Why renting your own private island is cheaper than you think – Telegraph.co.uk

Psychologists insist that most children start to understand the concept of sharing between the ages of three and four, and that kiddie conflict during that preschool phase usually has to do with competition for toys, attention and space none of which the little devils want to share. I agree strongly with the second part of the proposition but say phooey to the first. Hardly any of us have got the hang of sharing by the time we turn four. Or 40. Or ever.

Although we might not care to admit it, much of our behaviour not least when we are travelling expresses the taboo joy that our inner toddler continues to take in not having to share, or in sharing only on limited terms. And nothing expresses this deeply human tendency better than our seemingly irresistible attraction to exclusive-use private islands.

The charm of an exclusive-use private island is not that it is empty, of course, or even particularly far from anywhere else. We want to be vaguely castaway, not cast into oblivion. We also want the presence of others, just not too many of them. Why should a ring of glittering seawater beyond a pristine, palm-fringed perimeter define that paradoxical ideal of distance, closeness, privacy and conviviality so perfectly? Perhaps that is another question for the psychologists.

What is clear is that this delicate balance can be struck in a variety of ways to satisfy a variety of tastes and budgets. Some of us prefer our barefoot luxury with the emphasis on the bare feet, others with the emphasis on the luxury. Whatever your craving whether it is whale sharks or reliable Wi-Fi, butler service or a marine biologists wisdom, a kids club or a composting loo, rustling thatch and reclaimed floorboards or a disco ball and an overwater dance floor whatever your predilection, there is an island out there, somewhere, to suit, as the following list makes clear.

As you drift closer to Miniloc on a paraw, a double-outrigger sailing boat, theres a sense of the other-worldly. This small island on Bacuit Bay in the province of Palawan in the Philippines, is set on its own lagoon, surrounded by water the colour and clarity of gemstones. In the backdrop is a jungle-sheathed limestone mountain. And from a distance are hulking karsts that look like sleeping giants. The island has a coastal village vibe where everyone from guests to staff is resolutely down-to-earth.

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Why renting your own private island is cheaper than you think - Telegraph.co.uk