So roadjunkies, lets hear the lowdown on wicked islands to get stuck on. I mean the sorts of places where you arrive planning to spend a couple of nights and quickly realise you 'aint leaving for a couple of weeks... months even. Extra points for places where its not too hard to find a job OR if its really cheap - that works too!
Utila in Honduras. Kick ass diving and fun people... Really cheap and I met plenty of people there who'd found work in the bars etc. If you shell out for a divemaster course you usually get some form of work from your diveschool.
Waiheke Island in NZ. Cool beach settlement, hippies, lots of sun and sand + only a cheap ferry from Auckland. There's some seasonal work around and lots of cafes/etc for odd jobs.
Those are the only two islands i've gotten stuck on so far. Fill this list out a bit folks!
siquijor, philippines, the most beautiful place in the world. really, almost anywhere in the philippines
Neat. Thats not even thaaaat far away. In one week's time I will have finished my degree and uni life for ever. Looking for good places to aim for! Have you been to Siquijor? Tell me some more - is it very off-beat? Backpacker'ish? Touristy?
On the list of islands, Great Barrier in New Zealand should also be added. Like Waiheke its got a super vibe and loads of cool stuff to do - though there are very few people out there. Some good beaches also. There are some mint rocky craigs for climbing, cool forests, kayaking and loads of fishing. Some friends of mine lived out there 'gone wild' style for a month once, just fishing for food/foraging for edible greenery.
http://www.roadjunky.com/guide/1358/trav...d-paradise
Good old roadjunky.com giving you all the info you could ever need...
Anyway, the Philippines has the most beautiful scenery of anywhere in the world, and quite possibly some of the most beautiful ladies. They are very, very friendly as well (just make sure they aren't prostitutes...) Anyway, read the guide and you'll get most of the nuggets i took away from my experience there. I'd very much like to return soon to the islands... One thing that should be edited on that page is that there is actually some weed grown on siquijor, it's just not very easy to find. You'll need to ask a tuk-tuk driver who will probably have to go out of his way to get you some... I stayed at Kiwi dive resort, nice place really... Don't travel with drugs in the philippines. You don't want to go to Filipino jail... Siquijor has some very nice coconut wine as well, I don't know why that wasn't included in the guide...
Had Yuan beach on koh phangan , away from the full moon parties, by no means sucks.
I second Great Barrier island near Auckland, did a stint there on a surf trip, real chill... but almost too quiet.
Great barrier is good to go with some friends, agreed its a quiet spot but thats part of its beauty. There are some cool ideas in this thread. Reading about the Philippines gets me thinking, sounds like my kinda place - lots of scope for immersing myself into local communities. The islands sound siiiick too
You'll probably go there and come back with a filipina wife, man. It's another amzing country. I can't wait to go back someday. Hopefully someday sooner rather than later. Just stay out of the cities.