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An island each month for the rest of the year: From the winter 2007 issue of The Out Traveler

Compiled by Robert Dessaix, Daniel B. Haber, LoAnn Halden, Matthew Link, Michael Luongo and Aefa Mullholland

OCTOBER
Salt Spring Island, B.C.
Calendar highlight: October sees both the Grape Harvest Ball and the Apple Harvest Festival. Over 350 different apple varieties grow on the organics-obsessed 74-square-mile island.

The 411: The largest of the Southern Gulf Islands sits between British Columbia's mainland and Vancouver Island. Funky, tolerant Salt Spring has long attracted those in search of safe harbor. Settled in the 1850s by disappointed gold prospectors, the island traces its black history back to 1857, when a group of nine African-American slaves landed at Vesuvius in the north of the island. The 20th century added communities of Japanese fishermen, hippies, artisans, queers and U.S. draft dodgers, creating the idiosyncratic Salt Spring of today. The forested island's main town, Ganges, home to 6,000 of the island's 10,000 residents, offers several good inns and restaurants as well as a motley array of quirky and quaint options, including gay-owned B&Bs. Produce stands selling honey, flowers, eggs, and apples line island roads. Turn off those roads and discover 22 sandy beaches and many vineyards responsible for increasingly good Pinot Noir.

How gay?: Salt Spring has a prominent LGBT population, many of whom join in events organized by GLOSSI, the island's gay and lesbian group. A small but perfect pride celebration takes place in September with an art show, concert, picnic, and dance.

Insider view: "When I take the ferry back home to Salt Spring, I feel like kissing the ground on arrival. Where else can I live in such beauty, eat great food, start a wacky business, and feel surprised when I encounter someone homophobic?" says Julia Grace, artisan cheesemaker of lesbian-owned Moonstruck Organic Cheese

Don't miss: Thousands descend on Ganges's famed Saturday market to stock up on food, crafts, and art, all of which must adhere to the strict "make it, bake it or grow it on a Gulf Island" rule.

Luxe lodging pick: By far the island's most luxe lodgings are at the Hastings House Country House Hotel -- an 18-suite luxury hotel, spa, and restaurant set on 22 acres on Ganges Harbor.

Info: Salt Spring Island Visitor Information -- www.saltspringisland.com
Info: Relais & Chateau Hastings House -- www.hastingshouse.com

NOVEMBER
Fernando De Noronha, Brazil
Calendar highlight: November is the sunniest month of the year -- and among the driest -- on this exclusive and remote Brazilian island. With no rain to kick up sediment, the water is especially clear for diving.

The 411: Two hundred miles off Brazil's northeastern tip, this former island penal colony was fought over by the British, French, Dutch, and Portuguese for centuries. Few Americans know of this spectacular 21-isle archipelago, its only inhabited island being volcanic Fernando de Noronha, home to only around 2,100 people and a handful of bars, shops, and restaurants. The archipelago's environmentally protected status, distance from the mainland, and expense keep tourism at bay, though demand still outstrips its official limit of 400 visitors at a time, with a long waiting list. (Celebs like Naomi Campbell, Calvin Klein and photographer Mario Testino vacation here.) Lodging is found among 100 tiny posadas -- most are private residences -- yielding only a few hundred rooms altogether. Dramatic, jagged black cliffs jut out along virtually abandoned beaches, their higher points coated with tropical vegetation that reaches into the island's verdant jungle interior, nearly 70 percent of which is declared off-limits to development. The archipelago's crystal waters and exotic fish and turtle species make the islands among the best dive spots on earth.