Celebrity Island

Pap-free zone ... Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban opted for Bora Bora in Tahiti for their honeymoon, to escape the paparazzi

Howling Hawaii ... despite its rocking scenery, pop singer Christina Aguilera frequents Kuai in Hawaii

Howzat! ... the Aussie cricket team enjoy fun and games at St Vincent in the West indies

Maldives mission ... Tom Cruise and wife Katie Holmes are known to retreat to the Maldives, when they get too 'stressed'

Float your boat ... champagne and lobster beach picnics are a speciality on Turtle Island, Fiji
THERE'S something about an island that will always have romantic connotations – of running away to the South Seas, of buried treasure, of a paradise far from the madding crowd.

Fact is, some desert islands are downright crowded these days, running wall to wall celebrities, not to mention the wannabes who follow in their Havaiana-steps.

Almost all the islands you see the likes of Becks and Posh, Nicole and Keith or "Brangelina" frolicking on are also available to you – for a price, of course.

But if you've got the money, you've got the go to become part of how the other half (half a per cent, that is) lives.

And some celebrities love the privacy of island resorts so much, they buy their own. Mel Gibson bought Mago Island, Fiji, for $17.2m in 2004 as a private hideaway, complete with two lagoons and an eight-lane bowling alley.

The latest couple to join the exclusive island-owners' club is Pitt and Jolie, who secured a man-made island in the Dubai development The World. They have reportedly bought Ethiopia (their two-year-old daughter Zahara was born in the real Ethiopia). Their neighbours will include Richard Branson and Rod Stewart and the islands are priced from $7.7 million to $46.1 million.

Other island owners include Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio. Some of them, such as Branson and, soon, DiCaprio, rent out their islands when they're not there.

The trend started many decades ago and one of the most notable island resort owners was the late Marlon Brando.

He fell in love with Tahiti in 1965 while making the film Mutiny on the Bounty and bought the atoll of Tetiaroa.

The atoll already had a celebrity history in its own culture before Brando came along, as the holiday getaway for the chiefs and kings of Tahiti.

It is rumoured that there is still buried treasure on the island. Brando had the Hotel Tetiaroa Village built there, 13 basic palm thatched fares (villas) that were popular with rich couples who wanted a romantic holiday away from five-star hotels. The resort, however, became very run down and closed in 2004.

Now, however, developer Richard Bailey has bought part of the atoll and will turn it into a luxurious eco-resort called The Brando, scheduled to open next year and include accommodation for 30 couples at $1700 a night.

In the meantime, Brando's son Teihotu, 42, is the only official resident of Tetiaroa and works for Bailey as the atoll's caretaker.

NECKER ISLAND, British Virgin Islands, Caribbean

Necker Island is one of the world's most expensive resorts, owned by billionaire Sir Richard Branson.

Who: Mel Gibson, Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Douglas, Prince Charles.

Where: Fly to San Juan (Puerto Rico), St Thomas, Antigua or Barbados, take a connecting flight to Beef Island, Tortola, than a short launch or helicopter trip to Necker.

Stay: Up to $52,700 a night for 26 people, including meals and drinks, water sports and Internet services, and laundry, too. When there's not an exclusive booking, couples can stay from $25,800 a week.

Random facts: Branson bought the island more than 25 years ago.

MUSHA CAY, Bahamas

Owned by magician David Copperfield, who named Copperfield Bay after himself.

Who: Google founder Sergey Brin was married there this year. John Travolta, Oprah Winfrey.

Stay: Eight people stay for $28,370 a night (extra for more people, up to 24). Minimum three-night stay and $28,647 security deposit. The rate includes food and drink but not airport taxes, tips or phone use.

Random facts: In October, a 22-year-old American woman who had stayed on the island accused Copperfield, 51, of raping her there. He has denied the claims and FBI agents are investigating.

GOLDENEYE RESORT, Oracabessa village, Jamaica

The former home of writer Ian Fleming, who wrote his James Bond novels at Goldeneye Hotel.

Who: Sting, Johnny Depp.

Where: Fly to Kingston Airport and then it's three hours by car to the village of Oracabessa, or take a small plane to Boscobel Aerodrome.

Stay: Ian Fleming's house costs from $2865 a night for up to six people, villas from $756 a night.

Random fact: One of the villas has a media room with a full-sized movie screen and a library of James Bond-only DVDs.