Are you dreaming of sipping daiquiris on a tropical island far, far away?
Us, too.
But while you may not have the luxury of escaping to an exotic paradise on the other side of the world, we do have some good news for you: There's a tropical island near you -- it's just waiting for you to notice it.
Using TravelMath.com, we've calculated which lush, overlooked island is closest to your part of the country -- the hidden spots and unsung heroes of the paradisiacal treasure chest.
They are just a short hop, skip and jump from you, and they are most definitely warmer than where you are right now.
Who knows? You might be on the next flight out.
If you live in the North East, head to Isla de Culebra. Meet Puerto Rico's undiscovered hermanita (little sister) that'll have you wondering why you never thought of traveling here before.
Puerto Rico is less than four hours away from New York, Philadelphia and D.C. by plane, but Isla de Culebra will feel a world away (it's an easy hop from Puerto Rico's main island). Culebra has no towering hotels or resorts: only perfectly-sized villas and white sand beaches for an ideal island life.
culebra
culebra
culebra
If you live in the Midwest, head to Cabbage Key Island. Trade in your blinding blizzards for a car-less, mangrove shaded paradise -- without ever having to leave the country.
The journey to Florida's Cabbage Key Island is only a two and a half hour flight and ferry ride away from Chicago or Milwaukee. But it definitely won't feel like you're in Florida. The privately-operated 100-acre island has no paved roads and no cars, but plenty of charm. Sprawl out on the grass and listen to the gentle waves crash on a wooden dock or clink glasses at the wonderfully run Cabbage Key Inn. Make sure you get a bite of The Original Cheeseburger in Paradise, which helped inspire Jimmy Buffet's famous song and proves that this place really is paradise.
cabbage key florida
beach
twees
If you live in the South, head to the Bimini Islands. You don't need to dive deep into the Bahamas to get that Caribbean glow.
The Bimini Islands sit just east of Miami, practically teasing the mainland with the sweet sounds of steel drums. They're less than three hours away from Atlanta, Houston and Memphis, and a short ferry ride from Miami. Take off in the morning and be shaking your hips to the Caribbean rhythm by the afternoon.
bimini island
bimini island
bimini island
If you live on the West Coast, head to Lanai. Sure, you've probably heard of Hawaii. But it's time you put away your visions of tourist-packed Waikiki and explored the quiet island of Lanai.
Only five hours from San Francisco and Los Angeles, and not much farther from Seattle and Phoenix, Lanai embraces the luxurious resort-life of Maui, but adds the untamed charm that comes from being a lesser-known island. You can sip a Mai Tai poolside, or you can find an empty beach, an empty mountain top or an empty waterfall, and ponder why no one else has been here yet.
hulopoe beach
lanai island
lanai island
Hidden Beach, Puerto Vallarta
Located on the remote Marieta Islands off Puerto Vallarta, this beach was once a military practice site used by the Mexican government in the early 1900s. Now, ecological tours that offer snorkeling and kayaking are the name of the game on "Hidden Beach."
Alter do Chão, Brazil
A popular destination among the smell set of travelers looking to relax in the Amazon, Alter do Chão is an aggressively scenic town in the Para state near the city of Santarém. A perfectly formed sandbar, known as the Island of Love, sits in front of the colorful downtown, drawing tourists out into the moving waters. Travelers won't have the beach to themselves, but the expanse of the Amazon is an amazing thing to contemplate from the inside.
Kaihalulu, Hawaii
Sometimes referred to as Red Sand Beach, Kaihalulu is off the beaten path in the sense that the only way to get there is to take a rather dangerous, winding path along the Maui coast. The reward for anyone daring enough to make the hour or so long trek is having a brick-red swathe of paradise to themselves. Though swimming can be a bit dangerous thanks the tides and undertows, this may be Hawaii's ultimate hang out.
Lofoten, Norway
Certainly the coldest beach to make this list, Lofoten's white sand crescent is no less scenic for abutting the frigid waters that lap Norway's frozen north. As with many beaches in the Lofoten Islands and in other arctic archipelagoes, the beach here looks paint-by-numbers Caribbean. The water is turquoise and the sand a whiter shade of pale. The backdrop, however, is all fjordland drama and pickled herring. Visitors come here from the mainland on the ferry to enjoy the pristine beauty. They do not generally go swimming.
West Island, Keeling Archipelago
A paint smattering of atolls in the southern Indian Ocean, the Keeling Islands are about as close to a tropical paradise as is still accessible to man. Though this Australian protectorate has little infrastructure, there are places to stay on West Island, one of the few specks of land that actually boast a human population. Visitors will find ample bird life and views uninterrupted by, well, anything. The downside is, of course, that getting here is not a picnic. Flights leave the lonely city of Perth on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Cabo Pulmo, Mexico
Though only about 60 miles northeast of Cabo San Lucas, Pulmo National Park is a too rarely visited secret. The long beach cradles a warm, shallow bay thick with life. The backdrop, arid montains and jangling mariachi music. This is what Mexico would be like if it had the same population as Rhode Island. (This slide originally stated that Pulmo was south of Cabo San Lucas. It isn't. That is an ocean.)
Tombua, Angola
To say that there are beaches in Southern Angola is both inarguably true and a bit misleading. The beaches here aren't so much beaches as bays that are part of an unending beach running almost a thousand miles down the west coast of Africa sometimes referred to as the Skeleton Coast. Though the beach south of Tombua is spectacular, it makes this list because -- unlike other portions of this coast -- it is actually accessible, there being a fine line between secluded and unreachable. A little advice: Bring water.
Necker Island, BVI
Though not too far removed from the touristed islands of Virgin Gorda and Tortola, Necker Island's beaches may be the most secluded in the world because there is only one way to get there: Have a ton of money. Virgin Group CEO Richard Branson's island paradise is available to rent if you're sitting on an undisclosed, but certainly absurd, pile of cash or if you're friend's with the ponytailed corporate charmer. It is like that old joke about getting to Symphony Hall if you replace "practice" with "hiding earnings in various tax havens."
Cabo Polonio, Uruguay
If this lonely strip of sand were anywhere else, it'd be chock-a-block with condo development and $500-a-night hotels, packed with gliterati and snow birds griping about high prices and traffic jams. Fortunately, Cabo Polonio is in Uruguay, where its mere geography, hundreds of miles from anywhere, keep it almost untouched, save for the few families that call this windswept point home year round. A few months a year, during the height of the Southern Hemisphere's summer, backpackers and Brazilians make their way here for off-the-grid relaxation and some windsurfing, setting up tents just off the sand and generally making what could only be called a scene in a place where there's no such thing.
Kamaran, Yemen
The pristine sandy beaches and aquamarine waters of Kamaran Island wasn't always secluded. In ages past, this Red Sea hideaway attracted traders making their way towards the bustling ports of East Africa. Thanks to political and social unrest -- booking a flight to Sana'a is neither easy nor advisable -- this obscure corner of the Arabian peninsula is lonelier than ever though no less beautiful. The snorkeling here is excellent and the resort is actually quite lovely. One catch, don't bring your bikini.
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