Top Island Vacation Index

Every year island destinations are rated by tourists, world travelers, and industry insiders. The ranking of the best of the best frequently changes because of many factors. Everything from the culture to the political climate to new resorts and beach quality plays a role in the islands' recommendation. The best-rated islands offer the most of everything, and appeal to travelers of all kinds, with budget and luxury options and some exclusivity to let everyone feel like they are able to get away from it all.

This year's best-rated island destinations worldwide include everything from tropical destinations to remote, northern islands. Each of these destinations is unique, even those that have been on the top-rated island lists for several years. Some locations, such as Vancouver Island and Waiheke Island are little known, off-the-beaten path islands that travelers have come to love. Both of these locations have also been highly rated year-to-year as a result. Other destinations have moved higher up the list because of their ease of access and added resorts, development and improvements made by the local hospitality industries making them more attractive to guests.

Some of the recent changes to the list can be attributed to more government dollars that were put into advertising and marketing certain regions. Many of the new island destinations have been the focus of huge advertising campaigns that were launched in order to revitalize the area and attract travelers. These successful tourism board efforts have worked to attract curious travelers to these destinations. Even popular destinations like the Bahamas, which are often left off lists ranking islands because they are such a common choice, are on the list this year because of major advertising campaigns that have attracted new crowds and types of travelers. It is interesting to see how well marketing can work when it comes to putting new and old destinations on the map.

New regions that have long been considered isolated have moved up on the list too because of new airline routes added in the last couple years. Islands in Australia and the Pacific, specifically Polynesian destinations, are now some of the favorite island destinations in the world. These islands were previously considered mythical and mysterious, but now tourists are getting the chance to experience them for themselves and loving the culture they discover. The islands embrace the tourists because they are a completely new stream of revenue and locals are able to utilize their skills to produce goods bought by tourists. Coincidentally, entertainment and films have also played a role in getting these far-off islands onto the top rated lists, because viewers want to see the beauty of the places they see on the big screen.