Floating islands: when a mega-yacht very soon won't do
Islands and yachts may have been the “it” purpose for high-end tourists for years, but no more. The most recent thing for the well-off vacationer is a grouping yacht and island: your own floating, move-able island. Balanced islands have been in the works because people first imagined exploring the ocean, but knowledge is to conclude making that a reality.
The Wally Island premiered four years ago as a kind of colossal floating home that’s 325 feet long, $200 million and comes with its own swimming pool. Yacht Island Designs also provides vacation-goers with a $50 million floating island that can be personalized to look like a hot paradise or the streets of Monaco – complete with small castle or fake volcano as you see fit.
The latest of these aqua-offerings, the ORSOS Island, proclaimed last month, is smaller (at 65 feet by 121 feet) and cheaper (at just over $6 million) than its predecessors. The suspended islands destinations, which actually have no set destination, are the hottest trend in well-off travel.
What separate floating islands from just your run-of-the-mill mega-yacht is the feeling of actually being on land, yet living on the sea. Most floating islands aim to be sustainable and continue living off the world they’re floating on top of. The ORSOS uses solar panels, wind power, and heat upturn from seawater to manufacture its own energy, which powers the island, convert seawater into drinking water and treats wastewater.