You can find private islands for sale via Private Islands Inc. or Vladi Private Islands, or by contacting a realtor who specializes in big-ticket sales. Additionally, some high-end real estate companies, like Sotheby's International Realty or Christie's International Real Estate, list private islands for sale.

Adapting to Island Life In the U.S., Canada, the Bahamas, and most of Central America, you can buy an island. Environmental restrictions may limit what you can build on an island, so it helps to find an island with a property that can be grandfathered in, Krolow says.

Islands are being bought and sold all over the world these days, and in some areas, islands are also being given on rent. Buying an island is just like buying a house, just choose the island of your choice and settle down there by paying the price. Buying an island is not as expensive as we think.

More than two years passed before he could get another commission but by then Krolow had 80 islands for sale, in different parts of the world. He also started buying islands himself. He and his company now own more than a dozen islands — in Canada, Panama, Belize and Fiji — which are rented out as holiday lets.