Haggerstone Island

Australia

This entirely private island, set against the remote Cape York Peninsula at the tip of the northern Great Barrier Reef, is the place to channel all your Swiss Family Robinson fantasies. The speck of land has just five thatched roof villas, accommodating up to 12 guests, with rustic interiors (think open-air living, driftwood furnishings, netted beds and cooling sea breezes instead of air-conditioning).

A sun-bleached wooden pier is the jumping-off point to a wealth of adventures, from snorkelling over rainbow-bright coral gardens to spear-fishing for Spanish mackerel to helicoptering over thundering waterfalls. Or you could just potter around the island, following butterfly-lined nature trails, drinking cocktails from coconuts or swinging in a hammock with a good book. Food is as fresh as you can get, plucked from the sea or pulled from the resort’s organic gardens that day.