Marettimo, Sicily

Instead of hit-and-run day trippers, the astonishingly verdant outcrop in the Mediterranean off the west coast of Sicily attracts cultured, long-term visitors. With no cars, nearly no hotels, and a refreshing lack of snobbery compared to other Italian island paradises like Capri or Pantelleria, Marettimo continues to be a very special destination for walkers, scuba divers, and sunbathers seeking a relatively untouched island that is nevertheless accessible. The distance between Trapani passenger port and Trapani airport, which today hosts the majority of low-cost flights between Europe and Sicily, is only a few minutes by bus or cab. From there, it takes little over an hour to travel by hydrofoil to Marettimo.

The island's only town, or "modern" town, is timeless and delightfully uncomplicated. It consists of a scattering of whitewashed houses that tumble down toward the water, shutters painted in blue tones that reflect the pristine sea around them, and a scattering of small fishing boats moored at a dilapidated port. A total of 400 islanders visits during the summer to go fishing, with some coming from as far away as Anchorage, Alaska, where there is a sizable émigré marettimani community. Three hundred people live here year-round. As the season starts, affluent people who return yearly pull their baggage off the hydrofoil and disperse into the maze of streets to set up shop in one of the numerous rooms and mini apartments that locals let visitors stay in.