Juan Fernandez Islands

The Juan Fernandez Islands were used as the basis for Robinson Crusoe –Daniel Defoe’s classic novel. However, tourism has never really taken off here, despite the fact that it is much closer to the mainland than Easter Island. Named after the Portuguese sailor who found it in the 16th-century, the volcanic islands are valued most for their remoteness, by those who really want to get off the tourist track. Access is via a bumpy two to two and a half hour flight on a light aircraft, and only a determined couple hundred tourists make it here each year - an average of one or two per day. The only inhabited island in the Archipelago is Isla Robinson Crusoe. Most of the 500 inhabitants live in the main town of San Juan Bautista, towards the east of the island. This is where most visitors stay too, and you could sit for hours watching the fishermen go about their daily lives. From the village, you can walk up to the Mirador Alejandro Selkirk, the lookout point from where Selkirk scoured the horizon for ships. It's a nice 3km hike through forest, which takes around an hour and a half in total. Playa Arenal is the island's only sandy beach, and a lovely place to hang out for a couple of days. It is surrounded by crystal-clear waters, which are great for swimming. Most visitors come to the Archipelago between October and March, when the sea is warm enough to swim and the weather is mild.