Nosy Boraha, Madagascar, was formerly a pirate hideout (more commonly known as Ile Sainte Marie) and has a charming, relaxed pace.
This island 200 mi/320 km northeast of Antananarivo is just 30 mi/55 km long and 4 mi/7 km wide. Only one road connects the main town, Ambodifototra, with scattered settlements of bamboo and palm. It has an interesting pirates' cemetery (be sure to read the inscriptions on the tombs—particularly the ones with skull and crossbones). Ambodifototra also has an early-19th-century Catholic church, the oldest in the country.
At the southern end of the island is Ile aux Nattes or Nosy Nato (reached by canoe), which offers good beaches, good food and good snorkeling. Fishermen ply the waters in dhows, and you can often watch whales cavorting not far from shore. Female humpback whales take their young there to teach them essential skills—you may see a female whale tossing her offspring into the air to teach it to breach.
There are many hotels and bungalows, most along the western coast. Most people reach Nosy Boraha via Tsaradia (offering three scheduled flights per week from Antananarivo), but there's also daily ferry service from Soanierana-Ivongo on the Malagasy coast. The latter option is the slowest and most uncomfortable.
Hotels with vacancies send a vehicle to meet each flight, but in the high season (July-August), it's best to make advance reservations.
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