Top 10 Islands in The World

Earth place where we live, have so many amazing spot to be admired. Mostly the earth consist of sea, and the land on the sea we call it island. Every island like a human has its beauty. Not just the sea, but also the culture, scenery, and etc. Well in this post I would like to share 10 World’s Best Island based on Travel and Leisure Magazine. World’s Best Islands are rated on Activities, Beaches, Culture/Sites, Lodging, Restaurants and Scenery. Not like the previous post, the Islands aren’t just tropical island, some of them from 4 seasons country.

Top 10 Islands Overall

Bali 87.41

Bali has long been a destination of choice for well-heeled resort travelers and frugal backpackers alike. A unique destination, strongly Hindu (unlike the rest of Indonesia), Bali serves visitors a rich and vibrant blend of western-oriented tourism fused with traditional culture. Unsurprisingly, Bali is both one of Indonesia’s most heavily touristed and wealthiest regions. Warm, clear water and sandy beaches are the island’s primary drawing cards. Game fishing, snorkeling, and surfing are also on offer. For the less active, there are plenty of quiet beaches on which to unwind, while at the other end of the scale, the (in)famous beach strip of Kuta-Legian is a backpacker’s playground, abounding in knockoff clothing, restaurants, and (very) late-night bars. Venturing inland, lush rainforest conceals ornately carved temples, and rice terraces cling to precariously steep hillsides. The town of Ubud plays host to a myriad of cultural attractions, including galleries and museums. Those looking for outdoor activities have a wide range of options, including rafting, trekking, and even an ascent of the towering Mount Agung. Arranging travel to and from the island is a straightforward process. Like the rest of Indonesia, Bali is well served by an extensive ferry network. Bali is also a regional air hub, with daily flights to a number of local and international destinations.An island full of beaches, temples and backpackers

Galapagos Islands – 86.80

The islands lie in the Pacific Ocean about 1,000 km from the South American coast and straddling the Equator. There are 13 large islands, 6 smaller ones and 107 islets and rocks, with a total land area of about 8,000 square kilometres. The islands are volcanic in origin and several volcanoes in the west of the archipelago are still very active. Galapagos is a province of the Republic of Ecuador and five of the islands are inhabited, with a total population of around 18,000 people. The capital is Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal Island, although the largest town is Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz.

At each visitors’ site a marked trail provides excellent views of the wildlife, vegetation and landscape of Galapagos. Most trails are less than a mile long but a few can be fairly difficult underfoot, leading over rough lava or uneven boulders. There are also one or two longer hikes in the highlands. The different sites are amazingly varied in their scenery and vegetation, and the many good snorkelling spots offer the chance to see the varied underwater life of Galapagos. Certain animals are common at nearly every visitors’ site. These include Galapagos sea lions, marine iguanas, lava lizards and a variety of coastal birds such as herons, tattlers, plovers, turnstones and whimbrels. The common land birds include yellow warblers, Galapagos doves, mocking-birds, flycatchers, and several species of Darwin’s finch. However, most sites also have their own particular highlights.

Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia – 86.09

Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island is part of the province of Nova Scotica, Canada. Although physically separated from the Nova Scotia peninsula by the Strait of Canso, it is artificially connected to mainland Nova Scotia by the Canso Causeway. The island is located east-northeast of the mainland with its northern and western coasts fronting on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence; its western coast also forming the eastern limits of the Northumberland Strait. The eastern and southern coasts front the Atlantic Ocean; its eastern coast also forming the western limits of the Cabot Strait. Its landmass slopes upward from south to north, culminating in the highlands of its northern cape. One of the world’s largest salt water lakes (Bras d’Or–”Arm of Gold” in French), dominates the centre of the island.

The island is divided into four of Nova Scotia’s eighteen counties: Cape Breton, Inverness, Richmond, and Victoria. Some tourism spot that you can visit are Bay of Fundy, Cabot Trail, Cape Breton Island, Fishing Villages, Halifax Lunenburg, and Beaches.

Kauai – 85.90

For a rather small island, Kauai’s opportunities for you to see a variety of geography, landscapes, and other points of interest, are virtually endless. Drive just a short distance and you will be enchanted by the beauty and diversity around every turn, from town to town, and in between.

On the North Shore:

• Hanalei Valley Lookout
• Kilauea Lighthouse
• Kilauea Point National Wildlife
• Refuge
• Princeville
• Makana Peak
• Manininiholo Dry Cave
• Waikanaloa & Waikapalae Wet Caves
• Waioli Mission House
• Na Pali Coast

On the West Side:

• Captain Cook’s Monument
• Kalalau Lookout
• Menehune Ditch
• Russian Fort Elizabeth
• Waimea Canyon Hanapepe
• Hanapepe Valley Lookout
  Salt Pond

On the South Shore:

• National Tropical Botanical Garden
  Spouting Horn

In Lihue/Kalapaki:

• Grove Farm Homestead Museum
• Huleia National Wildlife Refuge
• Menehune (Alekoko) Fishpond
• Nawiliwili Harbor
• Fern Grotto
• Lydgate State Park
  Wailua Falls

On the Coconut Coast:

• Bell Stone
• Keahua Forestry Arboretum
• Opaekaa Falls
• Sleeping Giant (Nounou Mountain)

Mount Desert Island, Maine – 85.87

Mount Desert Island, off the coast of Maine, is widely known as the home of Acadia National Park and the town of Bar Harbor located on USA. If we viewed the island from the air (a look at the Acadia map will do), we would notice north and south aligned gouges scooped out of the land as if by a very large hand. Indeed, in this case, the hand was that of a huge, slow moving, continental glacier over a mile high,… 2 miles thick in some places. When this giant glacier finally melted and retreated, it left rounded mountain tops, long lakes, many boulders, and the 7 mile long Somes Sound – the only fjord on the East coast of the United States. Elsewhere on the island is the massive Cadillac Mountain. Even after being sheared off by the glaciers, it remains the highest point along the North Atlantic Seaboard at 1,532 feet above sea level and provides spectacular panoramic views of Acadia National Park and other out islands.

To the original coastal Abnaki Indians, Mount Desert Island was known as “Pemetic” (the sloping land). Although the Abnaki’s permanent villages were located on the mainland, they regularly fished and gathered shellfish from Mount Desert Island. (Check out the Abbe Museum for this history.) The island got its current name from the French explorer Champlain who ran aground here in 1604 AD. Today, Mount Desert Island is best known as the home of Acadia National Park, where land and sea, mountains and shore, people and abundant wildlife meet in a natural and spectacular setting.

There are many people who are surprised to hear that there are actually only 4 official townships on the island. They are Bar Harbor, Mount Desert, Southwest Harbor and Tremont. Bar Harbor encompasses the sections of Eden, Hulls Cove, Salisbury Cove and Town Hill. Mount Desert, although having no official “center,” consists of Hall Quarry, Northeast Harbor, Otter Creek, Seal Harbor and Somesville. With Southwest Harbor comes Manset and Seawall. Bass Harbor, Bernard, Seal Cove, and West Tremont are part of the town of Tremont.

Maui 85.48

The big tourist spots in Maui include the Hāna Highway, Haleakalā National Park, and Lahaina.

The Hāna Highway runs along the east coast of Maui, curving around many mountains and passing by black sand beaches and waterfalls. Haleakalā National Park is home to Haleakalā, a dormant volcano. Lahaina is one of the main attractions on the island with an entire street of shops and restaurants which lead to a wharf where many set out for a sunset cruise or whale watching journey. Snorkeling can be done at almost any beach along the Maui coast.

The main tourist areas are West Maui (Kāʻanapali, Lahaina, Nāpili-Honokōwai, Kahana, Napili, Kapalua), and South Maui (Kīhei, Wailea-Mākena). The main port of call for cruise ships is located in Kahului. A smaller port can be found in Maʻalaea Harbor located between Lahaina and Kihei.

Maui County welcomed 2,207,826 tourists in 2004 rising to 2,639,929 in 2007 with total tourist expenditures north of US$3.5 billion for the Island of Maui alone. While the island of Oʻahu is most popular with Japanese tourists, the Island of Maui appeals to visitors mostly from the U.S. mainland and Canada: in 2005, there were 2,003,492 domestic arrivals on the island, compared to 260,184 international arrivals.

Throughout 2008 Maui suffered a major loss in tourism compounded by the spring bankruptcies of Aloha Airlines and ATA Airlines. The pullout in May of the second of three Norwegian Cruise Line ships also hurt. Pacific Business News reported a $166 million loss in revenue for Maui tourism businesses.

Aeolian Islands, Italy – 85.13

Seven little volcanic islands surrounded by a warm and deep sea in an out-of-time atmosphere recalling a history of sea-adventures going back 5000 years: that’s how long man’s presence on these islands dates back. Holiday planning offers the chance of an extraordinary range of ideas in a natural and largely untouched environment: the main island Lipari, the green landscapes of Salina, the wild nature of Alicudi and Filicudi, the sophisticated Panarea and the charming Vulcano and Stromboli.

An excellent ferryboat service connects the islands to Sicily (Milazzo, Palermo and Messina), Reggio Calabria and Naples.
Alicudi
	Alicudi is the island of heather due to the pink blanket that covers its lavic surface in spring- time. This island (5.2 km2) once called “Ericusa” is an extinct volcano that rises out of the sea to reach the summit of Monte Filo dell’Arpa (657 m; also known as Timpone della Montagnola). This is the smallest and western-most of the inhabited Aeolian islands and lies about 67 miles from Milazzo. It is not part of the mass tourism circuit and the only landing area is near the Scoglio della Palomba. Tourists accommodation is only possible in boarding-houses and private homes. Near the village there is a rise called “Timpone delle femmine’. Women used to be hidden in this almost impenetrable location to prevent them from being kidnapped by the pirates during their raids. The boat tour along the 4 kilometres of the island’s coast slowly exposes enchanting spots and peculiar red and black rocks separating the little beaches from each other. The completely uninhabited western side of the island shows particularly suggestive walls falling into the water. The stair-shaped eastern side is exactly the opposite. You can see the church of San Bartolomeo rising above the houses of Alicudi and offering a wide panorama.
Basiluzzo
	More than an island, Basiluzzo is a 500-meter- long sharp crag boldly emerging out of the sea two miles from Panarea. Its pointed rocks, measuring up to 150 meters, gradually slope towards the east, offering from the sea an almost fairy-tale-vision of the island. The Roman pier is still used as a landing-area. From here you can climb up along a path to the old ruins lying on the upper part of the island and enjoy an unparalleled view of the rest of the islands. During the short but extremely pleasant boat tour around the island a succession of small coves, grottos and steep rocks vertically rising above the sea will unfold before you. The transparency of the water near the landing-area will enable you to spot the ruins of a Roman dockyard swallowed by the sea as a consequence of the bradyseism phenomena.
Filicudi
	Once it was called ‘Phoenicusa’: “rich in ferns”, and a major area of the island is still covered with this type of vegetation. This island, measuring just under 10 km2, lies 9 miles from Alicudi and 19 miles from Lipari. It is the most ragged of this group of islands and geologists believe that its conformation is the product of six eruptive mouths, three of which represent today’s peaks of the island: Fossa delle Felci (774 m) which is the oldest; Montagnola (333 m) which is probably the most recent; and Torrione (280 m). This ideal holiday island, light-years away from traffic and noise has two villages lying on a small peninsula stretching out towards the south: Filicudi Porto and Pecorini a Mare. The remains of prehistoric settlements from the Bronze Age have been found here. Excavations have also been car- ried out in the upper area and up to the peak of the Montagnola. Subsequent settlements were built here, probably for defence requirements and deserves a visit. The island’s only usable road is a mule-path.
Lipari
	This isle is the largest of the Aeolian Islands (48 km2). It lies 22 miles from Milazzo, which is its natural link to the mainland. Its volcanic nature is revealed by its dominating colours: the white of the pomice-stones scattered all around the coastline and the black of the obsidian of Castellaccio Vecchio. Thousands of years ago obsidian represented the islands principal export with the continent because it was extremely suitable for the manufacturing of sharp tools and arms. The volcanic phenomenon can also be observed in the island’s thermal springs (up to 600), in its solfataras and in its 12 volcanic systems converging towards the 602 metres of Monte Chirica (although this is not the only mountain of Lipari). This elevated and craggy island (once called “Meligunis”) has spectacular beaches and breathtaking ragged coasts whose walls rise precipitously from below the sea. Besides the town of Lipari there are four more villages on the island: Canneto, Acquacalda, Quattropiani and Piano Conte.
Panarea
	The ancient island of “Euonimo” has a surface of only 3.5 km2, but it is the island highly admired by élite tourism. The main village, Contrada San Pietro, consists of a group of white houses clustered along the eastern side of the island. The built-up area is crowned with olive trees and protected by huge walls. The other two villages north and south of San Pietro are Dittella and Drauto. The only practicable roads join the centre with Punta Calcara: this kingdom of fumaroles (emissions of hot gas and steam) is situated at the northern tip of the island. The temperature of the soil can reach as high as 100 degrees. In the exact opposite corner (the south-eastern tip of the island) lies the prehistoric village of Punta Milazzese (a hut-village dating back to the Bronze Age), which can be reached from the beach of San Pietro in an hours walk. We recommend a boat tour to the nearby small islands of Basiluzzo, Dattilo and Lisca Bianca, to the Scoglio Bottaro (with its underwater “fumaroles”), and to the crags Lisca Nera, Panarelli and Le Formiche. Fields of golden corn cover the 420-metre-high peak of Pizzo del Corvo (the island’s highest point) while the mountain slopes down towards the sea on the eastern side.
Salina
	This isle is the second largest Aeolian island (26.8 km2). It was named after the little salted lake of Lingua lying at the south-eastern tip of Salma where the inhabitants once used to gather the salt needed to preserve capers and fish. This centrally located isle, lying two miles from Lipari, is the only Aeolian island (out of seven) covered with blooming vegetation suitable for agriculture thanks to its many water sources. More than 400 different types of plants grow here. It is also the island with the highest peaks such as the three volcanoes that originated it: Monte Fossa delle Felci (962 m), which is partially covered by one of the most beautiful strawberry tree woods of the entire Mediterranean; Monte dei Porri (860 m); and Monte Rivi (850 m). Besides the three villages of Santa Marina Salma (the biggest), Malfa and Leni there are also five hamlets: Lingua, Rinella, Valdichiesa, Pollara and Torricella. Salma, too, can take pride in its past during the Bronze Age, which is demon- strated by a grave, found in Malfa, dating back to the third millennium B.C. The remains are exhibited in the Museum of Lipari.
Stromboli
	This 924 metre high lava mountain (Serra Vancori) which drops abruptly down to 2000 metres below sea-level is Europe’s biggest active volcano after Etna. Its area of 12.6 km2 is visually dominated by the crater: a sort of suggestive natural lighthouse situated in the easternmost Aeolian island. During the night, the glittering “sciara” of fire (the red-hot flow descending towards the sea) can be seen from the boats and from Panarea. During the day, the smoke of the peak joins the steam raising up from the water that cools down the red-hot lava detritus which have plunged into the water after sliding down the slope of the coast. The white houses of the little village create a unique contrast with the black lava background dotted with dark-green bushes.
Vulcano
	It was once called ‘Hierà” (the sacred), but also “Termessa” or “Terrasia”. Today it is famous for the baths in the warm waters of its submarine springs. This 21 km2, 500 metre high (Monte Aria) isle is the Aeolian island closest to the Sicilian coast. Its name is a clear description of its geography: a land of lava and fumarole, yellow sulphur rocks and black sands all worth a visit. There are three volcanoes on the island: the first extinguished since the prehistoric age; the second is Vulcanello (123 metres high and dormant since 183 B.C.); the last is Fossa di Vulcano (only the fumaroles are still active).

Food & Wine All sorts of fish delicacies can be found on the local menus. Special attention must be given to the swordfish, a typical fish of these waters, which is caught according to a very ancient and extremely picturesque “rite”. Other specialities are : “maccaruni”, aubergine rolls, sweet and sour rabbit, smoked ricotta cheese and the aromatic capers (their flowers are called the ‘orchids of the Aeolian Islands”) There is also a selection of excellent, strong and spiced local wines.

Maldives – 84.43

Located in the middle of the Indian ocean, this chain of 1,000 islands (200 are inhabited, and only 5 have any substantial population) is just a series of coral atolls that are barely above sea level. During the 2004 Tsunami, many of these islands were completely washed away. The government has built flood barriers to help lessen the impact of any future tsunamis. These little coral islands are surrounded by excellent diving and snorkeling, white sand beaches, and filled with friendly locals. Private resorts litter the islands, and a vacation here is also very pricey. Luckily, Bangkok Airways offers cheap flights to and from Thailand. The best time to go to the Maldives is during November to May, when the weather is cool and dry. June through October sees wetter and hotter weather due to the monsoon season.

Big Island, Hawaii – 83.92

Famous for the active Kilauea volcano, Hawaii’s Big Island is home to a list of fascinating anomalies.

Eleven different climate zones generate everything from lush rain forests to arid deserts, black sand beaches to snow-capped mountaintops. The Big Island is Hawaii’s biggest playground.

What can I do on Hawaii’s Big Island?

• See molten lava flow at Kilauea volcano in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
• Play in the snow atop Mauna Kea, the world’s tallest mountain (measured from the ocean floor)
• Hike through Waipio Valley, the “Valley of the Kings”
• Explore Puukohola Heiau, the largest restored ancient Hawaiian religious temple
• Enjoy the entertainment, culture, and cuisine in Hilo and the Kona Coast

Vancouver Island and Victoria BC – 83.74

From a rich heritage of native culture preserved for eternity in museums, to the contemporary bustle of festivals and local events, Vancouver Island offers a year-round pageant of history, arts and lively entertainment.

Plan your holiday celebrations with our extensive content of island attractions. Vancouver Island – where nature is cherished and history comes alive! If outdoor recreation is what attracted you to Vancouver Island, then visit our Recreation section and customize your own wilderness adventure.

Attractions around the Islands
Attractions in Victoria Attractions on Vancouver Island and the BC Gulf Islands
Things to Do and See
Beaches Festivals & Events Hot Springs Kids’ Stuff Llama Walks & Hikes	Museums Petroglyphs Spas & Health Retreats Totem Poles Wineries
Historic and Heritage Sites
Craigdarroch Castle Craigflower Manor Emily Carr House Fisgard Lighthouse Fort Rodd Hill	Haig-Brown House Hatley Park Helmcken House Point Ellice House Quw’utsun’ Cultural Centre
Popular places to visit around Vancouver Island
Butchart Gardens Cathedral Grove Hatley Park (Hatley Castle) Pacific Rim Royal BC Museum	Saltspring Island Strathcona Park The Empress Hotel Tofino Victoria