Where Do Celebrities Go On Vacation
Why Celebrities Choose Exclusive Vacation Destinations
Privacy is the main driver. Places built around private villas rather than hotel lobbies mean no lobby cameras, no shared pools, no accidental encounters. Harder access – a connecting flight, a ferry, a price point above €1,720/night – filters who show up. Staff at high-end resorts are also trained to treat celebrities as regular guests, which matters more than any amenity.
Top 15 Celebrity Vacation Destinations Around the World
If you want a trip that feels a little “celebrity-style,” it’s not just about fancy hotels. You can get to places where the beaches are beautiful, the service is good, and people come to relax without much noise. And yes, in some of these spots, you might even see a famous face at dinner or on a boat.
So where do celebrities go on vacation?
St. Barts (the No. 1 Celebrity Holiday Hotspot)
A French island of 21 square miles and roughly 10,000 residents. No direct flights from North America – you connect through St. Maarten (SXM) or San Juan (SJU) onto a small 20-seat prop plane, which keeps tourist volume low. Most visitors rent villas, which run €4,300–€43,000/night in high season (December–April). Eden Rock and Cheval Blanc are the standout hotels. Nikki Beach and Shellona are the beach clubs; Gustavia harbor is where the yachts dock. Regular visitors to this celebrity vacation spot include Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Leonardo DiCaprio, and the Kardashians.
Maldives
192 inhabited islands spread across 90,000 square kilometers of the Indian Ocean. Each resort occupies its own island, so there’s no bumping into other guests from neighboring hotels. Overwater villa rates typically start around €1,290/night; One&Only Reethi Rah, Soneva Fushi, and Six Senses Laamu are the most frequently cited by celebrities. The main draw is the water – 30-meter visibility, warm year-round (28–30°C), with reef snorkeling directly off your deck. Best months: November through April. Taylor Swift, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Priyanka Chopra have all been photographed at this celebrity vacation spot.
Costa Rica
Less about exclusivity, more about range. You can surf at Santa Teresa in the morning, reach a cloud forest by afternoon, and be near an active volcano (Arenal) within a three-hour drive. High-end options include Nayara Tented Camp and Cayuga Collection properties. Dry season runs from December to April on the Pacific side. A-listers, including Jennifer Aniston and Mel Gibson, have owned property here; it’s also popular with tech executives for its relative accessibility from California (5–6 hours from LAX).
Turks and Caicos
Grace Bay is consistently rated one of the top beaches in the world – 19 km of white sand, calm shallow water, no jellyfish, no seaweed. For more privacy, Parrot Cay (home to the COMO hotel and private villas owned by Keith Richards, Bruce Willis, and Christie Brinkley) and Pine Cay see far fewer visitors. Kylie Jenner, Nicki Minaj, and Brad Pitt have all come here. Flights are direct from New York (3 hours), Toronto, and Miami.
Saint-Tropez, France
A fishing village of 4,500 residents that becomes a different place in July and August. Pampelonne Beach runs 4.5 km and holds around 30 beach clubs – Club 55 (open since 1955, lunch-only, reservation required months ahead) and Nikki Beach are the most-photographed. The old port (Vieux Port) fills with superyachts during summer. Brigitte Bardot made it famous in 1956; today regulars include Elton John, Naomi Campbell, and various Formula 1 drivers. Fly into Nice (NCE), then drive 80 km or take a ferry.
Bora Bora
The lagoon – a 32 km² expanse of clear turquoise water ringed by a barrier reef – is the reason to go. Overwater bungalows at the Four Seasons, St. Regis, and InterContinental start around €1,030/night. Getting there requires a connection through Papeete, Tahiti (PPT), which limits casual visitors. Jennifer Aniston, Orlando Bloom, and the Beckhams have all visited. Best time: May–October, during the dry season.
Aspen, Colorado
A ski town of 7,000 permanent residents that swells to 25,000+ in winter. Ajax Mountain (Aspen Mountain) sits directly above the town; Snowmass next door has more terrain. The Little Nell and Hotel Jerome are the main celebrity accommodation options. Lift tickets cost around €215/day; private ski instructors run €600–€1,030/day. Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Mariah Carey, and Jack Nicholson are regulars. Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (ASE) accepts private jets; commercial service is available through Denver or Chicago.
Lake Como, Italy
A glacial lake 50 km north of Milan, lined with 18th and 19th-century villas. George Clooney’s Villa Oleandra is in Laglio; Villa d’Este in Cernobbio, and Grand Hotel Tremezzo are the top hotels, with rooms running €800–€5,000/night. The lake is 46 km long and narrow, so boat travel between towns (Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio) is faster than driving. Madonna, Richard Branson, and Gianni Versace (who owned a villa in Moltrasio) have all had homes here. Best months: May–June and September.
Bahamas
Over 700 islands, most of them empty. Nassau and Paradise Island (home to Atlantis) handle the mass market; Exuma, Harbour Island, and the Exumas chain are where celebrities and private yacht owners go. Harbour Island has pink-sand beaches and boutique hotels like The Landing. Jay-Z and Beyoncé own a home on Blue Island in the Exumas; Johnny Depp formerly owned Little Hall’s Pond Cay. Direct flights from Miami take under an hour.
Hawaii
Five main islands, each genuinely different. Maui has resorts (Wailea, Kapalua) and the Road to Hana. Kauai is greener and wilder, with Na Pali Coast accessible only by boat or helicopter. Oahu has Honolulu if you want a city. The Big Island lets you see active lava flows at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Oprah owns 1,000+ acres on Maui. Mark Zuckerberg has been buying land on Kauai for years. Justin Bieber, Megan Fox, and Megan Trainor have all vacationed here.
Dubai, UAE
A different kind of trip – built around hotels rather than nature. The Burj Al Arab (rooms from €1,290/night), Atlantis The Palm, and Four Seasons DIFC are the main celebrity options. The pull: everything works, everything is new, it’s warm when Europe is cold (November–March), alcohol is available in licensed venues, and the airport (DXB) is one of the most connected in the world. The Kardashians, Cristiano Ronaldo, and various Premier League footballers visit regularly, often for paid appearances alongside personal holidays.
Mustique
A 567-hectare private island in the Grenadines, owned by the Mustique Company. Around 100 private villas, one hotel (Cotton House), two beach bars, and that’s it. No day-trippers; you need a villa booking or an invitation to land. Princess Margaret brought it to international attention in the 1970s; Mick Jagger built a house here in 1971 and kept it for decades. Current guests include Tommy Hilfiger, Brian May, and various European royals. Villa rates start around €4,300/night and peak above €25,800.
Seychelles
115 islands in the Indian Ocean, 1,600 km east of mainland Africa. The celebrity tier goes to private island resorts – North Island (where William and Kate honeymooned in 2011; approximately €6,900/night per villa), Frégate Island Private, and Denis Island. Main islands, Mahé and Praslin, have more accessible hotels but still limited tourist infrastructure. Beaches like Anse Lazio and Anse Source d’Argent frequently appear on “world’s best” lists.
Mykonos, Greece
The Cyclades island that runs on beach clubs and yachts from June through August. Nammos at Psarou Beach and Scorpios near Paraga are the most reliably celebrity-frequented spots; a table at Nammos for lunch can run €300–€500 per person without trying hard. Cavo Tagoo is the hotel most photographed on Instagram. Leonardo DiCaprio, Ariana Grande, and Mariah Carey have all been spotted here. September is quieter and still warm (around 25°C).
Los Cabos, Mexico
A 33 km corridor between San José del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas at the tip of the Baja Peninsula. One&Only Palmilla, Las Ventanas al Paraíso, and Esperanza are the high-end options. Important logistics note: most Pacific-facing beaches have strong shore break and rip currents – the water looks swimmable but isn’t. The Sea of Cortez side (around San José) is calmer. The best months are October–June; summer is hot and humid with occasional hurricanes.
What Celebrities Look for When Choosing a Vacation Spot
- Privacy and security. The practical version: a villa with its own pool and beach access, a property manager who handles arrivals discreetly, and staff under NDA. Islands like Mustique require a villa booking just to land – no walk-in tourists. Gated compounds in St. Barts or Turks and Caicos come with security teams as standard. The goal is to avoid the moment a phone camera appears.
- Private villas over hotels. A villa means no shared lobby, no other guests in the corridor, and no photographer who bought a room. In St. Barts, top villas run €4,300–€43,000/night. In Mustique, the Mustique Company manages all 100 or so private villas centrally – you rent the whole property, not a room within one.
- Serious food, not just “fine dining.” The best celebrity destinations have kitchens worth using and chefs worth hiring. In St. Barts, private chefs are routine and cost roughly €430–€1,290/day. Elsewhere – Maldives, Seychelles – the top resorts (Soneva Fushi, North Island) have multiple restaurants plus in-villa dining, so you never have to interact with other guests if you don’t want to.
- Useful wellness, not decorative wellness. Cryotherapy, IV drips, private yoga instructors, and sports physiotherapists are standard at high-end properties now. The COMO brand (Parrot Cay in Turks and Caicos, Cocoa Island in the Maldives) built its reputation specifically on this – spa and Ayurvedic programs that function as the main draw, not an add-on.
- Staff who don’t perform. The complaint about bad luxury travel is staff who are visibly trying to impress. Places like Eden Rock in St. Barts or Nayara in Costa Rica are consistently mentioned for the opposite: competent, fast, low-fuss. Reservations handled, transfers arranged, dietary requests remembered – without a production.
Popular Celebrity Activities While on Vacation
- Yacht charters. A crewed week in the Mediterranean runs roughly €43,000–€430,000 depending on vessel size. In St. Barts, Mykonos, or the BVI, day charters with a captain and crew are easier to book and cost €2,600–€8,600/day. The point is mobility – anchor off a quiet beach, move when a crowd arrives.
- Spa and recovery days. Not always luxury for its own sake. Athletes, especially Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James, travel with physiotherapy and recovery protocols. Ronaldo reportedly spends around €344,000/year on personal health and recovery staff. Destinations like the Maldives and Seychelles market directly to this – quiet, no jet lag after a short flight from Dubai.
- Private dining and chefs. Club 55 in Saint-Tropez requires reservations months ahead and runs €200–€400/person for lunch. Nammos in Mykonos is similar. The alternative – a private chef at the villa – costs less and removes the paparazzi-outside-the-restaurant problem entirely.
- Beach clubs with reserved sections. The real value is a designated area that doesn’t require interacting with the public. Nikki Beach operates in St. Barts, Saint-Tropez, the Maldives, and Dubai. Private cabanas at top clubs cost €430–€1,720/day before food and drink.
- Water sports with guides. Freediving instruction in the Maldives, surfing lessons at Santa Teresa in Costa Rica, and kitesurfing in Turks and Caicos. Most high-end resorts offer private guides – no group lessons, no shared equipment, no schedule.
- Eco and wildlife experiences. Costa Rica is the clearest example: Arenal volcano, Monteverde cloud forest, and Corcovado National Park (one of the most biodiverse places on earth) are all within reach of the luxury properties near Manuel Antonio. Private guided hikes run €130–€344.
- Shopping, specifically private appointments. In Saint-Tropez and Mykonos, boutiques will open early or after hours for known clients. In Dubai, the Mall of the Emirates has a private shopping service. The point isn’t the shopping – it’s avoiding the public floor entirely.
- Cultural access. Private museum tours (the Uffizi in Florence does after-hours access for a fee), archaeological site visits before opening hours in Greece, or local gallery visits arranged by a hotel concierge. Lake Como and the Amalfi Coast are well set up for this, given the density of historical sites within an hour’s drive.
Experience a Celebrity-Style Vacation in St. Barts at Villa Nyx
Villa Nyx is a St Barts villa that offers privacy, space, and a quiet place to return to after a day out. You can keep your trip simple and relax, or be as active as you wish. Beaches, swimming, dining out, shopping – whatever you choose. :
St. Barts is also a great place to try Caribbean food without having to guess where to go; there are plenty of good options, and we can point you to the right spots based on what you like. If you’re looking for the most beautiful Caribbean islands, this is one of the easiest to enjoy. Reach out anytime to plan your stay.
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