10 Ways To Buy Your Private Island

Long Caye Island
Location: The Caribbean, just off of Belize
Price: $95,000  

If you're going to have to share your island, you may as well have everything set up for you. This is only a quarter-acre parcel on Long Caye, but it comes with a modern home that sleeps eight in one queen and six single bunks. Kitchen equipment, a stereo, coffee maker, ceiling fans and tools for building maintenance are included, as are slightly more important amenities such as a propane-powered hot water heater, water purification unit and a power system. It also includes a 1989 four-cylinder Honda(HMC) Accord as an island car for trips to the mainland. It's not "private" in the grand sense of the word, but it's far enough from the neighbors to feel that way and still close enough to diving spots at Blue Hole and Half Moon Caye to feel a world away.  

Sweet Island
Location: Stuart Lake, British Columbia
Price: $130,000  

Canada can be a pretty sweet deal for private islands, mostly because of the cold and the lack of palm trees and sandy beaches. This island, however, sits in the middle of a lake teeming with rainbow trout, lake trout and sturgeon. There's already an old house on the island with all the necessary amenities, but the words "in disrepair" suggest that some construction may be a sound idea. The three-acre, lofty island would be all yours and just a quick trip away to the tourist town of Fort St. James on the shoreline.  

Birch Island
Location: Moosehead Lake in Greenvile, Maine
Price: $550,000  

Even in the cooler climates, private islands get costlier when they have a U.S. ZIP code. This six-acre island, however, was developed in 1968 and includes a main home as well as guest cabins, boat house, dock, canoe and two motorboats. The log cabin-style big house features a stone wood-burning fireplace, hardwood floors and panoramic lake and mountain views. It's also been on the market a while, and has had its price dropped by $100,000 since last summer.