Buy An Island, Build A Vacation Destination: 5 Islands Worth Buying Right Now

by Willy Volk on

What I love about living in South Florida:
* I live 1 mile from the beach.
* Year-round warm weather.
* Lotsa sun.

What I hate about living in South Florida:
* Pretty much everything else.

If I win the lottery, I would keep this home, buy an island, renovate it into a ultra-laid back beach bungalow hideaway, invite chilled-out people to come enjoy it with me, and drink sundowners all day long. Naturally, I’d still write for Gadling, because the praise I receive as a result of my work here is a currency with infinite value.

Anyway, here are 5 islands that would be on the top of my list for purchase:

Mystery Cay
Located 8 miles north-east of Dangriga, Mystery Cay is a mere 10-20 minute wind-in-your-face boat ride from Belize’s coast. Included in the $725,000 purchase price are a number of mangrove islets, plenty of flat surfaces for building on, and perhaps some of the clearest water on the planet. The coral reef (second in size only to Australia’s) is only 4 miles away, which means that you could easily construct the Mystery Cay Dive Resort — “where great diving is no mystery.” I like it. I like it a lot.



Leaf Cay
Though perhaps the water surrounding the Bahamas’ Leaf Cay isn’t quite as gin-and-tonic-clear as that surrounding Mystery Cay, the benefit of this island is that it’s already developed. In addition to the island’s 1500-foot-long private runway, Leaf Cay boasts already-installed freshwater wells and underground cisterns, and hookups with Bahamas Electricity Corporation. Moreover, the island has 19 buildings (including a main residence, guest quarters, office, and various storage buildings), not to mention a boat dock and a tiki hut. A tiki hut! Situated in the chain of islands south of Eleuthera, Leaf Cay would make an excellent resort for serious anglers. Interested? Luxist points out that the auction for the property is June 28; the starting bid is $12 million.



Melody Key
If the other islands are too far away for you, then you might want to consider Florida’s Melody Key. Owned by Nick Hexum — lead singer for 311 — the $10 million island comes with a fully-furnished 3-story house, two boats, and a canal lot on the mainland, which is only one mile away. Formerly known as Money Island — after the pirate booty that was reportedly stashed on its shores — the island retreat would make an excellent base for people wishing to take canoe trips out among the mangroves; anglers who want somewhere special to dangle their worms; or anybody who loves boating.

Kwaikans Island
Located in British Columbia’s Queen Charlottes/Haida Gwaii, Kwaikans Island may not be much to look at, but when you consider that the island lies in protected waters; sports two natural harbors; has fresh water; features approximately 1.7 million cubic feet of standing timber; and boasts an old crown grant to “low tide mark” for easy access and development, suddenly Kwaikans sounds like a dream. Ideal for a wilderness retreat with its excellent hunting and fishing, or for a fishing shack for gathering the local shrimp and crab available in the bay, the site might also make a nice retreat for avid whale watchers. Asking price: $2.8 million.

Dunbar Rock Villa
Located in Honduras, Dunbar Rock Villa reputedly hides some of Blackbeard’s buried treasure, so investing may make you even wealthier. Teetering atop this rock pinnacle, the bedrooms of the resort are so close to the water, that you can fish out your window. Located only 10 minutes from Guanaja Airport and only a 2-hour flight from Houston, Dunbar Rock Villa is the ideal place for a dive resort.



What are you waiting for? Call your friends, pool your money, and build your own resort destination!

Other island-y goodness:

World’s Best Islands

by Willy Volk on

Guess what? There actually are people who don’t like islands. I know, I know, it seems crazy to me, too, but these are probably the same people who dislike ice cream, tax refunds, and heaven. For the rest of us… we’ll always have islands.

T&L recently compiled a list of their favorite islands. As you’d expect, the list includes some real hum-dingers:

  • Santorini, Greece
  • Cocoa Island, Maldives
  • Mount Desert, Maine
  • Capri, Italy
  • Kauai, Hawaii
  • Vancouver Island
  • Anguilla
  • Bora Bora, French Polynesia
  • Virgin Gorda, BVI
  • Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil

Of course, for the “real people” out there, I thought I’d drop in 5 more islands that are beautiful, accessible, and not bank-breakers — at least for those people living in the US:

Sanibel and Captiva are a boomerang-shaped pair of islands off Florida’s southwest coast. Known for their plentiful shells, warm waters, excellent kayak opportunities, and laid-back atmosphere, the islands are an easy jaunt for most people in the southeastern US. Sanibel is nice — but in my opinion, Captiva has more spark, and more of a “feel.” With its tightly-clustered village center, Captiva is among the most romantic islands on the planet.

Tybee Island, Georgia, is big enough to have options, but small enough to not feel overdeveloped. With a rich history and plenty of options for sightseeing, Tybee also features kayak opportunities, dolphin excursions, and the chance to dangle your worm in the water. Don’t let the island’s “barrier island” status fool you: it’s wild but comfortable.

California’s Channel Islands — known as America’s Galapagos — are a haven for wildlife and a dream come true for campers and hikers alike. With numerous opportunities for diving, snorkeling, and whale watching in the waters among the islands — which Traveler refers to as a Paradise Found — there are alos plentiful routes for you to explore on sea kayaks.

The hundreds of islands that make up Washington’s San Juan Islands, feature beaches, mountains, cliffs, and forests. The area also boasts plenty of fog, which gives it a dreamy quality. Between the flightseeing, horseback riding, boating, shopping, hiking, and kayaking, I’m pretty sure you can keep busy.

Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful islands in the world. Outdoor adventurers can hike, sail, paddle, fish, and swim around the island. History buffs can inspect the local castles (castles!), or tour the island’s numerous museums. A hodgepodge of cultures, explorers can sample both French and Celtic culture on the same trip.

St. Lucia There & Back Part 5: Going by Horse

by Adrienne Wilson on


By the fifth day of my St. Lucia adventure I was ready to do something different and try new things. I’d been debating between taking a bike tour and seeing a small portion of the island on horseback. It had been centuries since I’d been on a horse so without even tossing a coin I opted for the two hour horseback riding excursion offered by Trim’s Riding Stables just up the road from my hotel. When I phoned the night before to find out tour times and cost I was informed of a group heading out around 10 AM and it would be better to join them since the 8:30 AM slot was kind of light in terms of participants. The two hour trot around the Atlantic side of the island in an area known as Cas en Bas would only cost $50 and since that was a pretty decent deal I kindly requested that they pencil me in for 10 AM.

At a quarter to ten o’clock the day of the event I was picked up by a blue and white van with the words ‘Bon Ami’ in the front and Trim’s Riding Stables in the back. Already tucked into the van were two couples and two vacationing friends who were all just as ready as I was see to see which horse we would be paired with for our adventure. But before we reached the stables our driver shouted out a few key things to remember before hoping onto the saddle. Bags would have to be left behind so that we did not injure or bother the horse. We would have to sign waivers before taking off, get fitted for helmets and distinguish who was an experienced rider and who wasn’t. When we reached the stables all of this didn’t take too much time, but there was still a few small pointers to go over. Instructions were as follows: heels should be pointed down and toes up, hold the rein close and down not up, but let it give a little, and to turn the horse pull the rein downward in the direction you want it to go. With all this to keep in mind it was finally time to be paired with our new pals for the trip.

My horse was named “Spunky” and he was a beauty.

Spunky was the leader of the pack. He had to be the one in front of all the horses which was kind of cool and frightening at the same time. I didn’t know whether it meant Spunky couldn’t handle other horses swooshing their tails in his face or what, but I just told myself I would give him “Good Spunky” praise every step of the way just in case Spunky liked that sort of thing.

I’ll be honest – I was a little shaky heading off down the trail. It had seriously been some years between now and the time I had last been on a horse, but things were going well so far. I felt myself slipping into the nature surroundings and not focusing on the horse as much. I figured he knew the trails better than I did and so I should let him do his thing. One of the staff member’s was right behind me and the rest of the riders were tailing behind him. We went down small winding dirt paths through a woodsy peaceful area until we made it to the opening on the beach. The beach was bare with the exception of a couple of tourists who had discovered it was much quieter than some of the nearby beaches. We took our horses to the top of a hill where everyone got their photo taken with a nice landscape in the background – mainly water, but some hillside as well. At this point it was time to take a break.

For some of the horses that meant getting tied to a tree to hang loose in the shade while three lucky horses got to take the riders out into the water to bathe or swim. Spunky was one of the ones who got tied to a tree.

Cas en Bas beach area isn’t as nice as the Rodney Bay area for one main reason. When you take horses out on the beach or anywhere for that matter they seem to let go of their bodily fluids whenever and wherever they wish. They take no exceptions to dumping on the beach so be careful if you’re walking around the place or you may be picking up more than a seashell or two. Still it was a pretty decent beach.


Swimming time with the horses means taking off the saddle and heading into the Atlantic Ocean bareback. It also means showing a little skin (should you choose to) by wearing your trunks and bathing suits like you would without a horse. Naturally, I was just a tiny bit concerned about being half-nakie on a horse. I prayed there would be no critters waiting to nibble on my body while having a hee-haw time in the water. For the ride into the ocean I was tossed up onto Zeus. He too, was a beautiful animal.

Off into the water we went to meet up with the rest of the riders and horses already splashing around. My heart was thumping all around. I gave Zeus some “Good Zeus” praise and a “pretty please, don’t throw me off into this water.” Sadly, I’m not a strong swimmer. We kept making our way until we finally reached the others.

Jason, one of the Trim’s guides leading this tour was out with his horse, Bob. When I got close enough he took the reins of my horse and told me that if I started to slip I should just grab the mane real tight to hold on. It hurt me to grab the mane. I thought it would hurt Zeus, but when I found myself starting to slip sure enough I started holding tight to the mane. Jason made Bob go faster so that Zeus would go faster and we were running through the ocean. By this point I’m laughing so much my stomach is starting to hurt, but I was having a good time. The water felt so cool and nice and though I knew bouncing around on a horse would later leave me with a sore bum I didn’t want the experience to end and at the same time I did. I’d say we spent at least ten minutes out there bathing if not more.

Once we were all dried off and well rested from the time in the water we jumped back onto our original horses and headed back up to the stables. I almost made it there without getting thrown off of Spunky, but something scared the horse and off I went flying into the air. It must have been a pretty scary sight for everyone watching and my right shoe flew off in the process, but seeing how much more concerned I was about my camera I think it broke the impact of my fall. Before doing anything else when I stood up, I clicked the power button to make sure my Rebel was still alive and thankfully it was. Then I looked at everyone to give them a smile to assure them I was okay. The ride was basically over by this point.

Back at the stables I thanked everyone for such an awesome experience and nabbed a quick photo with Trim’s staff member, Jason. Then it was off and way back into the island by vehicle.

Trim’s Riding Stables is located in Cas en Bas, Gros Islet, St. Lucia. They can be reached by phone at 758.450.8273.

Ibizabound Blog

by Adrienne Wilson on

Although this Ibizabound site is the creation of an independent real estate broker agency there are still some pretty good bits and chunks to pick off of their blog. Now, the entire site would definitely be a good resource if you were considering spending a month or two on the island this summer, but don’t feel as though their wanting to help interested parties do such distracts from the blog. I took a fairly lengthy tour of the site and read through many of the blog entries to make sure they had some nugget of good for a traveler trying to score a good meal or simply learn what’s happening with the upcoming 2007 Ibiza Film Festival. And since Ibiza is also known for partying on the beach, in the club and after-after hours, they’ve done the favor of making sure to include some club coverage. Overall it still looks like a pretty new work, but if they keep things up they should have a nice site going both with the blogging and the select real estate offered.

Tropical Sunsets

by Iva Skoch on

As the days keep getting shorter and colder here in Prague, I find myself thinking more and more about travel to the tropics. And, of course, one of the best reasons to visit the tropics is to watch the sunset, lying in a hammock next to a loved one, with drink in hand. Now, sunsets in Prague are nothing to sneeze at, with the rosy light settling on the beautiful buildings, but it’s hard to beat the tropics. My worldwide favorite sunsets? The island of Mauritius, off the coast of Madagascar.

As we at Gadling have reported, there are a million great attributes of this country: democratic, safe, remote, with a good economy, beautiful, friendly people, unbelievable food, perfect weather, mountains, beaches–should I go on? While most fly in through South Africa, we endured the 11.5 hour flight direct from Paris on Air France. But what treats await! I have never seen sunsets so consistently magnificent anywhere in the world.

The island country is an interesting mix of Africans and Indians and their cultures, with history as both a French and, later, a British colony. You can see the French architectural influence, and most people speak a kind of Creole French in everyday conversation. The official language and legal customs, however, are English. While not on most people’s radar screen, everyone has heard about the island, at least through the existence of the dodo bird, a former inhabitant. Mark Twain was a big fan, saying “heaven was copied after Mauritius.”

Dear readers: where are your favorite sunsets?