Compare 576 Travel Destinations

A six-island archipelago in the Andaman Sea between Phuket and Krabi — protected within the Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, with Permian-era limestone karst cliffs ringing turquoise water. Phi Phi Don is the only inhabited island; Phi Phi Leh holds Maya Bay (the famous beach from "The Beach" 2000), which closed entirely from 2018 to 2022 for coral recovery and reopened with strict daily caps (4,375 visitors/day, 60-minute slots, no swimming inside the bay), closing annually August 1–September 30 for further recovery. The classic Phi Phi day combines Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon, Bamboo Island snorkelling, and the Phi Phi Viewpoint hike for the iconic double-bay photograph. No roads, no cars, no airport — everything is by boat from the wooden Tonsai Pier.

Phu Quoc is Vietnam’s largest island, a pepper-and-fish-sauce outpost in the Gulf of Thailand that sits closer to Cambodia than to the Vietnamese mainland. The south end has the postcard beaches — Sao Beach’s soft white crescent and Long Beach’s 20-kilometre sweep of resort and hostel — plus the world’s longest sea-crossing cable car at 7.9 kilometres, which links the mainland to little Hon Thom island and was opened in 2018. Vietnam grants 30-day visa-free entry to every nationality on arrival here, which makes it one of the easiest tropical entries on the planet. The fish-sauce factories of Duong Dong town smell like the Atlantic at low tide.

Thailand's largest island is a tropical playground of palm-fringed beaches, turquoise Andaman Sea waters, and lively nightlife. From the bustling Patong strip to the serene coves of Kata and Rawai, Phuket offers everything from luxury resorts to budget beach bungalows. The jumping-off point for Phi Phi Islands and Phang Nga Bay.

The largest of the Dodecanese (1,400 km², 90K residents) wraps a UNESCO Old Town that’s the largest inhabited medieval town in Europe — 4 km of intact Knights Hospitaller walls, the Street of the Knights, and the Palace of the Grand Master. Plus the cliff-top Acropolis of Lindos above twin azure bays, the Valley of the Butterflies (June–September Jersey tiger moths in the millions), the Acropolis of Rhodes on Monte Smith, Mandraki Harbour where the Colossus once stood, and 220 km of beaches along both Meltemi-cooled western and calm eastern coasts.

The Caribbean's most dramatic island — the UNESCO twin Pitons (volcanic spires rising from the sea) define Saint Lucia as completely as the Eiffel Tower defines Paris. The world's only drive-in volcano near Soufrière, Anse Chastanet's world-class shore diving, Marigot Bay's perfect natural harbor, and Friday night Jump-Up street parties make this the Caribbean's most varied island experience.

Santorini is the Greek island of dreams — whitewashed villages clinging to volcanic cliffs above a sapphire caldera. Oia's sunset is legendary, Fira's clifftop bars are unforgettable, and the black sand beaches are unlike anywhere else. Visit the ancient Akrotiri ruins, taste Assyrtiko wine, and take a boat trip to the volcanic hot springs.

The Mediterranean's second-largest island after Sicily, sitting halfway between Italy and Tunisia and reached in an hour by air from Rome or Milan. The northeast Costa Smeralda, developed by the Aga Khan and Berlusconi-era investors, is one of Europe's premier yachting strips, with turquoise water that fades from emerald to deep blue against pink granite headlands. Cagliari, the southern capital, climbs from a working port up to the Bastione di Saint Remy. Inland, more than 7,000 prehistoric nuraghi stone towers from the Bronze Age are scattered across the hills, and pasta sa malloreddus with pecorino sardo defines the table.

A tear-shaped island of 437 square kilometres in the Pacific-facing eastern Philippines — voted Conde Nast Traveler's best island in Asia in 2019 and the world's best in 2022. Cloud 9 is the country's most famous wave, a hollow right-hand reef break that fires September-November when Pacific swells line up; non-surfers come for Sugba Lagoon's jade-green saltwater swim, the Magpupungko low-tide rock pools, the Three Islands boat day-trip (Naked, Daku, Guyam), the stingless jellyfish at Tojoman Lagoon, and tens of thousands of coconut palms covering most of the island. Super Typhoon Odette flattened most resorts in December 2021 and reconstruction continued through 2024; tourism infrastructure is now mostly rebuilt and often more typhoon-resistant. General Luna ("GL") is the main hub.

South Padre Island is a 34-mile barrier island at the southern tip of Texas, a one-bridge causeway from Port Isabel and a 30-minute drive from Brownsville. The town occupies the southern five miles; everything north is undeveloped Gulf-of-Mexico beach and dune. It is the sport-fishing capital of Texas, headquarters of the Sea Turtle Inc rescue, and home to the world's largest sandcastle competition (Sandcastle Days, October). The reputation is split: a notorious March spring break, then nine quiet, family-friendly months of dolphin tours, kiteboarding, and 25-dollar beachfront tacos. Closest airports are Brownsville/SPI (BRO) and Harlingen (HRL), both inside an hour. Do not confuse it with Padre Island National Seashore, 90 miles north near Corpus Christi.

French Polynesia's main island and the only international gateway to the South Pacific — every flight to Bora Bora, Moorea, the Tuamotus and the Marquesas first lands at Faaa (PPT). Papeete's Marché is the country's best market; Pointe Vénus is where Cook observed the 1769 transit of Venus; the Musée Gauguin and the Arahoho blowholes line the windward coast. Tahiti Iti's southeastern peninsula hides Teahupo'o — the planet's heaviest barrelling reef wave and a 2024 Olympic surf venue. The volcanic interior (Mt Orohena, 2,241m) is essentially unvisited.

The largest of the Canary Islands and a Spanish autonomous community sitting 300 km off Western Sahara — geologically African, politically Spanish. Mt Teide (3,718 m) is the highest peak in Spain and the world's third-tallest volcano measured from its oceanic base; the entire island is essentially the volcano's above-water portion. The summit cable car climbs to 3,555 m in 8 minutes (Mirador Las Cañadas), with the final 200 m to the crater requiring a free permit booked weeks ahead. The southern resort strip — Costa Adeje, Los Cristianos, Playa de las Américas — concentrates 85% of the 6 million annual tourists; the greener, wetter northern half stays comparatively quiet around the colonial capital of Santa Cruz, the Anaga laurel forest, and the cliffs of Los Gigantes. The IGIC tax regime (7% versus mainland Spain's 21% VAT) makes electronics, alcohol, and luxury goods notably cheaper. Two airports — Tenerife South (TFS) for international charter, Tenerife North (TFN) for inter-island and Iberia.

A British Overseas Territory of 40 low-lying coral islands strung between the Bahamas and Hispaniola — Grace Bay’s 12 miles of powdery white sand and turquoise water regularly tops world’s-best-beach rankings, the third-largest coral barrier reef in the world rims the islands (snorkelling and diving among the Caribbean’s best), and the bioluminescent Conch Bar Caves on Middle Caicos sit alongside Mudjin Harbour’s dramatic limestone cliffs. Higher-end and significantly quieter than Bahamas alternatives. Uses US dollars despite the British flag; British nationality, US currency.

A 74-island archipelago in the Coral Sea off central Queensland — protected within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (UNESCO) and the Whitsunday Islands National Park, with most islands uninhabited. Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island runs 7 km of 98% pure silica sand — so fine and white that it stays cool underfoot in 35°C summer sun, and repeatedly voted one of the world's top beaches. Hill Inlet's tide-shifting cream-and-turquoise sand patterns are the iconic Whitsundays photograph; Heart Reef (visible only by helicopter or seaplane) is the heart-shaped coral formation in the outer Great Barrier Reef. Add multi-day sailing trips through the Whitsunday Passage's reliable trade winds, snorkelling at Hardy Reef pontoon, and Hamilton Island's resort scene with One Tree Hill sunsets — Australia's most photogenic tropical archipelago.

Zanzibar is an Indian Ocean paradise with a rich cultural tapestry — Stone Town's labyrinthine alleys blend Arab, Persian, Indian, and African influences, while the east coast beaches offer powdery white sand and turquoise waters. The spice island lives up to its name with aromatic plantations, and the seafood is extraordinary.