Horse Island, Ireland
Lying in the Gulf Stream off the village of Schull in County Cork is the remote, blustery Horse Island. It is 65 acres of glorious rugged landscape, with natural picnic places, bathing lagoons and seal colonies.
Three guest houses have beds made from revamped fishing boats. In one bedroom a Jacuzzi has a built-in champagne bucket. There's a sauna with a sea view and a kitchen for cooking fresh lobster or salmon caught yourself. There's a fitness building with a solarium and exercise machines. Apart from a manager and caretaker you have the place to yourself.
A stranded ship, right, offers an alternative bedroom for a romantic night, with a stereo and a library. Lying listening to rain splash on the deck, you can see the Fastnet Rock, a turning point for racing yachts.
The houses have underfloor heating powered by the island's own electricity. It also has its own water supply, pier, tennis court and golf course.
Cost from €4,770 (£3,280) per week for the whole island - it sleeps 12 - or you can hire one of the three cottages, sleeping four, from €1,590 (£1,093).
Contact 00 353 872 667593; www.horse-island.com
SOLD
Hattie Island, Canada
Hole up in the middle of placid Lake Huron in Ontario, with a stay on four-acre Hattie Island.
A great spot for swimming and fishing, you'll be roughing it a little as the cottages don't have electricity, phones or running water - but at least you'll be surrounded by the stuff, and it does have lights, a fridge, gas stove, barbecue, cold showers and an indoor composting toilet.
The three-bedroom main cottage has a kitchen and living room, and there's a one-bedroom guest cottage plus a sauna building and a large decked area for catching the rays of sunshine that bounce off the surrounding water.
You'll be transferred from the mainland by boat, then have the use of a small powerboat during your stay, so you can easily reach the nearby village of Richards Landing on St Joseph Island.
Cost from US$600 (£327) per week, sleeps eight.
Contact Private Islands Online (www.privateislandsonline.com).
The House in the Sea, Cornwall
If being totally cut off from the world on an island lost at sea is likely to bring on agoraphobia, this cute hideaway on Newquay Island, off north Cornwall, is linked to the mainland by a suspension bridge, so you won't feel a total hermit.
The tiny island has an elegantly furnished house with sun terraces from which you can watch the surfers on the mainland and steps leading down to a sandy private beach.
The owners Lord and Lady Long live in the house, but take in one guest couple at a time. You have a sitting room and a romantic double bedroom. Your hosts will arrange dinners in restaurants or prepare a light supper on request.
Cost From £130 for the room per night, sleeps two.
Contact 01637 879754; or through the website www.uniquehomestays.co.uk.
Baron Island, Spain
This Spanish volcanic island is so perfectly formed you can just imagine how the lava bubbled up from the central peak and gushed into the surrounding sea to create a gorgeous, circular retreat.
Hire its whole 220 acres and you have a choice of accommodation to sleep up to 10. There is a five-storey circular tower designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, with three bedrooms, two lounges and a kitchenette, 20 minutes' walk from the coast. Or there are Mediterranean-style cottages and a hunting lodge. Stay self-catered or go full-board.
This nature reserve with tiny beaches is 30 minutes' boat ride from the mainland in a lagoon, near Cartagena. A yacht, a motor boat and watersports gear are provided.
Cost from €1,200pp (£826) a week self-catering. Sleeps up to 10.
Contact Vladi Private Islands (00 49 4033 0000; www.vladi-private-islands.de).
Isla Kiniw, Curaçao
A truly tropical outcrop, this idyllic island lies in Spanish Water Bay in Curaçao and offers only one villa, which of course is as luxurious as you'd expect a Caribbean island retreat to be. Turks Head Mansion is fully staffed and has a private beach, tropical garden, hammocks in an Indian hut and a spacious living area and porch.
Swimming, snorkelling, sailing and waterskiing are available on your doorstep, and the only traffic outside your window is passing marlin and sailfish.
Cost US$4,950 (£2,699) per week, sleeps eight.
Contact Private Islands Online (as before).
