Canada
Îles de la Madeleine
Red cliffs crumble into turquoise shallows around an Acadian archipelago of dunes and fishing ports.
Rust-red sandstone drops to water an implausible green. Between the islands, dune roads run past bright houses set against the wind.
The Madelinot islands string lagoons, cliffs and Acadian fishing harbours along one wind-carved arc in the Gulf. Lobster season sets the calendar, and the archipelago feeds itself with rare self-sufficiency: one dairy herd's raw-milk cheeses, and a brewery malting island barley with shore herbs. Ferries and small planes keep arrival part of the adventure.
Couple
Dune roads, cliff sunsets and the islands' own cheese and beer make an easy shared week.
Solo
Ferries, bike routes and harbour cafés give a solo circuit sociable waypoints.
- The archipelago arcs red cliffs, dunes and Acadian harbours through the Gulf of St Lawrence.
- One dairy herd's raw-milk cheeses and a shore-herb brewery feed the islands from within.
- Arrival is by ferry or small plane, and feels earned either way.
Fromagerie du Pied-De-Vent makes raw-milk cheeses from the islands' single dairy herd.
À l'abri de la Tempête brews with island-malted barley, shore herbs and marine algae.
Eigg
Scotland
A community-owned island where a volcanic ridge towers over sands that sing underfoot.
Ly Son Island
Vietnam
A volcanic island quilted in garlic fields stretching toward basalt cliffs and the sea.
Pantelleria
Italy
A volcanic island between Sicily and Tunisia where dammuso houses are built to survive constant wind.
Gökçeada
Turkey
Turkey's largest island: organic vineyards, empty beaches and Greek stone villages coming slowly back to life.
Grasslands National Park
Canada
Unploughed prairie runs to the horizon where bison graze beneath some of Canada's darkest skies.
Clayoquot Sound
Canada
Whales work island channels below forest that has never been cut.
Cathedral Grove
Canada
Douglas firs eight centuries old stand within steps of the island highway.
Kejimkujik National Park
Canada
Dark lakes and old portage routes carry Mi'kmaw history beneath star-rich skies.