Anyone been the the beautiful Australian island paradise called Lord Howe Island off the coast of eastern Australia? Looks so inviting. Should I put this on my bucket list?

[u/ISwallowedABug412]

[u/Proud_Relief_9359]

Went there last year. It is a very expensive holiday because everything has to be brought in by plane or boat. Meals that would cost $30 in Sydney cost $50-$60 there.

But it is truly as beautiful as it looks in the photos, and very sedate and calm. You can climb that mountain you see in the background of the photo, it is a hard day trip but people in their 60s were doing it without issues and the views and wildlife are spectacular.

Amazing diving and coral that you can pretty much see from the shore, though it’s better with a dive boat.

If it is a bucket list item, my advice would be to go soon. The tiny local community there is a bit split between people who want to keep it as a low-key, borderline affordable destination, and others who want to go WAY WAY upmarket. A few very expensive and exclusive resorts have opened in recent years. All sides seem to agree that they don’t want more than 400 residents at any one time.

My bet is that this is going to lead quite soon to it becoming a Mustique-style hangout for celebrities and the super rich. It is extremely private, gorgeous, and fundamentally expensive because of the location. “Supply” of living on LHI is very limited — only 400 people! — but as far as “demand” goes, the sky is the limit. It is a unique place in the world and the only real drawback is that the airstrip is small so it is only really reachable from Sydney.

When demand runs way ahead of supply the result is soaring prices. At the moment I would guess tourism there is pretty much run at cost. Our hotel owner was from an old island family who had been planting palms since the 1830s, so had lots of “assets” but seemed to live a pretty normal middle-class life — the only luxury being boarding high school for the kids on the mainland, which I would imagine is pretty much a necessity given the limited educational options on the island. But she had a brother who is currently building a very, very luxey resort, and that is where I think it is heading soon.

The island has been kept somewhat-affordable for a generation by social norms, basically, but I think quite soon the laws of economics will make it very, very exclusive.

[u/ISwallowedABug412 → u/Proud_Relief_9359]

Thank you so much for that information. Would you consider a place to go to just relax and sit on the beach? There doesn’t seem to be that much to do. Yes, hiking the mountain. I would do that. But basically you’re there just to relax. Correct?

[u/Proud_Relief_9359 → u/ISwallowedABug412]

Yup. There is literally nothing to do other than lounge on the beach except hike or snorkel/dive/fish. There is a golf course if you are in to that, but really it is just an amazing place to unplug and unwind. Which is perfect!