Islands to Visit Before They Disappear

Islands usually give people a picture of isolated pieces of paradise separated from the hustle bustle of the outside world. These are lovely escapades, to draw a curtain of deep blue sea resolutely around us and disengage from everything else. And if you are an island lover and places like Venice and Fiji is way down on the travel list; then it's time to move them up. Increasing sea levels and extreme climatic conditions are slowly engulfing these low-lying islands.

The following islands are sprinkled around the world and all of them are famous vacation destinations and are disappearing into the sea, albeit at different speed. And should the predictions of scientists come true, these beautiful pieces of land may not be around for long.

Venice:

Encompassing 118 islands linked by 400 bridges and partitioned into six large districts or "sestieri", three on each side of the Grand Canal - Venice! Floods, known as acque alte have been part of Venice's winter for centuries and their frequency has increased spectacularly since the 20th century. The city faced only eight severe floods between 1931 and 1945, in the last decade of the 20th century there were 44 and by 2009 the number of annual floods had risen to 200.

A tourist city par excellence, Venice holds some of the most famous attractions including Piazza San Marco, the Rialto Bridge and the Palazzo Ducale. After a long day of seeing the sights, enjoy a conventional Venetian dinner at the historic Bacaro trattoria Ca D'Oro, Detta alla Vedova (on Calle Del Pistor), followed by an opera at La Fenice.