LIVING THE ISLAND LIFE

5 Unique Islands to visit in 2020

Whether you crave culture, adventure, or simply want to relax on a beach, at least one of these islands should fulfill your travel dreams.  
“To travel is to live.” Hans Christian Andersen

Tremiti Archipelago, Italy 
It’s 2020, but in the Tremiti Archipelago it feels more like 1950. The five Aleppo-pined Adriatic islands of the Tremiti Archipelago and national park are just off the coast of Puglia’s Gargano Peninsula, the sharp-edged spur of Italy’s boot. A ferry ride from Termoli leads to placid other-world of Parthenopean dialects, cerulean waters, millefeuilled limestone cliffs, piratical grottos, purple sea-sponges, and WW II shipwrecks. There's even a submerged statue of Padre Pio off the coast of uninhabited Capraia to dive to, proving there's as much to see underwater as above.

Kea, Greece 
Only an hour's ferry ride from Lavrio, just outside Athens, this Cycladic island has everything going for it: a prettily faded Hora straddling two hills, a ritzy yacht scene around the mini-resorts of Vourkari and Koundouros, and blindingly blue bays with some of the best wreck diving in Greece. (The most famous shipwreck is the Britannic, sister ship of the Titanic). Then there’s the magnificent ancient city of Karthaia, poised above the twin bays of Poles like a mirage. Like many of Kea’s beaches, Poles is only accessible on foot or by boat. But it's all change on the bay of Vroskopos: Greece's first One&Only will open here in 2021, with a beach club and three restaurants. Go before the crowds catch on, and head inland where Athenians' stone villas are hunkered into the sun-bleached landscape—Hipaway has some nice hideouts. Or disappear at Kathikies, a century-old farmhouse stranded at the end of a dirt track with nothing but cicadas, butterflies and boundless Aegean views for miles.

Prince Edward Island, Canada 
Canada's smallest province also has its biggest foodie rep. Prince Edward Island is known for its blue mussels, Malpeque oysters, and crustaceans—head here for the 25th annual shellfish festival in September, where lobster parties are held on the beach as the sky turns red behind the lighthouse. The island got itself new luxe rooms this past summer with The Inn at Fortune Bridge, run by chef Michael Smith, a Food Network regular; a 1957 Bentley ferries guests to its sister property for the nightly open-fire feast. And this late spring, the Arts Hotel opens in Charlottetown, with a mini gallery of works by Salvador Dalí.

British Virgin Islands 
Conservationist Laurance Rockefeller's determination to preserve the wildness of Virgin Gorda led to a '60s assemblage of unobtrusive villas that made minimal impact on the coconut groves and sands around them—an approach many of today's hoteliers are just catching on to. The Rosewood Little Dix Bay reopened this January after a four-year renovation, with 80 updated guest rooms, and hiking trails across the island play up the wellness factor. End your trek at the new cliffside spa, where treatment rooms peekaboo over the sea.

Dominica 
Dominica is an island defined by bare-knuckled blue mountains, hot springs, and a tangle of rain forests, along with a river for every day of the year. And yet lodging options have been limited for those wanting more than a beach flop. But with the October opening of the Cabrits Resort & Spa Kempinski, this lush paradise has upped its appeal. The hotel faces a shimmering stretch of the Caribbean, but head round the back and rooms have safari-style views of the tightly forested Cabrits National Park. A good place to hole up in after dancing at the island's annual World Creole Music Festival.