Hotels
Private island resorts: the best in the world
The boat ties up, the engine cuts out, and the only thing between you and everyone else is a lagoon. These are the resorts where the island is the hotel.
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In short: private island resorts
A private island resort is a hotel with an entire island to itself: no village, no other hotels and no day-trippers on the beach. We have chosen 15 resorts across five regions. The Maldives and Palawan are at their best in the British winter, while Fiji comes into its own over the summer.
Our first choice: Gili Lankanfushi in the Maldives, for its villas over the lagoon and a twenty-minute boat ride from the airport. Check availability and prices
What we mean by a private island
The travel industry uses the phrase loosely. At Picolo, a private island resort means one island and one resort. You share the sand with other guests, but not with a town, a ferry terminal or a boatload of visitors from the mainland. Where a resort shares its island, we call it an island resort. It may be just as good, but it is a different thing, and we say so.
Cost follows distance. The further you are from an airport, the more the transfer costs and the more it matters that you stay long enough to make the journey worthwhile. Where a seaplane is involved, plan on five nights at the very least.
Our top picks
For couples: Le Taha'a in French Polynesia, with Bora Bora's peak on the horizon.
Families: One&Only Reethi Rah in the Maldives, with a kids' club and twelve beaches.
Diving: Discovery Coron in Palawan, with the house reef just off the beach.
Shortest trip from the UK: San Clemente Palace in Venice, a quarter of an hour by boat from St Mark's Square.
Adults only: Royal Davui in Fiji, with 16 villas and no guests under 18.
The Maldives
Almost every resort in the Maldives sits on its own island, so the decision comes down to atoll, transfer and villa. Our three are all in North Malé Atoll and reached by speedboat. No seaplane, and a late landing is no problem.
Gili Lankanfushi
Every villa stands over the lagoon, and each comes with its own butler. The vegetables on your plate come from the resort's own garden. A strong choice if you want an overwater villa without a long transfer.
One&Only Reethi Rah
Reethi Rah is large enough for its overwater villas to sit well apart in the lagoon. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group).
One&Only Reethi Rah
Reethi Rah is one of the largest resort islands in the atoll, with twelve beaches and six kilometres of coastline. Villas are far apart, and children have their own club. Choose it when you want space, both for the family and for yourself.
Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru
Vabbinfaru's villas have a canopy bed and their own beach right outside the door. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group).
Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru
The island is small enough to walk around in a quarter of an hour, and every villa has its own stretch of beach. The resort runs a marine lab that replants coral on the reef. For couples who want a small island and a reef they can snorkel from the sand.
If a villa over the water appeals, there are more in our guide to overwater bungalows.
Palawan and Southeast Asia
Palawan has more private island resorts than anywhere else we know of in the region. Thousands of limestone islands lie scattered across Bacuit Bay and around Busuanga. Further west is Malaysia, where the rainforest runs right down to the sand.
El Nido Resorts Pangulasian Island
The main house on Pangulasian lights up as the sun drops behind the islands of Bacuit Bay. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group).
El Nido Resorts Pangulasian Island, Palawan
Pangulasian is the most exclusive of the four islands run by El Nido Resorts, with a kilometre of beach and a house reef just offshore. The villas are well spaced. You see Bacuit Bay without the crowds on the island-hopping boats.
Discovery Coron
Dimakya's beach runs for seven hundred metres, and the reef begins just offshore. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group).
Discovery Coron, Palawan
For years the resort was called Club Paradise, and it is still the only place to stay on Dimakya, nineteen hectares north of Busuanga. The beach runs for seven hundred metres and the house reef is one of the best around Coron. Good for families and divers who want boat, reef and beach without moving on.
Cauayan Boutique Private Island
North Cauayan is a green, hilly island with one bay and one resort. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group).
Cauayan Boutique Private Island, Palawan
Just 24 villas on North Cauayan, built in traditional style from local materials. It is the smallest of El Nido's island resorts, and staff know your name by the first evening. For anyone who wants a private island in Palawan shared with very few others.
Pangkor Laut Resort
On Pangkor Laut the rainforest runs all the way down to the pool and the sea. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group).
Pangkor Laut Resort, Malaysia
This island off Malaysia's west coast is almost entirely rainforest, and the resort has it to itself. Villas stand on stilts over the water or among the trees, and the beach at Emerald Bay lies on the far side of the island. Choose it for rainforest, spa and beach in one stay.
Everything else, from El Nido to Coron, is in our Palawan travel guide.
Fiji and French Polynesia
The South Pacific is a long way away, and both prices and journey times reflect it. In return, this is where you find the atolls and lagoons that shaped the very idea of a private island.
Royal Davui Island Resort
Royal Davui has just 16 villas, all looking out over Beqa Lagoon. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group).
Royal Davui Island Resort, Fiji
Ugaga is a small island in Beqa Lagoon, south of the main island, and each of its 16 villas has a plunge pool. Only adults are admitted, and meals are included. Made for a honeymoon.
Matamanoa Island Resort
Matamanoa's pool mirrors the traditional Fijian houses known as bure. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group).
Matamanoa Island Resort, Fiji
Matamanoa sits at the outer edge of the Mamanuca Islands west of Nadi, with sand around most of the island. It is adults only too. A good choice for watching the sun go down over open sea every evening without spending a fortune on the villa.
The St. Regis Bora Bora
From the St. Regis villas you look straight across the lagoon to Mount Otemanu. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group).
The St. Regis Bora Bora
The resort has Motu Ome'e to itself, with overwater villas looking across the lagoon to Mount Otemanu. It even has its own snorkelling lagoon full of fish. For the honeymoon that has to be Bora Bora and nothing else.
Le Taha'a Island Resort
Le Taha'a sits on a motu, a small coral islet at the edge of the lagoon between Taha'a and Bora Bora. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group).
Le Taha'a Island Resort
Motu Tautau lies between Taha'a and Bora Bora, and from the overwater villas you see Bora Bora's peak across the lagoon. Close by is the coral garden, where the current carries you slowly through the reef as you snorkel. Quieter than Bora Bora, with the same view.
The Caribbean
The Caribbean is closer than the Pacific, and the flight from Europe is shorter than to Asia. The private islands here are small and quiet.
COMO Parrot Cay
Parrot Cay's north side is a long white beach where you rarely see more than a few people. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group).
COMO Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos
The island is a short boat ride from Providenciales, with long white beaches on its north side. Its spa is one of the best known in the Caribbean, with yoga and Pilates six days a week. A few private homes share the island with the resort, yet the beach still feels empty.
Young Island Resort
Young Island's cottages sit among the palms, a couple of hundred metres off St Vincent. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group).
Young Island Resort, St Vincent
The island sits a couple of hundred metres off St Vincent's south coast, and a small boat collects you from the shore. Cottages climb the hillside among the palms. A relaxed place to start if you plan to sail on through the Grenadines.
For more islands in the region, see our guide to the best Caribbean islands.
East Africa
Picolo has been to Zanzibar several times, and it is the easiest place to pair a safari with a beach in one trip. The small islands off its coast hold some of the most exclusive resorts in the region. Where to stay, and how to put the trip together, is in our guide to safari and beach on Zanzibar.
Europe
The Venetian lagoon has several islands where a single hotel has taken over the whole island. You land in Venice, take the boat out, and still have the city a quarter of an hour away.
San Clemente Palace
San Clemente's pool sits in the garden of a former monastery, a quarter of an hour from St Mark's. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group).
San Clemente Palace
The island was a monastery for centuries before it became a hotel, and its medieval church still stands among the gardens. The hotel's boat runs to St Mark's throughout the day. For a long weekend with the city on one side and silence on the other.
JW Marriott Venice Resort and Spa
The spa pool on Isola delle Rose has windows onto the lagoon and Venice in evening light. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group).
JW Marriott Venice Resort and Spa
The hotel has Isola delle Rose to itself, with a rooftop pool and olive groves around it. It is larger and more modern than San Clemente. Good for families who want a pool after days in the city.
When to go
The monsoon decides everything in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia. The Maldives are dry from December to April. Palawan is driest from December to May, with typhoon season running from June to November. Fiji and French Polynesia are dry from May to October, and the Caribbean from December to April. Easter is usually the first week to sell out at the small resorts.
Getting there
Most private islands involve three legs: a long-haul flight, a domestic flight or seaplane, and a boat at the end. Seaplanes only fly in daylight, so if you land late you will often spend a night near the airport. Ask the resort about the transfer before you book your flights, and allow an extra day on the way home.
Our recommendation
Gili Lankanfushi: an overwater villa without the seaplane
Gili Lankanfushi solves what makes many Maldives trips hard work: the speedboat from the airport takes around twenty minutes, so you can be eating lunch over the lagoon on the day you land. From the deck, steps lead straight down into the lagoon. The largest residences are so far out that they can only be reached by boat. In the evening the only sound is the water beneath the floor. Ideal for honeymooners and for anyone who wants the Maldives at their most private without losing a whole day to transfers.
Frequently asked questions
Can you rent a private island?
Yes, although most private islands you can book like a normal hotel are shared with other guests. Some of the smallest resorts can be taken over entirely for groups and weddings, by arrangement with the resort. If you simply want an island to feel like your own for a few nights, a villa at a private island resort is the closest you will get.
What is the difference between a private island resort and an island resort?
A private island resort is the only hotel on its island, while an island resort may share the island with villages, other hotels or day visitors. You notice the difference most on the beach and in the boat traffic. Both can be good choices, but the private island is quieter and usually costs more.
When is the best time for a private island holiday?
It depends on the region. The Indian Ocean, Palawan and the Caribbean are driest through the British winter and spring, while the South Pacific has its dry season over the summer and early autumn. Easter and Christmas fill up quickly at small resorts, so book several months ahead.
How long should you stay on a private island?
At least five nights when the journey involves a seaplane or domestic flight, because the transfer takes a large part of your first and last day. Where the boat ride is short, as at Young Island or in Venice, three or four nights is enough. Many travellers combine an island with a city or a safari first.
Are private island resorts suitable for children?
Some are very good with children. One&Only Reethi Rah in the Maldives and Discovery Coron in Palawan have kids' clubs and family rooms, while Royal Davui and Matamanoa in Fiji admit adults only. Always check whether a villa has a barrier towards the water, and how long the transfer is with small children.