I love island getaways, even if they are the larger islands. We spent our honeymoon on St. Lucia and had a magnificent time there. For our 5th anniversary, we went to Jamaica and had another great time.
I wrote a few months ago about how it was possible to actually redeem with points for a week stay at one of the most exclusive (and well-known) private islands in the world – Necker Island, owned by businessman Richard Branson. Of course it takes a lot of miles for this redemption, but it is certainly doable (Frequent Miler has launched an attempt to earn the miles quickly for this redemption).
Private Greek Island As A Wedding Present
But, why pay to stay at an island if you could just have your own! There are literally thousands of Greek islands and several of them have been for sale. Now, there is one less. Football (soccer for those of us in the US) great Cristiano Rinaldo bought his agent, Jorge Mendes, a Greek island for a wedding present. That is certainly a nice present – especially with reports putting the cost of the island up to €50 million! Of course, you would probably hate the guy if you were there and “only” brought something off of the happy couple’s registry. 🙂
Though the island bought is not known, it was likely similar to one of these amazing islands – Private Islands Online
It is not know which island the manager now owns, but the manager has enough money (in excess of €100 million in net worth) that he should certainly be able to turn the island into a spectacular retreat (though it most likely is already made up with some kind of lodging). The manager is from Portugal so this will be just a quick jump over, perfect for weekend getaways.
Buying Your Own Island?
Surprisingly enough, private islands are not that hard to come by and are not that expensive. The broker (Private Islands Online)that sold this Greek island has many islands for sale and they start at $40,000 for a small island of the coast – a nice little 1 acre sanctuary that you could call your very own! 🙂 The islands go all the way up to $160 million for purchase, so obviously there is a little something for every budget here!
This island could be yours for $40,000! Photo from Private Islands Online
In the meantime, I will just keep using my miles and points for some fantastic island getaways and leave the private island purchases to others. Still, private island ownership has become of greater interest in the last several years so I do not think it is beyond the realm to have more of these destinations pop up with resorts. In Vanuatu (a small island nation in the South Pacific), there are a people there that have been consistently offered huge money from hotel developers for stretches of their beach. They are very interested in building large resorts there but so far the people have resisted (for their lifestyle, money does not mean much at all to them, especially when it comes to giving up their cultural way of life).
HT: Business Insider
