Mention a private island and the mind immediately goes to the Caribbean…
A white-sand beach. A sprawling villa. Perhaps a yacht tied up at the end of the dock. And a price tag with more zeros than most of us would care to count.
But there are other possibilities…
Across northern Europe, thousands of small islands lie scattered through sheltered bays and inland lakes. Many are only a short boat ride from the mainland. And some come with cottages, docks and even their own saunas.
They aren’t billionaire playgrounds.
They are simple places where you can swim from your own shoreline…fish from the dock…or sit outside in the evening without another house in sight.
And they can be surprisingly affordable.
My team recently came across three private islands that show just how varied—and attainable—island ownership can be.
One sits on a forest-fringed lake in central Sweden. Another is a smaller affair in Finland that’s on the market for the price of a car.
But let’s begin with a 10-acre retreat in Clew Bay, on Ireland’s wild west coast.
A 10-Acre Island in Clew Bay, Ireland
Clew Bay is one of the great landscapes of Ireland’s Atlantic coast.
The mountain of Croagh Patrick rises above the southern shore. The Nephin Beg mountains frame the bay to the north. And between them, the water is scattered with scores of little islands.
One of those islands—Innishchoragh—is now for sale.
The property covers about 10 acres and comes with its own pier and a two-bedroom home measuring 1,150 square feet.
The house includes an extension built in 2016.
Inside, there’s an open-plan kitchen, dining and sitting area, as well as an office and a dedicated telescope-viewing space.
Out here, your entertainment is the sky, the sea, and the mountains.
The house operates off-grid, using solar power with a backup generator. Water is collected from the roof and stored underground.
The island is reached by a boat journey of about 10 minutes. Westport is 10.5 miles away, so you could spend the day in town and still retreat to complete privacy that evening.
Westport is known for its pubs, restaurants and handsome Georgian center. It is also the eastern gateway to the Great Western Greenway, which follows the coast toward Achill Island.
From Innishchoragh, you would have kayaking, fishing and the sheltered waters of Clew Bay on your doorstep.
The asking price is €550,000 (about $639,000).
That isn’t pocket change. But for a 10-acre private island with a comfortable house, pier and proximity to Westport, it is a very different proposition from the multimillion-dollar islands we usually see advertised.
See the Innishchoragh Island listing here.
A Furnished Island Hideaway in Sweden
For our second island, we move from Ireland’s Atlantic coast to the forests and lakes of central Sweden.
The Hällefors Municipalitylies in Örebro County, roughly 155 miles west of Stockholm. This is quiet, sparsely populated country, with dense woodland, clear lakes and the kind of long summer evenings Scandinavia does so well.
On Stora Högsjön lake, an island called Vilarön is being offered for sale.
The island covers a quarter of an acre and has docks and outdoor sitting areas positioned in different directions, allowing you to follow the sun through the day.
There is also a small beach, a barbecue area, and a wood-fired sauna overlooking the water.
The main house dates from the 1940s and was built as a permanent residence. It has 430 square feet of living space, plus a 75 square feet ancillary area.
The layout includes two rooms arranged around a central kitchen, along with a glazed veranda. Large windows provide water views in almost every direction.
The windows, exterior cladding, roof and deck were all updated in 2023.
Electricity is connected, although there is no piped water.
The island is being sold furnished, including household goods, boats and a canoe. Rights to mainland parking, a boat space and a dock are also included.
From the mainland, it takes about five minutes to row across.
The asking price is 2,995,000 Swedish kronor, (about $311,000).
A Tiny Island in Western Finland
Now for the cheapest of the three.
Ostrobothnia is a largely rural region on Finland’s western coast, facing Sweden across the Gulf of Bothnia.
Vörå—known as Vöyri in Finnish—is one of its small municipalities, an area of villages, farmland, forests and lakes.
On Röukarsträsket lake, near Vörå, an entire islet is for sale.
The island covers just under one-third of an acre and is surrounded by water and trees and natural vegetation.
At its center is a 300-square-foot summer cottage built in 1974.
The cabin has large windows facing the lake and a veranda at the front. There is also a separate sauna building and a simple dock.
This is a more rustic proposition than the other two properties. But as a seasonal retreat, the appeal is easy to understand.
You have swimming and boating directly from the island, evening sun across the water and, according to the agent, particularly good fishing along the eastern shore.
The broker writes that it would generally no longer be possible to build a cottage on an island this small. In other words, the existing cabin may be what makes the property particularly rare.
And the asking price?
€38,000—or about $44,000.
These listings show that owning a private island doesn’t always require a billionaire’s budget.
Climate is an important consideration. Winters in Sweden and Finland are long and cold, and ice can complicate access to islands on inland lakes. The Finnish property is specifically advertised as a summer cottage, while the Swedish house can also be used during winter.
For the right buyer, though, a seasonal escape may be precisely the point.
Wishing you good real estate investing,
P.S. If you’re interested in these listings, you should hire an attorney and do your own due diligence. We haven’t done any due diligence on them.
