A year of gay Island hopping: who says summer has to end, just because winter is upon us? Keep the sun-drenched dream alive with our 12-month almanac of worldwide paradises.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

JANUARY

TASMANIA

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHT: January is the time for prime summer sun and warmth in this southernmost Australian state. The 723-mile Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, billed as the world's most grueling ocean race, ends in the island's 200-year-old colonial-style capital, Hobart, with winners announced December 31. The race coincides with the 11-day waterfront Hobart Summer Festival, showcasing the state's gastronomic delights and superb wines, ending January 7.

THE 411: Ruggedly mountainous and sparsely populated, Tasmania is about the same size as Sri Lank& About 20% of the island has been designated a World Heritage Area because it is untouched wilderness. "Tas" sits about 150 miles southeast of the Australian mainland, and about half the population lives in small towns along the northern coast, with roughly the other half around Hobart and the eastern coast. The island is best known for its dense rain forests, wild coastline, and increasingly sophisticated restaurants and boutique wineries. Tasmania was the site of Britain's most feared 19th-century penal colonies, and the ruins of the one in Port Arthur near Hobart are the state's most visited tourist destination. Among the most scenic places to visit are the spectacularly jagged peaks of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park.

HOW GAY?: Saddled with a conservative reputation for many years, Tasmania has moved noticeably leftward, gamely courting the LGBT market. There is, however, not much of a gay scene, and even Hobart has no real gay bars. But antigay discrimination is illegal, and the state offers registration of same-sex relationships.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

INSIDER VIEW: "The laid-back attitude can be conducive for a relaxing holiday, but in rural areas, don't expect to stay out late. Most places stop serving food by about 8 P.M., even in the summer months."--Phillippa Denne, owner and operator (with her life partner) of ML Paul on Freycinet Mountain Lodges

DON'T MISS: Breathtakingly beautiful Wineglass Bay in the Freycinet National Park on the east coast is secluded, untouched, and overshadowed by red and pink granite peaks.

LUXE LODGING PICK: Lesbian-owned Mt. Paul on Freycinet Mountain Lodges make up an environmentally sensitive, luxury retreat set in a lush 1,200-acre woodland. The views take in the soaring red Hazards Mountains and Great Oyster Bay.

FEBRUARY

PHUKET

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHT:

Relatively mild February is when the overpriced and crowded winter high season is ending and before the monsoons come.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

THE 411: Washed by the Andaman Sea on Thailand's western coast, Phuket is the country's largest island. Aside from a pumping nightlife, the relatively well-off island has national parks with virgin rain forest, rubber plantations, limestone cliffs, and broad beaches; it's indisputably the main center for scuba diving in Thailand and considered one of the top 10 dive destinations in the world. Phuket is also one of Southeast Asia's main yachting ports.

HOW GAY?: One of the gayest resorts in Asia, with a huge annual pride parade (dates vary; in 2007 pride festivities took place March 29-April 1), Phuket has a large number of gay and gay-friendly bars, hotels, and guesthouses, mostly concentrated around the Paradise Complex in the Patong Beach area. You'll find a happy cross section of gays from Europe, Australia, and the United States as well as from Asian spots like Singapore.

INSIDER VIEW: "Yes, we have some rain but no typhoons, hurricanes, or tornadoes. This makes it a perfect yachting location."--Joel Martinson, out partner of the gay James Dean Bar and Guest House

DON'T MISS: Stroll around downtown Phuket city for fine examples of Sino-Portuguese architecture.

LUXE LODGING PICK: The Amanpuri Resort's private villas come with live-in maid, cook, teak floors, and breezy verandas. This exclusive resort spa has a 4-to-1 staff-to-guest ratio.

MARCH

PUERTO RICO

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHT: Puerto Rico's peak tourist season, December through April, is safely outside hurricane season, the water is a perfect temperature for swimming or surfing, and the above-wave temperature basks around 80 degrees.

THE 411: This U.S. territory comprises the 3,435-square-mile island of Puerto Rico and a scattering of smaller islands, including Vieques and Culebra. Metropolitan San Juan is home to over half of Puerto Rico's 3.9 million people, yet the capital city and much of the main island retain an Old World ambience. Castilian Spanish rings out through narrow blue-cobblestoned streets, while modern bistros and boutiques flourish and streets teem with cruise-ship crowds.

HOW GAY?: The culture throughout Puerto Rico remains quite closeted, although less so than in most other Caribbean destinations. San Juan is home to the Caribbean's largest queer infrastructure as well as two gay-adored beaches (one by the Atlantic Beach Hotel, the other being the quieter Ocean Park Beach). San Juan's gay scene is being driven by high rents from the traditional gayborhood of Condado to the grittier Santurce area. A well-accepted local gay community thrives on the quiet, 21-mile long, beachy Vieques, where gay-popular inns include the renowned Inn on the Blue Horizon, and lesbian-owned Rainbow Realty offers upscale villa rentals.

INSIDER VIEW: "Vieques Island is a fabulous place to live and visit, as it is safe and welcoming. The weather is almost always perfect."--Lin Wetherby, owner, Rainbow Realty

DON'T MISS: On a moonless night at Vieques's eerily beautiful Cano Hondo, better known as Bioluminescent Bay, millions of blue-white glowing dinoflagellates swirl through the waters like aquatic fireflies.

LUXE LODGING PICK: The sophisticated, gay-friendly Inn on the Blue Horizon is a tropical Shangrila, set on a crescent of white sand with nine antique-filled rooms.

APRIL

SAMOA

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHT:

April 17 marks Flag Day, a major holiday in American Samoa with longboat races, colorful parades, and traditional dances where islanders celebrate a vibrant Polynesian culture infused with U.S. naval history.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

THE 411: Divided between the U.S. Territory of American Samoa and the independent State of Samoa, the stunning Samoan archipelago basks in the South Pacific, west of the Cook Islands and north of Tonga. Despite their different flags, the two entities maintain strong ties. American Samoa% residents live on six of its seven islands and atolls. Samoa% population of 177,000 outnumbers smaller American Samoa's 58,000 residents. Samoa's capital of Apia has a more developed tourism structure than American Samoa, with a plethora of sophisticated lodgings. Divine natural attractions and consistent climate entice most visitors, who can explore lava tubes, rain forests, waterfalls, reefs, and undeveloped beaches.

HOW GAY?: Gay visitors will find it refreshing that gender views are flexible in Polynesia, and especially in the Samoan islands. Unlike in more homophobic Fiji, queerness is a widely accepted part of Samoan culture, and Western gay men are often cruised, not just by transgender locals but also by officially straight men. Nevertheless, local culture tends toward traditionalism.

INSIDER VIEW: "The Samoa islands are the homeland of fa'afafine culture, a Polynesian custom that celebrates transgenderism in society, while conservative public behavior among all genders is still practiced."--Dan Taulapapa McMullin, out artist

DON'T MISS: Occurring only once every four years, the Festival of Pacific Arts tares place duly 20 to August 2, 2008, in Pago Pago, the capital of American Samoa, with dance groups, tattooists, and visual artists from all over the South Pacific.

LUXE LODGING PICK: Ensconced on Samoa's idyllic Upolu Island, the Coconuts Beach Club consists of 22 rooms, suites, and thatched bungalows (with some built over the ocean), and a beachside restaurant famed as one of the best in Samoa.

MAY

REUNION

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHT: May, which sees the dry season hit full swing, makes for perfect hiring conditions yet misses the peak influx of French tourists in late .July and August.

THE 411: Unleashed from the Indian Ocean during a volcanic event 2 1/2 million years ago, the tiny French territory of La Reunion hovers about 500 miles east of Madagascar, far from Americans' travel radar. Its population of 720,000 is a blend of Creole, African, Asian, and European heritages and Catholic, Hindu, and Muslim religions that share a rugged 970-square-mile landscape of mountains, sugarcane fields, and high-altitude forests. Nature lovers can gorge on hikes around the three massive waterfall-rich basins in the island's verdant center or scuba-dive the reefs on its south and west sides. The touristy west coast town of Saint-Gilles, known for its beaches and ocean sports, serves as Reunion's answer to French Riviera hot spot Saint-Tropez.

HOW GAY?: Saint-Denis, the island's administrative capital, has two full-time gay bars, and special LGBT events pop up at clubs around the island. Sun worshippers flock to the white sands of the west coast's gay nude beach, La Souris Chaude ("the Hot Mouse"). Reunion's tourism board, which adopted a gay-friendly welcome charter in 2005, has 45 local business subscribers, making this the Indian Ocean's queer oasis.

INSIDER VIEW: "Family is very important, making it difficult for Creoles to live as [openly gay], but for the new generation things are changing. The homosexuality of Europeans and other visitors does not pose any problem even when it's relatively visible."--Reunion tourism board member Stephane Bonneau, a gay resident

DON'T MISS: Hike around or helicopter above the stunning lava flows of 8,630-foot Piton de la Fournaise ("Furnace Peak"), one of the most active volcanoes in the world.

LUXE LODGING PICK: Tropical Creole villas house the 65 rooms and suites of the secluded Palm Hotel and Spa-renowned for its views of the south's naturally wild Grand Anse beach and indoor-outdoor gourmet dining.

MYKONOS

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHT: June is a good time to enjoy Mykonos's warm summer before hordes of Northern European tourists descend in July and August. Devour feasts of local seafood during the Fishers' Festival of Agii Apostoli on June 30.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

THE 411: The gayest isle in the eastern Mediterranean is a rainbow refuge in a nation where the Eastern Orthodox Church holds considerable political sway. This arid island smack-dab in the middle of the Aegean Sea has a small size that facilitates intimate socializing. You can't help but bump into the same friendly tourists in gay bars, at nude beaches (the main queer one being Elia), and down the main village's famously labyrinthine, whitewashed alleyways. Summer is crazily busy, while the isle shutters completely during the rainy winter.

HOW GAY?: Very. Athenians (both out and closeted) hop high-speed ferries to the isle for sex-and-sand weekends. Mykonos is home to the only two exclusively gay hotels in all of Greece, the Elysium and the Geranium, as well as tons of gay-friendly B&Bs, villas, and vacation rentals. Chatty, packed pubs dominate instead of clubs and DJs.

INSIDER VIEW: "The Mykonos people were always very open-minded and tolerant. I think it's the island's history of being a multicultural center of trade and commerce."--Vassilis Chouliaras, owner of the Elysium Hotel

DON'T MISS: Mykonos's uninhabited neighbor island of Delos (a short ferry ride away), birthplace of the studly sun god Apollo and his twin sister, Artemis, goddess of the moon. The tiny isle has a 4,000-year history and once thrived as a major spiritual and commercial center, as evidenced by its incredible ruins of temples, mansions, and statuaries.

LUXE LODGING PICK: Perched on a bluff over the Aegean, the Santa Marina Resort is one of the finest in Greece, with 97 rooms, suites, and villas; pools with ocean views; a full spa; private yacht rentals; and helicopter service from Athens.

JULY

MALTA

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHT: July is the apex of the island's summer festival season, bringing the Malta Jazz Festival and the kickoff of the three-week Malta Arts Festival.

THE 411: Seven thousand years of history give mythic texture to the sun-dappled Republic of Malta, an archipelago home to 400,000 residents in the Mediterranean Sea. Prehistoric temples, underground churches, and fortresses built by the Knights of St. John in the 16th-century capital city of Valletta (on the island of Malta) form a smorgasbord of World Heritage sites. There are far more churches (365) than beaches in this Roman Catholic stronghold, contributing to a less hedonistic tone than that of other Mediterranean resorts. However, joining the European Union in 2004 went a long way to boost Malta's tourism appeal-particularly with young Europeans who come to frolic by the sea.

HOW GAY?: LGBT nightlife is scattered on the island of Malta, with the oldest queer establishment, Tom Bar, situated outside the capital in Floriana, while a showy newcomer, club Klozet, has taken up residence in Paceville. St. Julian's is home to the gay-owned Adams Hotel and Bar. Catholic dominance makes the equality battle a struggle for the group called the Malta Gay Rights Movement, but its small gay pride marches started in 2004.

INSIDER VIEW: "The Maltese are, at heart, party people. The club scene is generally hetero-dominated, but this does not hold the GLBT community back."--AI "Chunky" Buhagiar, gay DJ, event promoter, and Malta native

DON'T MISS: Take a break at Fontanella, a locally beloved teahouse set into the medieval walls of Mdina, Malta's oldest fortified city. The cakes rival the sweeping island views from the hilltop location.

LUXE LODGING PICK: The still-expanding Hilton Malta in St. Julian's rules the high-end market with recently updated rooms and suites overlooking the Med, plus three outdoor pools, five restaurants, and an aquatic sports club.

AUGUST

IBIZA

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHT: San Ciriacois Day, in honor of the patron saint of the isle, is marked on August 8 with floats, parades, and fireworks.

THE 411: The isle that never sleeps, Ibiza (pronounced "ee-beeth-a" with a lilting Castilian lisp) is famous the world over as Mediterranean party central, where young Euros go to lose sleep and groove all night in monolithic clubs (thankfully located out of town), only to collapse on the mellow beaches during the day to recharge before beginning the whole cycle again. One of the Balearic Islands off the southeastern coast of Spain, Ibiza offers geographical splendors such as steep cliffs, dramatic rock isles, and tucked-away beach coves. And the main town of Eivissa bears hallmarks of an ancient history: There's an old town with an abandoned castle peering over the goings-on, and winding, cobblestone streets harbor old-world Spanish architecture.

HOW GAY?: Ibiza's party scene, although hetero-dominated, is heartily homo as well, with more gay nightlife than Mykonos and a social queer beach and restaurant scene at Chiringay.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

INSIDER VIEW: "Ibiza is not a ghetto the way people think it is. People think it's only for drugs and sex, but it's a place for sun, diversions, good food, and culture too."--Vincent Momal, manager, Ibigay.net

DON'T MISS: Privilege, the world's largest nightclub, has a capacity of 10,000, a DJ booth jutting over a swimming pool, Broadway-worthy stage shows, and multiple dance rooms. The largely hetero scene is worth a peek for the spectacle if nothing else.

LUXE LODGING PICK: The chic 65-room Hotel Hacienda, perched on a sea cliff, hosts an outdoor spa with heated seawater pools and waterfalls, gourmet restaurants, and rooms with Arabic arches and expansive ocean views.

SEPTEMBER

CURACAO

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHT: The annual gay Get Wet weekend in late September has parties, beach outings, and movie screenings under the stars.

THE 411: Floating serenely about 40 miles north of Venezuela on the outer fringe of the Caribbean's hurricane belt, Curacao is the arid, hilly government seat of the five-isle Netherlands Antilles. Candy-colored Dutch architecture lines the capital city of Willemstad, where a floating pedestrian bridge connects the 17th-century tourist-centric Punda district with the now-gentrifying 18th-century Otrobanda section. Dutch influences permeate the culture, but most of its 138,000 residents also speak a local Creole as well as English and Spanish. History and culture vie for attention with Curacao's 35-plus beaches and, only a few fin kicks offshore, a kaleidoscope of coral reefs.

HOW GAY?: There is only one full-time gay bar-Lyrics, in Willemstad-but the island mantra Biba i laga biba ("Live and let live") and a three-year-old gay tourism push make Curacao one of the Caribbean's most queer-welcoming destinations.

INSIDER VIEW: "We've learned from our ancestors how to dictate our own steps and don't let outside forces--money, tourism, Holland--do that for us. That is why we've maintained our cultural heritage."--Kurt Schoop, founding member of the LGBT event producer Curacao Gay Plasa

DON'T MISS: Rent a car to spend time in Banda Abou in the less-populated northwest, where postcard-perfect beaches like Cas Abou and Kenepa hug the coast and marigold-colored 17th-century plantation houses share the terrain with giant kadushi cactus.

LUXE LODGING PICK: Gay-owned Hotel Kura Hulanda Spa and Casino has 80 upscale rooms, a lagoon pool, and four indoor-outdoor restaurants tucked into a UNESCO World Heritage site of 65 multihued 18th- and 19th-century Dutch buildings.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

OCTOBER

SALT SPRING ISLAND

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHT: October sees both the Grape Harvest Ball and the Apple Harvest Festival. Over 350 different apple varieties grow on the organics-obsessed 74-square-mile island.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

THE 411: The largest of the Southern Gulf Islands sits between British Columbia's mainland and Vancouver Bland. Funky, tolerant Salt Spring has long attracted those in search of safe harbor. Settled in the 1850s by disappointed gold prospectors, the island traces its black history back to 1857, when a group of nine African-American slaves landed at Vesuvius in the north of the island. The 20th century added communities of Japanese fishermen, hippies, artisans, queers, and U.S. draft dodgers, creating the idiosyncratic Salt Spring of today. The forested island's main town, Ganges, home to 6,000 of the island's 10,000 residents, offers several good inns and restaurants as well as a motley array of quirky and quaint options, including gay-owned B&Bs. Produce stands selling honey, flowers, eggs, and apples line island roads. Turn off those roads and discover 32 sandy beaches and many vineyards responsible for increasingly good Pinot Noir.

HOW GAY?: Salt Spring has a prominent LGBT population, many of whom join in events organized by GLOSSI, the island's gay and lesbian group. A small but perfect pride celebration takes place in September with an art show, concert, picnic, and dance.

INSIDER VIEW: "When I take the ferry back home to Salt Spring, I feel like kissing the ground on arrival. Where else can I live in such beauty, eat great food, start a wacky business, and feel surprised when I encounter someone homophobic?"--Julia Grace, artisan cheese maker of lesbian-owned Moonstruck Organic Cheese

DON'T MISS: Thousands descend on Ganges's famed Saturday market to stock up on food, crafts, and art, all of which must adhere to the strict "make it, bake it, or grow it on a Gulf Island" rule.

LUXE LODGING PICK: By far the island's most luxe lodgings are at the Hastings House Country House Hotel-an 18-suite luxury hotel, spa, and restaurant set on 22 acres on Ganges Harbor.

NOVEMBER

FERNANDO DE NORONHA 

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHT: November is the sunniest month of the year--and among the driest--on this exclusive and remote Brazilian island. With no rain to kick up sediment, the water is especially clear for diving.

THE 411: Two hundred miles off Brazil's northeastern tip, this former island penal colony was fought over by the British, French, Dutch, and Portuguese for centuries. Few Americans know of this spectacular 2J-isle archipelago, its only inhabited island being volcanic Fernando de Noronha, home to only around 2,100 people and a handful of bars, shops, and restaurants. The archipelago's environmentally protected status, distance from the mainland, and expense keep tourism at bay, though demand still outstrips its official limit of 400 visitors at any one time, with a long waiting list. (Celebs like Naomi Campbell, Calvin Klein, and photographer Mario Testino vacation here.) Lodging is found among 100 tiny posadas--most are private residences--yielding only a few hundred rooms altogether. Dramatic, jagged black cliffs jut out along virtually abandoned beaches, their higher points coated with tropical vegetation that reaches into the island's verdant jungle interior, nearly 70% of which is declared off-limits to development. The archipelago's crystal waters and exotic fish and turtle species make the islands among the best dive spots on earth.

HOW GAY?: With so few visitors, the island is not very gay, but you'll come across gay staff at hotels and gay cognoscenti from Brazil and beyond.

INSIDER VIEW: "I must say it's one of the most beautiful islands in all of Brazil. The sea is very dean and clear. I recommend combining visits to the island with gay-happening cities on the mainland like Recife, Pernambuco's state capital."--Dan Littauer, owner, gay travel company G Brazil

DON'T MISS: Dolphin Bay, on the northwest side of the island, is home to spinner dolphins that congregate in numbers unmatched virtually anywhere else on earth.

LUXE LODGING PICK: With architecture and environmentally conscious grounds integrated into sea cliffs, the most exclusive resort is the Pousada Maravilha. Just three deluxe apartments and five private, isolated bungalows are scattered around a main lodge.

DECEMBER

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

MARTHA'S VINEYARD

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHT: From December 7 to 9, the Christmas in Edgartown celebration hosts cocktail parties, concerts, a Christmas Ball, and a chowder contest.

THE 411: Often overlooked by gay travelers in their haste to get to nearby Provincetown, this 100-square-mile island is just 45 minutes from the mainland via a ferry that runs year-round from Woods Hole, Mass. The isle has long been a haven for discerning travelers like the Clintons, Carly Simon, Spike Lee, and Sharon Stone. Winter shows the Vineyard at its frosty finest, without the crowds and traffic snarls that clog up the island in summer. (The winter population drops to 15,000 from summer's clamorous 75,000 or more.) The weather is perfect for brisk walks to the lighthouses and cozy drinks by the fireplace in a historic inn.

HOW GAY?: With the advent of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, Martha's Vineyard has become increasingly popular with gay travelers as a honeymoon escape. Although gay-specific entertainment options don't abound, a duo of elegant gay-owned inns, Lambert's Cove Inn & Restaurant and the Shiverick Inn, provide excellent accommodations.

INSIDER VIEW: "My husband and I love winter on-island. It feels like we have the whole island to ourselves."--Stuart Smith, designer and frequent visitor

DON'T MISS: Spend a crisp winter morning at the wonderfully peaceful Mytoi Garden, a 14-acre Japanese-inspired hideaway in the Nature Preserve on Chappaquiddick, a tiny island accessed by a two-minute ferry ride from Edgartown.

LUXE LODGING PICK: The 15-room Lambert's Cove Inn in West Tisbury is a luxurious boutique hideaway. This sophisticated gay-owned property boasts Thyme's eucalyptus-scented amenities, 500-thread-count Egyptian-cotton linens, and feather beds. And the inn's 70-seat restaurant features an outstanding contemporary American menu.