Original article by By Suzanne Weinstock, Departures.com
Tried-and-true island favorites such as St. Barths and Capri have long been wooing fashionable travelers. But these days, the new prestige in globetrotting lies in exploring far-flung destinations the masses have yet to invade. Even better: a vacation spot so exotic that no one has even heard of it.
“We’ve been seeing strong interest in remote, off-the-beaten-path destinations,” says Scott Wiseman, president of luxury travel company Abercrombie & Kent USA.
Enter a new set of islands in the Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, Caribbean and beyond.
“Private and reassuringly hard-to-get, these islands entice diehard fans to get off the grid,” says James Lohan, CEO and co-founder of the boutique hotel website Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
They let vacationers “be the ruler of their own domain and feel like they have discovered someplace unique.”
So transition into being a trendsetter by picking a destination that bears some similarities to a familiar favorite. Then prepare to tack on extra travel time, since being an early adopter usually means adding an extra leg of travel. It’s the moderate difficulty in getting there that keeps these places exclusive. Are you ready for an island less ordinary?
