Thirty miles off Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly sit in water warmed by the Gulf Stream, and it shows: white-sand beaches, palm-ish vegetation and a set of five inhabited islands that most visitors explore by little inter-island boats. Hand Luggage Only has put together a deep-dive guide after years of repeat visits, and the practical picture is clearer than you'd expect.

Getting there is half the fun. SkyBus flights run from Exeter, Land's End and Newquay straight to St Mary's — dogs welcome on board — while the Scillonian ferry from Penzance takes roughly two and a half to three hours and can get choppy when the wind picks up. St Mary's is the archipelago's hub: airport, ferry port, Hugh Town, and a golf-buggy rental scene (Scilly Carts is a pick) that doubles as the best way to see the island. Free stops include the Garrison Walls, Porthcressa Beach right in town, and the Innisidgen burial chambers, which date back as far as 2,500 BC. Juliet's Garden near town is a solid dinner call for scallops.

Tresco is where the writer spent five nights, and it earns the time. Tresco Abbey Garden is the headline act — plants from every corner of Europe thriving thanks to that warm current, with a small entry fee and about two hours well spent. Add Cromwell's Castle and King Charles' Castle ruins, the New Inn at New Grimsby for reliably good pub food, and the honesty boxes dotted along the lanes selling eggs, crafts and art.

The outer islands each have their own pitch. St Agnes, the southernmost inhabited island, has the Turk's Head — the most southerly pub in the British Isles — plus a lighthouse, a charming Post Office, and a sandy bar you can walk across at low tide to uninhabited Gugh, home to the Bronze Age Old Man of Gugh standing stone. St Martin's is the low-key option: Adam's fish and chips at Higher Town Bay, a vineyard and winery worth a tipple, and Great Bay for kayaking the shallows, with the Seven Stones Inn pouring Cornish brews and pasties. Bryher, a short boat ride from Tresco, is walkable in an afternoon with a stop at Richard Pearce's artist studio and a beer garden lunch at Fraggle Rock. And if you truly want nothing, Teän is unpopulated — bring your own water, food and sunscreen, and climb Great Hill for the views.

For travellers, the appeal is a Cornish summer that feels weirdly tropical without leaving the UK. Beach days, Bronze Age sites, boat-hopping and pasties, all within a compact archipelago where nothing is ever more than a short boat ride away. Plan around the boat schedules, which shift with tides and season, and consider splitting a stay between Tresco and St Mary's for flexibility on flight days.