Best Islands In the World

From all over beautiful tourism destination, here are list of top 10 beautiful islands in the world in 2007 based on poll conducted by travel and leisure magazine (www.travelandleisure.com).

1. Bali (Indonesia)

Bali is one of over 13,000 islands in the Indonesian archipelago and is located just over 2 kilometres from the eastern tip of the island of Java and west of the island of Lombok. The island home of approximately 4 million people is approximately 144 kilometres from east to west and 80 kilometres north to south. The islands varied landscape of hills and mountains, rugged coastlines and sandy beaches, lush rice terraces and barren volcanic hillsides provide a picturesque backdrop to the colourful and deeply spiritual culture of this 'Island of The Gods

Attracting more than 3 million visitors annually, Bali is the engine of Indonesia’s $5 billion-per-year tourism industry, which, after oil and gas, is the country’s second-largest foreign-exchange earner. That distinction, and the fact that most of Bali’s 3.4 million inhabitants are Hindu, has attracted Islamic jihadists looking to sow unrest in the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

The word paradise is used a lot in Bali, and not without reason. The combination of friendly, hospitable people, a magnificently visual culture infused with spirituality and (not least) spectacular beaches with great surfing and diving have made Bali Indonesia's unparalleled number one tourist attraction. Eighty percent of international visitors to Indonesia visit Bali and Bali alone. The popularity is not without its flip sides — once paradisaical Kuta has degenerated into a congested warren of concrete, touts and scammers live on overcharging tourists, and the island's visibility has even drawn the unwanted attention of terrorists in 2002 and 2005 — but Bali has managed to retain its magic. Bali is a wonderful destination with something for everyone, and though heavily traveled, it is still easy to find some peace and quiet if you like

2.Maui (State of Hawai)

The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at 727.2 square miles (1883.5 km²). Maui is part of the State of Hawaiʻi and is the largest island in Maui County. Three other islands, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, and Molokaʻi belong to Maui County. Together, the four islands are known as Maui Nui.

It's been said many times. Maui no ka 'oi. Maui is the best. Any resident of Maui—in fact, many people in Hawaii—will tell you this. But don't just take an islander's word for it. Ask the tony readership of Conde Nast Traveler, whose Reader's Choice Poll named Maui the Best Island in the World twelve out of the last thirteen years, and the Best Pacific Island for sixteen straight years. Truly, Maui's charm is universal.

Maui has a population of about 150,000 people, about the same as the Big Island but in a fraction of the area. Shaped like a figure eight (or a lopsided dumbbell), Haleakala takes up the lion's share of the east side of the island, while the West Maui Mountains, the remnant of an extinct volcano, is on the west. The area between the two volcanoes gives the island its nickname: The Valley Isle.

3. Kauai (State of Hawai)

Kauai (or, more properly, Kaua'i) [1] is the northwesternmost and oldest of Hawaii's major islands. Called the Garden Island, it is covered with lush greenery and tropical plants, watered regularly by abundant rainfall. As the oldest of the islands, it has been changed the most by the forces of erosion, and this has resulted in natural wonders such as Waimea Canyon and the Na Pali Coast. It is also home to more sandy beaches than any other major island in the Hawaiian chain.

The major regions of Kaua`i can be defined by their location on the island relative to the prevailing trade winds. The north and east sides of the island are on the "windward" side of the island, where the winds blow onto the shore. These parts of the island tend to get the most rain, and as a result, are the greenest and most tropical parts of the island. The south and west sides of the island are on the "leeward" side of the island, which tends to be sunnier and drier, since most clouds have already dropped their rain on the windward side of the island.

However, all parts of the island have points of interest for all visitors. Both the rainy and dry sides of the island have fine resorts and beautiful beaches.

4. Galapagos Islands ( Ecuador)

The Galapagos Islands are a small archipelago of islands belonging to Ecuador in the western Pacific Ocean. The islands are quite remote and isolated, lying some 1000 km (620 miles) west of the South American continent. The Galapagos archipelago consists of 13 main islands and 6 smaller isles, which together embrace some 50,000 sq km (19,500 sq miles) of ocean. The Galápagos archipelago is world-renowned for its unique and fearless wildlife - much of which was inspiration for Charles Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection.

The islands are therefore very popular amongst natural historians, both professional and amateur. Giant tortoises, sea lions, penguins, marine iguanas and different bird species can all be seen and approached. The landscape of the islands is relatively barren and volcanic, but beautiful nonetheless.Strict controls on tourist access are maintained in an effort to protect the natural habitats and all visitors must be accompanied by a national park-certified naturalist tour guide.

The islands currently receive an average of 60,000 visitors per year. Sadly most visitors simply take a boat tour and then depart, allowing very little money to flow to local inhabitants. By extending a stay in Puerto Ayora or elsewhere it helps add money to the local economy and demonstrates to locals the value of the park and the need to end illegal fishing and polluting.

5. Santorini (Greek)

Santorini is a volcanic island in the Cyclades group of the Greek islands. It is located between Ios and Anafi islands. It is famous for dramatic views, stunning sunsets from Oia town, the strange white aubergine, the town of Thira and naturally its very own active volcano. There are naturally fantastic beaches such as the beach of Perissa, maybe the best beach in Santorini, the black pebble beach of Kamari, white beach and red beach.
The main attraction of Santorini is the volcano. The caldera was flooded during a cataclysmic event thousands of years ago, leaving the cliffs of Santorini surrounding a lake of ocean and newly upthrust lava in the center. The towns of Fira, Oia and Thirasis cling to the steep cliffs facing into the caldera bay. Tours to the volcano center are plentiful and one can see and feel steam vents and recent (1950s) lava flows. Another popular reason for coming to Santorini is the legend that its sunsets are one of the most spectacular in the world. Ia is one of the few places on the island which is both close to a sea and offers a good view to a sunset over the sea: in other towns, the sun disappears behind the volcano.



Santorini island could be divided into two parts, the western side of the island and the eastern. Santorini mainly owes its popularity to the western side. This is where the caldera is, and the villages, like Fira and Oia, that are built on the cliff. On this side of Santorini most hotels have terrific views of the caldera, volcano, the sea and sunsets. There is of course a drawback that you have to keep in mind before making your reservation. The majority of the hotels built on the caldera have many stairs, which is usually annoying for tourists not willing to climb up and down all the time. Some of them do not accept children under 13, because they do not offer any childrens' facilities, due to their dangerous location on the cliff. There are hotels that are specially oriented to couples and honeymooners. Most of Santorini luxury resorts can be found on the western side of the island. Note that not all hotels which are on the western side of the island offer views, as some of them are located in town.

6. Vancouver Island (Canada)

Vancouver Island is part of British Columbia, Canada. As well as the island itself, it is also a region which includes the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia. It is often referred to by the locals as simply 'The Island'. Vancouver Island is the largest island off the west coast of North America at about 450km long and up to about 90km wide. It has a population of over 700,000 people, with a little less than half of those living in the Greater Victoria area. The development on the island primarily follows the north-south highway that goes along the east coast of the island from Victoria to Port Hardy.

The most common way to get to Vancouver Island is by BC Ferries. There is regular ferry service from Tsawwassen (near Vancouver) to Swartz Bay (Near Victoria), Tsawwassen to Duke Point (near Nanaimo) and Horseshoe Bay (Near Vancouver) to Departure Bay (in Nanaimo). These ferries generally run about every two hours with more frequent service on some of the routes in the summer.
The easiest way to travel around Vancouver Island is to drive.Go on a hiking or walking nature tour of ancient rainforests with their giant trees, visit alpine meadows and lakes or stroll along colourful sea side tide pools. Try bird watching or wildlife viewing in the area's diverse ecosystems. A mild climate means year round tour opportunities including winter surfing, storm watching, mountain skiing and fall salmon viewing into December. Journey on a whale watching or grizzly bear tour.



7. Dalmatian Islands, Croatia (Hvar rated separately)

The Croatian Adriatic Coast with its 1185 islands, islets and reefs is one of the most impressive coastlines in Europe.Summer holiday at the sea, swimming, fishing, diving, mountain hiking or just laying in the sun - all this and a lot more Dalmatian islands have to offer their visitors.
Tranquil coves, stunning islands, typical Mediterranean villages clinging to steep valley sides and bustling harbours make the Dalmatian islands a must for any traveller to Croatia. With direct flights from Ireland, the islands offer visitors an opportunity to take their holiday in areas of unsurpassed beauty.

Clean beaches and clear seawater, thousands of bays and islands, water temperatures over 25°C, wonderful landscapes - these are the reasons why most holiday travellers travel to the Adriatic Sea in summer. For most summer - holiday travellers July and August are the ideal months for swimming. The Adriatic Sea also has its charms in the off-season. You can already swim in May, and September, even in October. The average water temperatures are over 20°C.

Brac is the largest of the Dalmatian Islands. You can reach Supetar, the capital of the island, by ferry (45mins from Split). Ferries run during the summer 12 times a day. The well indented coast has numerous bays with sand and pebble beaches, foremost of which is the famous Golden Cape beach at Bol, where some of our hotels are situated. The interior is abundant with vineyards, pine woods and olive groves. Brac is also famed for its white stone, used in the construction of the palace of Diocletian in Split and the White House in Washington DC.

8. Phuket (Thailand)

Phuket is the most visited tourist spot in Thailand; it attracts more than 3 million visitors annually. Thailand's largest island is a wonderland of wildlife and rainforest fringed by white sand beaches with some of the world's premier resorts. In the Andaman Sea off Thailand's west coast, Phuket, or the 'Pearl of the South' as it has become known, is connected to the mainland by the Sarasin Bridge. Phuket also has its own airport, little over an hour's flight from Bangkok.

Although the island hosts thousands of tourists in peak season and has a population of 1.6 million, its sheer size allows visitors to escape from the madding crowds. Phuket Town is the administrative centre of Phuket Province, and the island's main population centre. Phuket is hot and humid throughout the year. The high season is generally considered to
be from November to May. During the summer monsoon season, mornings and afternoons are still sunny and clear, but it tends to rain in the evenings and water clarity goes down.

Locals consider May to October the "cool" season, and the weather is quite tolerable, much more so than in the tourism centers around the Gulf coast. It's comparable to Florida's summer weather in temperature and intensity of rain storms: 25-33 deg C, flying clouds, short and thunderous rainfalls in the afternoons and evenings. Surfing is possible off the western beaches.Phuket might not have the historical sites that Bangkok and Chiang Mai have, but it does have a few. Most visitors spend their time at the beaches and in the bars. The most heavily-hyped attraction is the Phuket Fantasea show at Kamala Beach, a self-proclaimed "cultural theme park", but comparisons to Disneyland are exaggerated at best. Phuket's limestone cliffs and palm-fringed tropical beaches are its biggest attractions.
Each of Phuket's many beaches has a character and charm of its own and is separated from its neighbours by picturesque headlands. From busy fun beaches, to secluded coves of fine white sand, there is bound to be at least one to suit the mood and mindset of every visitor to the island. Phuket also features a rich cultural heritage that derives from it's unique mix of people who come not only from Southern Thailand, but also from all regions of Thailand, neighbouring countries, and travellers from afar who have settled over the years.

9. Hawaii (USA)

Situated nearly at the center of the north Pacific Ocean, Hawaii marks the northeast corner of Polynesia. While it was once a major hub for the whaling, sugar and pineapple industries, it is now economically dependent on tourism and the U.S. military. The natural beauty of the islands continues to be one of Hawaii's greatest assets.

Hawaii is an archipelago of over nineteen distinct volcanic islands located over a geological "hot spot" in the Pacific. The Pacific plate on which the islands ride moves to the northwest, so in general the islands are older and smaller (due to erosion) as you move from southeast to northwest. There are eight major islands, six of which are open to tourism.

Where tourism is concerned, Hawaii has something for everyone. The island of Oahu, the most populous and home to the state capital and largest city of Honolulu, is great for people who wish to experience the islands and still keep the conveniences of a large city. Rainforests and hiking trails are located just minutes from Waikiki Beach, one of the world's best tourist destinations. In the winter, large waves on Oahu's north shore turn the normally sleepy area into the surfing capital of the world.

On the other hand, those who wish to experience Hawaii at a slower pace would do well to visit one of the Neighbor Islands (the other, less populated islands around Oahu). All the neighbor islands offer opportunities to relax and enjoy the sun and scenery. Many of the natural wonders of the Islands are located on the Neighbor Islands, from Waimea Canyon on Kauai, to Haleakala on Maui, to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. Numerous waterfalls and rainforests evoke memories of what the islands might have looked like before major corporations set their sights on Hawaii.





10. Great Barrier Reef ( Queensland, Australia)

Australia's Great Barrier Reef is mind-blowingly bountiful in coral, cockatoos—and high-end private-island resorts. A solitude-seeking beachcomber with a jones for comfort has many, many options. Christopher Petkanas surveys the scene

The Great Barrier Reef is a coral formation, the largest such in the entire world, located off the Pacific coast of Queensland, Australia. It is home to a spectacular array of marine life and offers awesome diving opportunities.


Last year, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site measuring 135,000 square miles, was dramatically and triumphantly rezoned by the Australian federal government. The proportion of closely monitored green zones—marine sanctuaries where fishing and other "acquisitional" or "extractive" activities are prohibited—shot from a mere 4.5 to 33 percent of the entire park. Snorkelers, divers, yachties, greenies, rejoice.

The Great Barrier Reef is a famed diving destination, although divers with experience of the tropics find parts of it overused and damaged. Most travellers learn to dive in Townsville, Cairns or Port Douglas: all have a very competitive dive industry. Most students prefer to do a two day pool and classroom course, followed by a two or three day liveaboard visiting the reef to the east of Cairns. It's possible to learn with some of the operators that travel to the Coral Sea, but check first about the difficulty of their dive sites