Private Island Rentals 2026: Ten Exclusive-Use Islands and What They Actually Cost
Renting a whole island is the most expensive way to sleep a group of people and, per head, often not the most expensive. Ten islands that sell exclusive use, with the rates their owners publish, the ones they will not, and what the difference means.
In this guide
Ten islands you can rent whole
Every rate below is either published by the owner or its broker, or a figure reported by a named publication; the table says which. Capacities are the owner's. Each island name links to the rate page or the official site. Where an owner will not publish a rate, we say so rather than guess.
| Island | Sleeps | Exclusive-use rate | Minimum stay | Access and inclusions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Necker IslandBritish Virgin Islands · Virgin Limited Edition | Up to 48 guests in 28 bedrooms; 56 adults plus 14 children for events | Not published. US$140,000 a night reported by Spear's (2025) | Not published | Boat from Beef Island (Tortola) or Virgin Gorda airports, included. All meals, drinks, staff, watersports, tennis and padel, one boat excursion, kids' club |
| Calivigny IslandGrenada · 80 acres | Up to 40 in the Beach House (10 suites), Overhang House (9) and three cottages | From US$132,000 a night excluding tax (broker listing, 2026) | Exclusive use only; minimum not published | 15-minute boat from Maurice Bishop International. French kitchen, house wines and cocktails, watersports fleet, tennis, gym |
| Musha CayExumas, Bahamas · David Copperfield | Up to 25 guests across five houses on a 700-acre archipelago | On request. US$60,000 a night reported (2023) | Not published | Fly to Exuma (GGT), then short charter flight or boat; direct private flights to the island possible |
| Thanda IslandTanzania · Shungimbili Marine Reserve | Up to 24: ten in the villa, eight in two bandas, six aboard the catamaran Umoja | US$40,750 to $54,500 a night (2026 rate sheet) | 3 nights off-peak; 7 nights 14 Dec 2026 to 10 Jan 2027 | Fixed-wing flight Dar es Salaam to Mafia Island and transfer included; all meals, wines and spirits, spa, diving, whale-shark swims. Conservation and marine-park levies extra |
| Cayo EspantoBelize · off Ambergris Caye | Up to 18 in six villas and one overwater bungalow | US$19,995 to $25,995 a night full-island (2026); $20,995 to $26,995 (2027). Plus 9% tax and 15% service | 4 nights; 7 over holidays | Belize City to San Pedro, then scheduled daytime boat. Butler, three meals a day, rack-bar drinks, beer and soft drinks; wine and champagne extra |
| NukutepipiTuamotus, French Polynesia · Guy Laliberté | Up to 52 in 16 residences on a 1,000-acre atoll | On request. About US$1.1 million a week reported by Robb Report | One week in practice | International to Tahiti, then private aircraft only. Full staff, chef, spa, watersports |
| Kokomo Private IslandKadavu, Fiji · Great Astrolabe Reef | Five residences and 21 beachfront villas on 140 acres | On request. US$150,000 a night quoted when buyouts launched (2020) | Not published | Seaplane or helicopter from Nadi. Resort-wide inclusions on buyout |
| Fregate Island PrivateSeychelles · 541 acres | Up to 44 in 17 residences | Buyout on request; villas from about €4,000 a night | Not published | 15-minute helicopter or 90-minute boat from Mahé. Seven beaches, giant tortoises, conservation programme |
| North IslandSeychelles · 500 acres | Up to 22 in 11 villas | Buyout on request; villas from about €6,000 a night | Not published | Helicopter from Mahé. Eleven 450 m² villas plus the 750 m² Villa North Island |
| Velaa Private IslandNoonu Atoll, Maldives | 47 villas, houses and residences | Buyout on request. About US$1 million a week reported by Robb Report | Not published | 45-minute seaplane from Malé, or private jet to Maafaru then speedboat |
No island on this page has paid to appear. Placement on this publication's comparison pages is labelled where it applies.
What the numbers actually say
The headline rate is the wrong number. Divide by capacity and the field compresses: Cayo Espanto at full occupancy is about US$1,100 per guest per night, Thanda about $1,700, Calivigny $3,300, Necker $2,900, Musha Cay $2,400. Per guest, a full Necker costs less than many Maldives overwater villas we cover in the Maldives guide. The islands are expensive because they are big, not because they are extravagant per head.
Two other things move the bill. Tax and service: Cayo Espanto's 9 per cent plus 15 per cent turns $19,995 into roughly $25,000 before you have ordered a bottle of wine, which is extra. And minimum stays: Thanda's seven-night peak minimum from 14 December makes a Christmas week a $380,000 commitment before levies. The villa-inclusions checklist applies here word for word.
By region
Caribbean and Bahamas
Necker is the famous one and the only island here with a proper events capacity: 56 adults and 14 children. Calivigny, off Grenada, is the discreet alternative, exclusive-use only, with a French kitchen and a fifteen-minute boat from the international airport; the broker Vladi Private Islands lists it from US$132,000 a night. Musha Cay is smaller, 25 guests in five houses, on an archipelago with forty beaches, and Cayo Espanto in Belize is the entry point to the category and the only one that publishes a full rate card.
Indian Ocean and Africa
Thanda's 2026 rate sheet is the most transparent document in this market: US$40,750 to $54,500 a night for up to 24 guests, the Dar es Salaam to Mafia Island flight included, VAT included, conservation levy of $150 per person and a marine-park levy of $23.60 per person per day on top. The Seychelles pair, Fregate (44 guests, 17 residences) and North Island (22 guests, 11 villas), quote buyouts on request; villas start at roughly €4,000 and €6,000 a night respectively, which gives a floor. Velaa in the Maldives has 47 villas and a reported seven-figure weekly buyout; Robb Report put it at about US$1 million a week.
Pacific
Nukutepipi, Guy Laliberté's atoll in the Tuamotus, is the largest buyout here at 52 guests and the only one reached by private aircraft from Tahiti; Robb Report reported about US$1.1 million a week. Kokomo, on Fiji's Great Astrolabe Reef, quoted US$150,000 a night when it launched whole-island buyouts in 2020 and now prices on request. Laucala, the other Fijian name in this category, is closed and, per its broker, reopens in October 2027; its 2020 buyout package, ten villas for a week with a private Fiji Airways A350 from Los Angeles, was reported by Forbes at US$682,000.
How to book one without overpaying
- Ask for the per-guest number, not the per-night one. Owners quote the island; you are paying for beds. A 48-guest island at 20 guests is the dearest way to sleep twenty people anywhere.
- Get the exclusions in writing before the deposit. Local tax, service charge, wine, motorised watersports, conservation levies and the transfer are the five lines that move. Thanda and Cayo Espanto list them; most do not.
- Use a broker for the ones that will not publish. Vladi Private Islands and Private Islands Online between them list several hundred rentable islands and will get a buyout quote from owners who ignore direct enquiries. Our villa-booking guide covers deposit and cancellation norms that apply equally here.
- Check the season against the minimum. Peak minimums of seven nights at Christmas are standard. Shoulder months often halve the commitment.
- Plan the approach like a flight, not an afterthought. Seaplanes and helicopters stop at dusk; Cayo Espanto's boat is daytime only. A missed connection at Nadi or Dar can cost a night of a five-figure rate. For very large groups the charter route-price index tells you what the positioning leg costs.
Where the island beats the villa: at 30-plus guests. Below that, a large estate from our group-villa guide usually costs a third as much for the same beds. An island is a decision about privacy and logistics, not about accommodation.
Questions readers ask
How much does it cost to rent a private island?
Published whole-island rates in 2026 run from about US$20,000 a night for Cayo Espanto in Belize (18 guests) to US$132,000 a night for Calivigny in Grenada (40 guests). Necker, Kokomo and Musha Cay do not publish rates; reported figures sit between US$60,000 and $150,000 a night. Per guest per night, the spread is roughly $1,100 to $3,300.
Which private islands can you rent whole?
Necker Island, Calivigny, Musha Cay, Thanda Island, Cayo Espanto, Nukutepipi, Kokomo, Fregate, North Island and Velaa all offer exclusive use. Calivigny is rented on exclusive use only; the others also sell individual villas. Laucala in Fiji is closed for redevelopment until October 2027.
How much is Necker Island to rent?
Virgin Limited Edition does not publish the exclusive-use rate. Spear's reported US$140,000 a night in 2025. Exclusive use covers up to 48 guests in 28 bedrooms, extendable to 56 adults and 14 children for events, and includes all meals, drinks, staff, watersports and the boat transfer from Tortola or Virgin Gorda.
What is the cheapest private island to rent?
Cayo Espanto in Belize publishes a full-island rate of US$19,995 to $25,995 a night for 2026, plus 9 per cent tax and a 15 per cent service charge, with a four-night minimum. It sleeps 18. Nothing else on this page publishes a whole-island figure below US$40,000.
What is included in a private island buyout?
Almost always the staff, all meals and non-motorised watersports; usually the transfer from the nearest airport by boat, helicopter or fixed-wing; often house wine and spirits. The exceptions matter: Cayo Espanto charges for wine and champagne, Thanda adds conservation and marine-park levies, and most quote before local tax.
How many guests can a private island sleep?
From 18 at Cayo Espanto to 52 at Nukutepipi. Necker takes 48 as standard, Fregate 44, Calivigny 40, Musha Cay 25, Thanda 24 and North Island 22. Capacity, not price, is usually what decides between them: the per-guest cost of a full Necker and a full Cayo Espanto is closer than the headline rates suggest.
Do you need a private jet to reach a private island?
Only for Nukutepipi, which is private-aircraft access from Tahiti. Everything else is reached by scheduled flight to a regional airport followed by a boat, helicopter or seaplane that the island arranges, usually included in the buyout. Musha Cay can also take direct private flights.
Rates and capacities were taken from owner and broker pages and named publications on 14 September 2026; reported figures are marked as such and have not been confirmed by the owner. This page contains no affiliate links. See the disclosure page.