Hidden Gem Islands: Five Extraordinary Places Beyond the Usual Luxury Destinations
For travellers who have already been everywhere, the most rewarding journeys are often to places they have never heard of. The five hidden gem islands in this guide are Príncipe off the coast of Central Africa, Guana Island in the British Virgin Islands, Fogo Island off Newfoundland, Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea, and Sumba in eastern Indonesia. Each is genuinely difficult to reach, each limits the number of people who can stay there, and each rewards the effort with something increasingly rare: a place that feels as though it belongs to the few people on it. This is hidden gems travel in its truest sense, defined by remoteness and scale rather than by price.
Príncipe, São Tomé and Príncipe
Príncipe is the hidden gem that most seasoned travellers have never heard of. The smaller of the two islands that make up São Tomé and Príncipe, it lies in the Gulf of Guinea, off the coast of Central Africa, and the whole island has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 2012. Rainforest covers most of it, more than half is national park, and its birdlife and plants include species found nowhere else, which is why it is often called Africa’s Galápagos. Fewer than 10,000 people live on the island, and the beaches are almost always empty.
The finest place to stay is Sundy Praia, a small collection of tented villas hidden in the rainforest above a beach on the island’s northwest tip. Nearby, Roça Sundy is a restored former cacao plantation house that also played a remarkable role in scientific history. During the total solar eclipse of 29 May 1919, astronomers observed the deflection of starlight there, providing important early evidence in support of Einstein’s theory of general relativity. The island’s plantations also carry a darker history. In 2026, UNESCO recognised the roças of São Tomé and Príncipe in a way that acknowledges both their architecture and the colonial plantation system and forced migration on which they depended. The hotels on Príncipe are run with an unusually strong commitment to conservation and the local community, and part of every stay goes directly to that work.
Reaching Príncipe is part of its appeal. Most journeys from Europe connect through Lisbon to São Tomé, followed by a short flight to Príncipe on a small aircraft. It is a long way to go, which is precisely why the island remains as it is.
Some of the most extraordinary places in the world are also the most difficult to reach. With only a handful of exceptional properties and limited transport connections, arranging these journeys requires more than making a hotel reservation. We draw on our international relationships to secure the right accommodation, coordinate private travel and create experiences that few travellers would know how to arrange independently.
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Guana Island, British Virgin Islands
In a region full of celebrated private-island resorts, Guana Island remains one of the least known and most private. It covers 850 acres of hills, forest and seven white-sand beaches, yet welcomes only around 35 guests at a time in 18 rooms and villas. There is no marina, no public bar and no commercial facility of any kind. Visiting boats may anchor in the bays, but their passengers cannot come ashore, so the beaches belong entirely to those staying on the island.
Guana has been a private nature reserve for decades, and its wildlife includes a flock of flamingos and rare native species. For families or groups who want complete privacy, the whole island can be taken for exclusive use, and the island’s team arranges every detail in advance. It is reached by a short private boat transfer from Tortola. For other ideas in the region, see the guide to the best Caribbean islands for luxury travel.
Fogo Island, Newfoundland, Canada
Fogo Island sits off the northeast coast of Newfoundland, an island off an island at the edge of the North Atlantic. Its single great hotel, Fogo Island Inn, stands on stilts above the rocks, designed by the Newfoundland-born architect Todd Saunders, with just 29 suites, each with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the ocean. The Inn holds three MICHELIN Keys, the guide’s highest distinction. It is also run as a community enterprise, with its operating surpluses reinvested into the island, and much of its furniture and textiles is made by local craftspeople.
The island lies along Iceberg Alley, where icebergs that have broken away from Greenland’s glaciers drift south past the coast each spring, and whales arrive in summer. The Inn operates seasonally, opening from March in 2027, so the timing of a visit matters: spring for icebergs, summer for whales and long evenings, and autumn for berry season and storms. The usual route is via Gander, followed by a drive and a short ferry crossing.
Lord Howe Island, Australia
Lord Howe Island, in the Tasman Sea around 600 kilometres off the coast of New South Wales, has a rule that makes it one of the most exclusive islands in the world: since 1981, no more than 400 visitors may be on the island at any one time. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982, with the world’s southernmost coral reef, dramatic volcanic peaks and almost no traffic. Most people travel by bicycle, and connectivity is limited, so visitors should check communications arrangements before travelling.
Capella Lodge is the island’s most luxurious address, with just nine suites at the foot of Mount Gower and Mount Lidgbird, and a maximum of around 20 guests. Because visitor numbers are capped, the September to April season fills months ahead, and flights from Sydney and accommodation need to be secured together. It is the closest thing to a private island that a public destination can offer.
Sumba, Indonesia
Sumba lies a 90-minute flight east of Bali, an island roughly the size of Jamaica that receives only a small fraction of Bali’s visitors. Its landscape of savannah, cliffs and long empty beaches is home to traditional villages where ancestral customs remain part of daily life, and horses are central to the island’s culture. The Pasola, an ancient ritual in which horsemen compete on the beach, is one of the most extraordinary cultural events in Indonesia. It usually takes place in February or March, but its dates are determined locally according to tradition and vary from year to year.
NIHI Sumba, which began as a 10-room surf lodge and has since been recognised with MICHELIN Keys, remains the island’s defining address, with private villas above a long white-sand beach, its own stables and a strong commitment to the island’s communities. Cap Karoso, on the island’s far western tip, offers a more contemporary alternative. Sumba appeals to travellers seeking a different side of Indonesia, where extraordinary landscapes, established local traditions and a small collection of exceptional resorts exist far beyond the country’s busiest tourist routes.
Why Hidden Gems Stay Hidden
None of these islands is secret in the literal sense. What keeps them quiet is that they are hard to reach and deliberately small. Príncipe requires two flights after leaving Europe. Lord Howe caps its visitors by law. Guana keeps its beaches for its own guests. Fogo Island Inn has 29 suites and opens for only part of the year. Sumba is still far from the usual routes through Southeast Asia. Each of these limits protects the experience, and each makes the journey more complicated to arrange. That complexity is the real barrier, and it is also why the best rooms on these islands tend to go to those who plan with care or know whom to ask.
Common Mistakes
Underestimating the journey is the most common. Several of these islands require connecting flights on small aircraft with strict baggage limits, or a boat or ferry transfer, so the journey should be planned as carefully as the stay.
Ignoring the seasons is another. Fogo Island Inn closes for part of the year, Lord Howe’s main season runs from September to April, and Sumba’s Pasola follows a local calendar that changes from year to year.
Booking the room before the flight is a third. On Lord Howe in particular, seats on the small aircraft are as limited as the beds, so the two should be secured together.
Finally, expecting the connectivity of a city hotel. On several of these islands, communications are limited, and the remote setting is part of what guests are paying for.
Planning a Journey to a Hidden Gem
The rewards of these islands come from their remoteness, and so do their complications: small aircraft, limited seats, seasonal openings and a handful of rooms. Arranging the flights, transfers and accommodation as a single, carefully sequenced journey is where planning makes the greatest difference. Private aviation can shorten the longest legs, and a luxury travel concierge can secure the rooms, the transfers and the experiences together. For more ideas beyond the obvious, see unique travel experiences and bespoke travel, and for the year’s great events, including the total solar eclipse over Luxor, the guide to the best places to travel in 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best hidden gem islands in the world?
Among the finest are Príncipe off the coast of Central Africa, Guana Island in the British Virgin Islands, Fogo Island in Canada, Lord Howe Island in Australia and Sumba in Indonesia. Each is remote, small in scale and limited in the number of guests it can host.
Where is Príncipe?
Príncipe is the smaller of the two main islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, an island nation in the Gulf of Guinea off the west coast of Central Africa. The entire island is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
How do you get to Príncipe?
Most travellers from Europe fly to São Tomé, usually via Lisbon, and then take a short domestic flight to Príncipe on a small aircraft.
Which island limits the number of visitors?
Lord Howe Island in Australia allows no more than 400 visitors at any one time, a rule in place since 1981. Guana Island in the British Virgin Islands hosts only around 35 guests and does not allow visiting boaters ashore.
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