If you’ve been dreaming about an island vacation, with golden beaches and gentle waves lapping at your feet, and suddenly the travelbug bites you and have this irresistible urge to catch a flight to the Carribean, put a lid on it, and read this article carefully. For $20 and a weekend, you can go island hopping in the vicinity of New York, in a weekend getaway which Seth Kugel, New York Times, labels as the Five Borough Antilles trip, and includes excursions to City Island, Bronx; Randalls Island, Roosevelt Island & Governors Island, Manhattan and Broad Channel, Queens.

It is the journey to Roosevelt Island that is the most fun. The little red tram, the closest thing new york City has to a ski lift, takes off from the brightly colored station at 60th Street and Second Avenue and whisks you across the river for the price of a subway trip. Bring binoculars and take advantage of a great aerial views of the city: watch the traffic up and down First Avenue, spot the aerobics class in a gym a few blocks down. And, especially fun if you’re ending your island hopping by returning to Manhattan after dark: peer straight into the windows of hundreds of curtain-free high-rise apartments. Come on, that easily beats a view from the Lido Deck of yet another monotonous Caribbean sunset of yet another cruise.

I believe the New York times travel section is hiding a kinky closet peeping tom. He’s advocating taking along binoculars and peeking in to the homes of apartment dwellers in Manhattan as an adventure travel plan. Have to agree, though, that it could be much more fun than watching a sunset or some palm trees. Read descriptions of trips to all five islands here.

And this ain’t the full monty, either. Say New York & Island, and only two names come to mind - Manhattan and Staten Island. But the waters of New York surround more than 30 islands, each with it’s own special attractions, history and culture. In addition to the above mentioned five borough antilles tour, notable New York islands worth visiting include Riker’s Island, which houses about 15,000 prisoners in the world’s largest jail complex. Course, if you’re an involuntary visitor to Riker’s Island, the vacation might last a tad bit longer than a weekend…..

There’s also the Ellis & Liberty islands, historic first port of call for immigrants in the 19th & 20th centuries, with landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty and the Immigration center.

A visit to Lady Liberty is suggested not only because it’s one of the seven wonders of the world, but also because it gives you a better perspective about what it means to be an American. Think about what it means to immigrants when they first see this - Hope and deliverance, the great American dream and a life of prosperity, when they first sight Lady Liberty standing tall in the waters. The Statue of Liberty is not just an architectural wonder. It is a symbol of what America stands for, and what a life as an Ameican means.