Sunset in the Cyclades, Greece.

Top 30 Islands in the World – Condé Nast Traveler´s Readers’ Choice Poll.

Destinations

I am a big fan of the magazine Condé Nast Traveler and I simply love their lists, polls and their consumer advocate “Ombudsman”. During autumn 2015 Condé Nast Traveler did a poll about the “Top 30 Islands in the World”. You find the results below together with my comments.

Top 30 Islands in the World – The List.

Place Island Country Score
1 Palawan Philippines 88,750
2 Kiawah Island South Carolina, USA 86,574
3 Maui Hawaii, USA 86,471
4 Kauai Hawaii, USA 85,269
5 Bazaruto Archipelago Mozambique 85,119
6 Great Barrier Reef & Whitsunday Islands Australia 84,467
7 Santorini & Cyclades Greece 84,080
8 St. John US Virgin Islands 83,359
9 Kangaroo Island Australia 82,803
10 Big Island Hawaii, USA 82,761
11 Tasmania Australia 82,691
12 Boracay Philippines 82,663
13 Menorca Spain 82,643
14 Bermuda Bermuda 82,519
15 Sea Island Georgia, USA 82,514
16 Oahu Hawaii, USA 82,457
17 Bali Indonesia 82,423
18 Moorea French Polynesia 82,417
19 Maldives Maldives 82,319
20 Öland Sweden 82,143
21 Skiathos & Sporades Greece 82,056
22 Prince Edward Island Canada 82,006
23 Frisian Islands Germany 81,868
24 British Virgin Islands British Virgin Islands 81,494
25 Bora Bora French Polynesia 81,432
26 Anna Maria Island Florida, USA 81,373
27 Hilton Head South Carolina, USA 81,333
28 Isle of Palms South Carolina, USA 81,285
29 Vancouver Island Canada 81,122
30 Aquidneck Island (Newport) Rhode Island,, USA 81,011





You will find the original list on: Top 30 Islands in the World – Readers Choice.

Several North American Islands on the List.

There are several North American islands on the list and this is most likely explained by the magazine has their majority of readers in USA and Canada. Those readers probably have experienced more islands closer to home than far away and therefore cast their vote on these.

If it was a German magazine with a majority of German-speaking reader the list would have been considerably different.

Most Surprising Islands on the List.

Bazaruto Archipelago is beautiful and really deserves being on the list. Considering it is not a mass destination, I am surprised that it ended up on 5th place. If someone has information on how it happened, please get in touch!

Equally surprising but still nice to see are Öland in Sweden and Frisian Islands in Germany.

Bali has been a little out of fashion but it is nice to see that is up, coming and climbing. I guess that the movie “Eat, Pray, Love” with Julia Roberts has helped putting the island of gods on 17th place.

Most Predictable Islands on the List.

Santorini & Cyclades are beautiful and well-known as destinations. A list without these would be incomplete. Same goes for the islands in French Polynesia.

Islands I Would Like to Have Seen on the List.

I am a bit surprised that Thailand did not get a spot on the list. Thailand has several beautiful islands that would qualify.

Malaysia has several islands, i.e. Langkawi, Pangkor Laut or the islands on the East Coast, that would be great on the list.

Many people tend to forget that Singapore is an island with lots to offer and it would have been really cool to see a metropolis among the paradise islands.

If you enjoyed reading about this list, I think you will enjoy the articles about Condé Nast Traveler´s lists: Top 10 Cities in Europe and Top 100 Hotels & Resorts.

Which islands are your top islands in the world? Please share in the comments below, on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

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