Destinations

Virtuoso travel advisors share their top island getaways, from tropical havens to cosmopolitan escapes in the March/April Islands issue of VIRTUOSO LIFE.

1. Hawaii - The 50th state was hands down the most popular choice for tropical bliss, with Maui the top individual island. “Love the beaches, the people, the ambiance, the closeness to other islands for day trips, the sun, the golf, the food - I love it all.”
2. Tahiti - Running a close second was this South Pacific paradise, with Bora-Bora - and its overwater bungalows - receiving the most raves. “The color of the water is truly amazing, and the people are wonderful, very friendly and welcoming. I fell in love with Bora-Bora.”
3. Anguilla - “On this island in the Lesser Antilles, the people are beautiful on the inside, the beaches are beautiful on the outside, and the food is great too. I love Anguilla so much I’ve brought a boyfriend and two husbands here - not at the same time, of course.”
4. Saint Bart’s - “It has terrific beaches, amazing restaurants, great live music, and the local people are eclectic and fun. I love to stay in a villa with a pool and visit a different beach each day. It is also a perfect island for celebrity spotting.”
5. Vancouver Island - “It may not be tropical, but it has so many opportunities to experience nature: temperate rain forest, fjords, wild sea life, storms blowing in off the Pacific. It is one of the world’s most diverse, gorgeous places.”
6. Fiji - “It’s so remote and romantic. You can walk out of your beachfront bure and hop into the water for a swim or snorkel. The Fijians make a stay very special and are truly the most friendly and hospitable people on earth.”
7. Barbados - “What better combination is there than white sand and blue sparkling water? Add to that luxurious resorts with fabulous spas and golf courses, loads of colorful festivals, and sunken ships to explore by tank or snorkel, and there’s no reason to go anywhere else.”
8. Tasmania - “With a third of the island designated as national parkland, the unspoiled scenery is spectacular. From lakes to beaches and forests, you can hike, ride horseback, swim, fish, kayak, scuba dive, and spot wildlife. The island’s cool-climate wines are excellent, and Tassie has some of the nicest people you will find anywhere.”
9. Easter Island - “The peace and serenity of the place are overwhelming. The guides are fantastic, the food outstanding, the scenery breathtaking, and the people wonderful. The sky is so blue and the ocean even bluer. It’s a great place for couples or families.”
10. Nevis - “It’s the kind of place where you don’t need those few days to unwind. You can relax as soon as you arrive. A hammock on the beach is all I need, but there are guided hikes, golf and spa at the Four Seasons, plantation houses to visit or stay at, and a ferry that visits nearby Saint Kitts.”
11. Aitutaki - “One of the Cook Islands, Aitutaki is one of my favorite places on earth. You can walk in the knee-high water for miles, find conches the size of a sink, feel like you are alone, and totally rejuvenate.”
12. Bali - “The Balinese radiate a spiritual beauty. I love the emerald green rice paddies, the haunting music of gamelan, and watching the women balance stacks of fruit on their heads as they glide gracefully toward a Hindu ceremony at one of the mini-temples on the island.”
13. Bermuda - “There’s so much to see and do, with scenery, history, charm, and year-round temperate weather. Everything is clean, the people are gracious, and it has a great economy.”
14. Capri - “I love Capri for its great views and Italian charm. If you spend time here, you discover places that entice you to return. It’s wonderful to sit in the piazza and sip an espresso or wander the narrow streets. The pizza here is the best anywhere.”
15. Santorini - “This Greek isle is always at the top of my list, with is whitehead cliffside dwellings overlooking the most unusual shade of blue in the caldera. Spend the day sightseeing and shopping; come late afternoon, trek to the village of Oia to watch the sunset, then enjoy a dinner of fabulous local food, topped off with a little singing and dancing.

From guest blogger Peter Lloyd-Jones, of Rosewood’s King Pacific Lodge.

At first sight a humpback whale looks like a larger, darker, upwardly mobile ocean swell that you spot from the corner of your eye. A trick of the water and waves and the prismatic coastal light. Then you look again.

It’s a more rounded, discrete shape than a swell, and as the whale draws closer you can discern a direction to its movement, like the shape of a cloud passing.

“Humpbacks, right?” I ask my guide, Jeff, who pulls the boat to and idles the engine so we can scan the water. This is, appropriately enough, Whale Channel, a devastatingly deep (3,000 feet) passage north of the lodge. Whale-watching is not on the agenda–we’re headed off for hiking and fishing, and just happen to be passing by. The whales, maybe a half dozen, are circling in the water 200 yards away. They journey here each summer thousands of miles from Hawaii, where they spend the winter birthing and rearing their calves. Along the upper Northwest coast the oxygen-rich waters hold a feast of food for them.

Suddenly it looks like a giant scuba diver has joined the party, as a huge ring of air bubbles reaches the surface, and a couple whales breach through the churned-up water.

“They’re bubble-net fishing,” explains Ted, another lodge guide who’s onboard. “A couple of the whales dive deep and let out streams of bubbles to drive baitfish to the surface. The rest cruise in to down the herring that collect in the ‘bubble’ net.”

I’ve heard rumors of this, but never seen it. Two other guests on board have not only never heard of it, this is their first sight of whales, period.

“Let’s get closer,” one urges Jeff. He shakes his head.

“This is close enough. They live here. This is their kitchen. We’ll just wait here till they pass.”

An encroaching boat would be like a helicopter hovering over dinner preparation, I imagine. We’re privileged guests at this exposition of Some scientists used to debate whether whales could actually devise and pass on such a sophisticated activity. We are witnessing a demonstration of the ways nature’s vast engine of invention remains unconstrained by the artificial catalogs of human understanding.

There’s no need to go closer. The entire canvas itself, the glistening emerald water, the muffled boom of whales breaching, the mountains that clasp the channel–all this is so vivid that greater proximity would detract in many ways.

Eventually, in 15 minutes or so, the whales pass on, diving out of sight, and we lose track of their direction. I like to think they did not see us at all.