A private island is the only form of luxury that cannot be shared with strangers. Not a quiet wing, not a members’ beach — the whole landmass, the staff, the boats, and nobody arriving tomorrow. Below are the six private islands you can take entirely to yourselves — with what each one actually holds and what it costs — and then a seventh, in Turks & Caicos, worth knowing about separately.
They are not interchangeable. One sleeps thirty-four and has floodlit tennis courts; one sleeps twelve and is a mile and a half of Maldivian sand; one is reopening this year after several years closed. The differences are the whole decision.
One · British Virgin IslandsNecker Island
Richard Branson’s island, and the one most people picture when they picture this kind of trip. Balinese-inspired architecture on Caribbean white sand: the Great House has a high pitched roof, sliding glass walls and carved sofas, with the island’s seventeen bedrooms spread between it, six Balinese-style houses, Temple House and the Love Temple.
It takes up to thirty-four guests, and if your party runs past thirty, additional accommodation can be arranged on neighbouring Moskito Island for sixteen more. There are two freshwater infinity pools and a hot tub on the beach, another pool and hot tub at the pool pavilion, and a rooftop hot tub for four. The beach pavilion has games tables, a large television and two floodlit tennis courts; on the water, windsurfing, kite sailing, snorkelling, waterskiing and kayaking. Meals, water sports and airport transfers are included, and the island’s chefs cook.
- Capacity
- 17 bedrooms, up to 34 guests (+16 on Moskito Island)
- Included
- All meals, water sports, airport transfers, full staff and chefs
- Getting there
- Fly to Beef Island (EIS) or St Thomas, then boat or helicopter
- Best for
- Large family gatherings and milestone birthdays with a full activity programme
Two · BahamasMusha Cay at Copperfield Bay
David Copperfield’s island in the Exuma chain, and the most genuinely private entry here: Musha Cay is surrounded by three smaller islands that exist to keep it private, and only one group stays at a time. Unspoiled is the accurate word — flowers, swaying palms, foliage, and beaches that were raked for you and nobody else.
Days are equipped rather than programmed: your own speedboat, paddleboards, a tennis match, a beachside daybed for the lazy ones, a steam room for after the massage, and a 28-foot Nautilus rib catamaran when you want to go further.
- Capacity
- 12 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, up to 24 guests — the island’s own cap
- Rate
- From $35,000 per night, fully staffed
- Getting there
- Private flight to the island’s airstrip, or via Nassau (85 miles northwest)
- Best for
- Groups who want absolute privacy over a long activity list
Three · MaldivesCoco Privé
A 1.4-hectare island off Malé comprising a master residence and five guest villas, plus a dining room, purpose-built kitchen, cocktail bar, wine cellar, library, indoor and outdoor gym areas, sauna and a forty-metre pool. The scale is domestic; the specification is not.
What is included is unusually complete: a dedicated team of personal staff day and night, your own private chef, private luxury yacht return from Malé International, spa treatments anywhere at any time from your own therapist, cocktails and beverages throughout, unlimited diving, and water sports from canoeing to catamaran sailing and windsurfing.
- Capacity
- 6 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, 12 guests
- Rate
- From $46,000 per night, all-inclusive
- Getting there
- Private yacht from Malé International, included in the rate
- Best for
- Two or three families who want everything handled and nothing to sign for
Four · SeychellesFregate Island Private
Four degrees south of the equator, alone in the Indian Ocean: 2.19 square kilometres of lush forest fringed by coral reef, rising to Mont Signal at 125 metres. Fregate is a sanctuary for some of the world’s rarest plants, reptiles, insects and birds, and it has seven natural beaches for a single island — all powdery white sand, spread around the coast, so one of them is always empty.
The island is reopening in 2026 after several years closed. That is a reason to move early rather than to wait: reopening years are the ones where the best weeks are still there to be had.
The Banyan Hill Estate is the way to take it properly — 1,100 square metres with exclusive use of a whole peninsula: an open core and living area with its own infinity pool, study, TV lounge, and a fully equipped kitchen with your private chef and butler. Its three detached bedrooms are furnished with antiques from across the Indian Ocean, each with its own terrace, bathroom, bathtub and panorama. For smaller parties, the pool villas run 400 to 450 square metres.
Private Pool Villa (1 BD) ›
All Fregate Private Island villas ›
- Capacity
- Banyan Hill Estate: 3 detached bedrooms, whole peninsula. 16 pool villas across the island
- Included
- Private chef and butler at Banyan Hill; conservation-led programming island-wide
- Getting there
- Mahé International, then 15 minutes by helicopter or 1.5 hours by boat
- Best for
- Nature-first trips; families and friends travelling together on the estate
Five · French PolynesiaBora Bora One
Set over 30,000 square metres — seven and a half acres — on its own islet, Bora Bora One faces the lagoon and the mythic main-island mountains on one side and the open Pacific, with Tahaa and Raiatea on the horizon, on the other. Five independent suites, each different in character, all with terraces onto the lagoon and the private beach.
There is a marbled swimming pool on a wooden deck in a tropical garden, and a spot at the ocean end of that garden made specifically for watching whales pass. The villa runs on advanced solar and holds the best broadband on the island, which matters more than it sounds when you are this far out. Mobility comes with a boat — the Disco Volante — and its captain, who handles airport transfers, snorkelling trips, turtle feeding, restaurant runs and sunset cruises.
Six · MadagascarTime + Tide Miavana
On Nosy Ankao, the largest island of a secluded archipelago off north-east Madagascar, and the most adventurous entry here. It reads like an island but behaves like a safari: nature treks to spot lemurs, diving, helicopter touring. The smallest of the fourteen villas is 4,300 square feet, so “villa” understates them.
The conservation story is real and unusually specific. Nosy Ankao was found thirty years ago by an entrepreneur who wanted the area protected; the resort was built to minimise impact on the ecosystem, with every invasive plant removed from the 360-hectare island by hand and over 120,000 native plants replanted from clippings by the island manager and his team. The local community was consulted throughout and made up most of the building teams. After four and a half years, it opened in May 2017, designed by Silvio Rech and Lesley Carstens.
Do not miss the “chamber of curiosities” in the main space — a collection of island finds, cannonballs and lemur skeletons among them.
- Capacity
- 14 villas, the smallest 4,300 sq ft; bookable individually or as a whole island
- The point
- Safari-style adventure with an island base — lemurs, diving, helicopters
- Getting there
- Helicopter from Diego Suarez, northern Madagascar
- Best for
- Travellers who would be bored by a beach alone
A private-island estate on Parrot Cay — 12 bedrooms, 15 guests, from $42,000 a night — in the one destination on this page where we hold deep inventory. Ask a specialist, or see the wider collection.
There is no overflow. A hotel can open another wing; an island cannot. When Musha Cay has a group on it, that is the island gone — not a room. Twelve months is a sensible lead time for these six, eighteen for Christmas and New Year, and the transfers need booking in the same breath as the villa because a helicopter leg is not something you sort out on arrival.
Questions we get asked
Can you really rent a whole island?
Yes — all six here are taken on an exclusive-use basis, meaning the island, the staff, the boats and the beaches are yours for the dates. Miavana’s villas can also be booked individually if you do not need the whole property.
Which is best for a large group?
Necker, comfortably — seventeen bedrooms, up to thirty-four guests, with sixteen more possible on Moskito Island next door. Musha Cay takes twenty-four. Coco Privé and the Banyan Hill Estate suit single families rather than parties.
What is actually included?
More than you would expect, and it varies. Necker includes all meals, water sports and airport transfers. Coco Privé includes the yacht from Malé, a private chef, unlimited diving, spa treatments and all drinks. Bora Bora One includes the boat and its captain. Every inclusion list is confirmed in writing before you book.
How much does a private island cost?
Musha Cay starts at $35,000 a night, the Sanctuary Estate at Parrot Cay at $42,000, and Coco Privé at $46,000 — each for the whole property, fully staffed. Split across the maximum party those figures read differently: Musha Cay at twenty-four guests works out near $1,460 per person per night, everything in.
Do you arrange the flights and helicopters?
Yes, and on these trips that is most of the work. Helicopter legs, private charters, boat transfers and the timings between them are handled by your dedicated concierge before you leave.
If a whole island is more than the trip needs, the same feeling scaled down is what our round-up of five out-of-this-world destinations covers — and for the grandest houses rather than the remotest ones, see Europe’s top mansions for rent or Mexico’s best beach villas.
Tell us the dates and the size of the party — a specialist will come back with real availability across all six, and the transfer plan, within 24 hours.
