Anyone who has ever lived in a country that experiences a cold season can probably relate to the bombardment of commercials that advertise the sunny Tropical Islands that tempt Vitamin B starved people at the height of a cold winter to splash out on a summer holiday – immediately!
You know, you’re sitting in front of a heater freezing your arse off, and all of a sudden, there is a series of advertisements showing a warm sunny location with lots of people in skimpy swimsuits lazing on the beach all day (usually, they are promoting an expensive tourist trap). Hell, some people travel around the world only visiting tropical islands just so they can avoid winter at all costs! Lazy sods!
Anyway, I’ve been to a few tropical islands already and have thoroughly enjoyed just chilling out there – for example, places in the South Pacific like Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu. I like these places because the locals are friendly, the lifestyle is laid back, and the local beers are excellent (by the way, the beers I’m talking about are Vomo, Vailima and Tusker respectively!). There’s nothing like sitting back and sinking an ice cold beer on a hot and humid day.
Other examples of tropical islands that come to mind are The Maldives, Tahiti, Seychelles (all heavily marketed to couples or honeymooners – and probably responsible for large spikes in the birth rate!), islands of Thailand and Indonesia (with the most famous being Bali), Hawaii and the tonne of islands located in the Caribbean. Wikipedia says there are over 45,000 tropical islands on the planet, and I’m sure that some sun seeking travel addicts spend their lives trying to visit every single one of them. Which means they’re a prime candidate for skin cancer later on in life!
I grew up in a tropical area in northern Australia, so I can be a little bit blase about good, hot weather. I do like the beach now and then, but I don’t want to spend my entire life sunbaking on it! Just a nice little dip in the ocean now and then will keep me happy!
Tropical Islands that don’t meet the Travel Brochure Images!
However, the reality is that a lot of tropical islands are so far removed from the notion or the mental image of paradise, despite first impressions. In fact, for a multitude of reasons, mass tourism avoids some of these places like the plague.
Here is a list of some of them – the tropical islands you will probably never visit.
Nauru, South Pacific
To be fair, parts of Nauru would be nice – that is, what’s left of it. This small South Pacific Island nation (it’s only 21 square kilometres) used to be one of the wealthiest places in the world because of the phosphate mining there (the phosphate occurred there as a result from the droppings of seabirds – phosphate is a main component of fertiliser). However, large areas of the island have been strip mined (and tourists don’t want to see an old mining area in the Pacific) and now there is 90% unemployment. Once the mining stopped, so did the money. These days, it’s main source of income is international aid and the boat people refugee detention centre there that the Australian Government uses for processing. Anyway, see more at Nauru Tourism!
Bikini Atoll
Firstly, you probably won’t be allowed to visit Bikini Atoll, which is part of the Marshall Islands. This place was used for over 20 nuclear tests by the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, so unless you want to create two headed kids, you probably won’t have this place on your list of tropical islands to visit. It’s still not safe for people to permanently reside at Bikini Atoll, even after a few decades since the tests. The largest ever nuclear test undertaken by the United States was undertaken here. Ironically, the bikini two-piece swimsuit was hurriedly introduced within days of the first nuclear test on the atoll, when the name of the island was in the news. Wow, there’s nothing like blowing the crap out of a place to enhance a skimpy piece of swimwear! Also check out the Marshall Islands Visitor Authority page.
Haiti
Poor old Haiti. The first thing that comes into everyone’s head is the tragic 2010 earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands of people and left over a million people homeless. After the earthquake, many more died from diseases like cholera and the resultant fevers and dehydration. However, this massive world event was only good enough to keep media’s attention for only a couple of weeks, and the locals are still doing it tough. I can’t see Haiti being a tourist hot spot any time soon. But if you’re interested, check out Haiti Tourism.
Banda Aceh, Indonesia
I’ve been to Banda Aceh, which is located at the western end of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Once again, this place has an image problem because of the 2004 Tsunami natural disaster that decimated the place. I’ll never forget the images that were beamed into my television showing the utter devastation after the wave. I found it quite moving to visit Banda Aceh five years after the tsunami, and was impressed by the resilience of the people. Unfortunately, tragic events like this often spells the death knell for local tourism, even though the risk of them happening again might be relatively low. In my opinion, it’s worth having a look here because the locals are friendly and food is tasty. Plus you’ll probably have the place to yourself. Also, check out the nearby island of Pulau Weh. See more at Banda Aceh Tourism.
Sao Tome and Principe
Ever heard of this place? Most people haven’t. Sao Tome and Principe is actually a country of two main islands off the western coast of equatorial Africa. There’s nothing particularly wrong with the place – tourism infrastructure is pretty rudimentary and it costs a lot to fly there because it’s out of the way of everywhere else – which makes it appealing to me! See more at Sao Tome E Principe Tourism.
How About Some More Tropical Islands?
How about you? Have you visited a tropical island that doesn’t meet the tourist brochure image, or alternatively, come across a hidden gem that’s worth visiting but is very underrated? Leave a comment and let us all know!
Love this post! I recently had the pleasure of visiting Anegada in the British Virgin Islands. It is the most eastern of the BVIs and the flattest, only 27 feet above sea level at its highest. While its beautiful beaches are postcard perfect, this love island is still under the radar of most people visiting the Virgin Islands, mostly because it does take a little extra effort and planning to get to it. But it’s well worth the effort. It’s quiet and uncrowded, but all the locals were very friendly and loved to tell you about their island and hear what you thought of it. My friends and I stayed at Neptune’s Treasure, run by the delightful couple, Mark and Pam. I used the BVI Tourism page quite a bit as it has a lot of useful information on all the BVI islands: https://www.bvitourism.com/.
Cool, I’ll add this one to the list!