, thanks.
8. MOTU TETARAIRE, French Polynesia
In the Tuamotus, the world’s largest chain of atolls, Motu Teta (€ 533 per person for a group of six, and climbing; yourdreamisland.com) is a private haven-on-a-lagoon in the relatively populous Rangiroa atoll. Exclusively sleeping eight guests—or two—it comes with plenty of watersports gear and sits too far for wi-fi. Staff sleep on the other side of the Motu Tetaraire island.
9. PARROT CAY BY COMO, Turks and Caicos
A mile-long beach on a private island resort with a Como Shambhala spa makes for rare-ish boasting rights among friends (from $500; comohotels.com/parrotcay). Keith Richards, Bruce Willis and Donna Karan own private residences near the resort, but they are unlikely to come eavesdropping on you lovebirds; on the other hand, some of these estates can be rented while the owners are away on business. Excellent Asian and Italian eats make an unexpected extra attraction.
10. VANUA LEVU, Fiji
Here’s a good reason to go globetrotting just to put up in a coconut plantation: all-inclusive rates at the Jean-Michel Costeau Resort (from $895; fijiresort.com) include nanny services for the babes in arms and local buddies to show the older kids around! Cultural immersion for real — and they won’t be interrupting your open-air spa treatment beachside or even your cocktails poolside (there are kiddie and family pools, not to worry). Also, the place has some serious conservation creds (but of course), with the in-house marine biologist guiding reef protection and giant clam breeding programmes, besides the architectural and operational sustainability. And oh yes, there’s the dive centre. And a pearl farm offsite. Do hang around for the weekly Lovo feast as well.
11. CAYO ESPANTO , Belize
Yes, yes, we’re getting predictable: luxurious private island, yet again, yes. However, Belize — a key part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor? Now that’s worth crowing about, we think. Also: Mayan cultures and ruins. As for the tiny seven villa resort (from $1,495; aprivateisland.com), it’s just three miles from San Pedro, and includes a glass-bottomed over-water villa. Go ahead and rent the whole place for your 18 guests. Each villa gets its own piece of beach. There’s no restaurant—the chef and houseman collude to serve what you want, where you want it, whenever you want to eat.
12. FREGATE ISLAND, Seychelles
A carbon-neutral tropical paradise of teak-and-mahogany villas (from € 1,463; fregate.com) four degrees south of the Equator, with private pools, treehouse dining on African and Creole cuisines and a spa all supplied by island-grown produce. Serious green creds: protecting the Seychelles magpie robin and a hundred other tropical birds, home to Aldabra tortoises and hawksbill turtles and the Seychelles terrapin, and an indigenous forest renewed with tens of thousands of plantings. If you can ask for more, we must throw in our Turkish towels.
13. KOH YAO NOI, Thailand
Together with twin Koh Yao Yai, this island is part of the Ao Phang-Nga National Marine Park, with mountains and marine waterfronts, and Muslim fishing villages — near Phuket, but way away from the madding crowds. The island is all mangrove on one side, all beach on the other. Divine, really. Especially when you add in the Six Senses Resort (from THB 12,795; sixsenses.com) and the small, sharp little limestone islands in easy kayaking distance.
14. HAYMAN ISLAND, Australia
The northernmost of the Whitsunday Islands has Australia’s most-awarded luxury resort: the Hayman Island Resort (from A$730; hayman.com.au), what else? Rooms, suites, penthouses, villas, pools, gardens, rainforest, beach — take your pick. There’s a rather celebrated Chocolate Room and an excellent wine cellar, the 12-course Chef’s Bench dinner is served in the main kitchen, and a new wing is being added when the resort reopens in July as a One&Only.
15. FOGO ISLAND, Canada
In Newfoundland, the timber-clad Fogo Island Inn (and artists’ studios) sits on stilts with a treasury of local craftsmanship and international modern design and architecture ($550 onwards; fogoislandinn.ca), manned by ‘community hosts’ and with workshops by the resident artists. Boatmakers and quilters have contributed the furniture and furnishings. All profits go back to the local community, making for a heartwarming experience among the icebergs and humpback whales. There are performances by the World’s End Theatre Company, and a rowing race in July-August as well as the Brimstone Head Folk Festival in August. Eats are fished, foraged and farmed locally. A recent oil leaking wreckage means your tourism dollars will be particularly welcome.
16. TIOMAN ISLAND, Malaysia
Dreamy location of the South Pacific, Tioman’s no secret. But the treehouses-in-the-rainforest intimacy of Japamala Resort (from RM 510; japamalaresorts.com) is rather off the beaten track. And where better to make base for your exploration of Tioman’s natural treasures? Japamala does its home justice too, blending your suite space seamlessly into the outdoors, both sea and jungle. The 13 accommodations were built around the existing landscape, so boulders crop up indoors and elevated walkways and bridges wind your steps across to your room. Even the pool curves around a waterfall. There’s an Italian eatery by the jetty, while the main restaurant serves Thai and Vietnamese in style.
17. LIZARD ISLAND, Australia
A whole national park to yourself? That’s almost the deal with the Lizard Island Resort (from A$1,519; lizardisland.com.au), because the island is the 1,000-hectare-plus park. Right on the Great Barrier Reef, with 24 beaches, diving at the famous Cod Hole and the famous game fishing at the Ribbon Reefs.
18. AEOLIAN ISLANDS, Sicily
If the Hotel Raya (from $380; hotelraya.it) in exclusive little Panarea proves too pretentious for you, make Salina, setting of Il Postino, your base camp to explore the seven volcanic sisters and stay in a family-run farmhouse for authenticity, with a contemporary touch. The Hotel Signum (from € 50 per person; hotelsignum.it) is not just a luxe bargain if you are early and lucky, but especially salubrious too, with geothermic spa treatments offered by the Salus Per Aquam (SPA) on a bed of rose salt or in a copper tub, fed by natural hot springs, or an ice massage. Even the bathroom basins are roughhewn blocks of Carrera marble. Rooms also boast private balconies and terraces. The island’s sweet wine is famous, as are the capers. And the hotel’s infinity pool looks quietly to Stromboli.
19. KANGAROO ISLAND, Australia
Only Tasmania and Melville are bigger than this Aussie island near Adelaide. The Aboriginal people call it the Isle of the Dead, but it is also known for its rock lobster fisheries and Ligurian honeybees, sea lions and sand dunes, and more. The place to lodge is, well, the Southern Ocean Lodge (from A$1,050; southernoceanlodge.com.au) — a stunning modernist sculpture on a clifftop overlooking Hanson Bay and with glass walls giving both seawards and inland. Unusually for luxe digs, staff are on first-name basis with the guests!
20. CON DAO ISLANDS, Vietnam
This archipelago off the Vietnamese mainland is still largely unspoilt — but being signposted fast by those in the know! The national park makes for a rare opportunity to come within flipper’s lengths of a mermaid — or dugong — as well as crab-eating macaques and black squirrels. The Six Senses (from $1,790; sixsenses.com) villas with private pools are the way to stay, of course. There’s even a golf course — with biodegradable balls that release fish food as apology for conking any marine inhabitants on the head. Plenty of options for eating for the guests too, with the local cuisine particularly authentic.