Many travellers want to distance themselves from their usual lives - in the cliché, to get away from it all. They savour the quiet thrill of escaping by boat, and take time to enjoy the peace and the islands' rugged scenery. For the motorist or cyclist, there is hardly a road that does not offer great views. For those wanting to walk, climb, fish or take to the water, all are quiet and easily reached. And for those days when the views aren't all they might be, there is the attraction of a peat fire, a good book and a dram of Islay single malt whisky.

But the islands are not only a place to escape. They are a place to be welcomed and to learn about the people's unique culture. For the Scottish islands have been visited and settled by prehistoric farmers, later by monks and Vikings. To the Hebridean west, they maintained the Gaelic language and culture of their Celtic heritage. Bitter clan feuds were pursued. Huge numbers of people were cleared off the land and sent to Canada and America, because landowners found sheep farming more economical. To the north, they were being deeply influenced by more than a thousand years of Viking domination and trading. Island people farmed the thin, rocky soil, cut peat from the earth for fuel, and harvested birds from the sea cliffs. They took to the sea: to plunder the rich fishing banks, to provide the backbone for Britain's navies and to extract the black gold of the North Sea oil boom.

Such a past has moulded people with a variety of subtly distinct cultures on each island, combining their past, their traditions, their strong church adherence and their languages and dialects. Scottish islanders value their communities, their land and the sea in a way long forgotten in more developed areas. Crofting - the small-scale system of part-time farming found only in the Highlands and Islands - is not the only lesson held in trust for a world outside which has re-discovered the importance of protecting the environment.

So island-hopping in Scotland provides a wealth of natural contrasts and beauty, combined with rich and diverse island cultures. The two come together in some of the great experiences and attractions. Climb the mountains of Skye's Cuillin range. Marvel at the slender sea stack of Orkney's Old Man of Hoy. Or land by scheduled plane on the cockle beach, when the tide is out at Barra. Visit the prehistoric remains of Skara Brae in Orkney, the Mousa broch on Shetland or the mysterious Callanish stone circle on Lewis. Walk the holy turf of Iona to see its ancient abbey and vibrant modern religious community. Wind-surf in world-class conditions off the beach at Tiree. Thrill to Shetland's festival of fire, Up Helly Aa, in which a Viking longboat is ceremonially burned. Or sample Islay's superb whiskies after a tour of its distilleries.

Those who visit Scotland's islands almost always want to come back for more. But there is a big risk. As many of today's newer islanders will testify, the danger is that you may refuse to go home again.