"I don't think it's all that great to look out at an amazing view of the ocean by yourself," George Clooney said recently. He was on TV, hyping some blockbuster from the deck of a gorgeous villa overlooking the Mediterranean. Yet his thoughts were on his annual getaway with his buddies from back home. "See, if you have a few friends along, you can say, 'Hey, that's a hell of a view, isn't it?'" Clooney explained. Problem is, on most trips to the islands, your hell of a view is obscured. Honeymooners. Third-round draft picks. Last quarter's sales leaders. The oddly flush. The overly tan.
You deserve better. And for those willing to pay the man, something better awaits-like renting your own private island. Most come with staff, and most charge a flat rate no matter how much you eat or drink, or how many aromatherapy treatments you order. More important, you don't have to be John Malone or even John Tesh to sign up. Get a group together and these places can work out to a few thou a person. No keys, no schedules, no price sheets on the minibar. Best of all: No rats for dinner and you can't be voted off.
Necker Island, Caribbean
Sometime after making a pile of cash from Culture Club's "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" but before making an even bigger pile from Virgin Megastores, CEO/visionary/failed balloonist Richard Branson had the foresight to scoop up a pristine 74-acre island in the northeastern British Virgin Islands. He could have leased it to TGIFriday's and made yet another pile. Instead, he built a 10-bedroom Balinese villa and two houses, one sporting an open-air cliffside bedroom-bathroom love den. Fortunately, Richard likes to share. "It seemed such a waste to use it only a few weeks of the year," he writes in the Necker brochure. "So we decided to rent it out." At your disposal are pools, Jacuzzis, tennis courts, windsurfing, and a staff of 31. But the real draw is the isolation. With guests like Harrison Ford, Robert De Niro, and Pamela Anderson, Necker is clearly a favorite among those tired of saying "Get that damn camera outta my face."
Details: Rates range from $2,000 per person per day for a group of seven, to just over $1,000 per person per day for a group of 24. The no-minimum-stay policy makes Necker doable for a long weekend. Call 800-557-4255.
Nukubati Island, South Pacific
Brando owns an island in the South Pacific, but he's no longer taking visitors-unless they come laden with bologna sandwiches. Bill Gates honeymooned at the posh Wakaya Club, a 200-acre nine-cottage destination in central Fiji, but that might be overdoing it. Better to head for Nukubati, a 35-acre former coconut plantation at the northern reach of the Fijian chain. Expect white sand beaches, a staff of 40, sailing, scuba diving, and lots of those soon-to-be-famous Nukubati coconut-oil massages.
Details: 14-person capacity; $4,000 per day, 5-day minimum. Call 800-426-3644.
Cayo Espanto, Caribbean
"Moneyed clientele often think they're the only ones in the world with money," says Julie Lemish of Rex Travel, who regularly sells trips to private islands. "But with islands like this, if it's booked, it's booked, and it doesn't matter if you're the king of England." Case in point: Cayo Espanto, an island off Belize large enough for 12, recently ran a small ad in a swanky travel rag. Within a week, the first part of the season was sold out. Four small villas, pools, private piers, an award-winning chef, a personal butler, a staff of 33, a fully stocked bar-let's just say you're not the only one interested, so book early.
Details: $4,500 a night, summer; $8,500 a night, winter. Call 888-899-8261.
Villa Skinos, Mediterranean
Having been settled for, oh, 3,000 years, the coast of Greece doesn't offer much in the way of rentable private islands. The closest you come is the small isle of Ithaca, homeland of Odysseus. You've heard of Odysseus, right? Greek hero? Cornerstone of Western literature? Well, Madonna hadn't, but that didn't stop her from partying it up at Villa Skinos, an exclusive secluded 200-acre estate set on its own peninsula. Offering a five-bedroom main house and two cottages for a maximum of 17 guests, "Skinos is the way Greece used to be 50 years ago," says the Baroness von Hirsch. What the Baroness means is that her family's staff of seven, all of whom have been on the job for at least 30 years, see you not as the schmuck in 6C but rather as an honored guest. The closest neighbor? Aristotle Onassis-before he upped and died.
Details: $12,000 per week, regardless of group size. Call Lois Mitchell at Hoffman Travel, 818-238-4441.
Felicite Island, Indian Ocean
There's a lot to be said for the Seychelles. For one thing, these islands are centrally located in the middle of nowhere: 1,000 miles east of Mombasa, 11 long hours from London by air. Plus, it's always 80 degrees. And they're home to some of the world's best scuba diving and snorkeling. On Felicite-essentially a square-mile forest of orange, coconut, and mango trees-you can set yourself up in a pair of two-bedroom bungalows. Then, over Creole cuisine and coconut beer, sneer at the folks back home who said it couldn't be true.
Details: $3,800 a day, 5-night minimum. Contact Vladi Private Islands, 902-423-3202.
Amanwana, Moyo Island, Southeast Asia
In the South China Sea, the closest approximation of an island takeover is the isolated resort on Moyo run by Aman resorts. Aman properties are to Southeast Asia what Ian Schrager hotels are to New York: sleek and cool in a way that sends the competition scrambling. On this 100-square-mile wildlife reserve just east of Bali, your hosts provide a spa, restaurants, a 55-foot yacht, various pools and waterfalls, and 20 guest tents. "Tents?" you ask. Don't get the wrong idea. They're more like silk-draped palaces. Elsewhere on the island, there are rain forests, macaque monkeys, and a wild ox or two.
Details: Tents start at $600 a night; to have the resort all to yourself, you'll need 20 tents' worth of dreamers onboard. Contact
