Conde Nast: World’s three best islands are in the Philippines

best islands
The white sand beach of Boracay

The Philippines has taken the top three spots in a list of the world’s best islands.

A Condé Nast Traveller’s Readers’ Choice Awards survey named Boracay, Cebu and Visayan Islands and Palawan at the head of its list of 30 paradise destinations.

ADVERTISEMENT

An earlier survey, released in February this year, placed Boracay in first place, Palawan in second and Cebu in fifth place among 20 islands.

In the survey released this week, Boracay took its top spot thanks to the votes of more than 300,000 readers who were fans of its white-sand beach and “thriving nightlife scene”.

The magazine described Boracay as being “as close to a tropical idyll as you’ll find in Southeast Asia, with gentle coastlines and transportative [sic] sunsets.”

ADVERTISEMENT

In the second spot, Cebu was said to be “not as wild” as Phuket, Thailand, and more “personal, with plenty of up-and-coming restaurants and shopping.”

In third place was Palawan, which has dropped from second place earlier in the year and the top spot in both 2014 and 2015. It was again hailed as being home to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

The voting period for the awards was from April 1 to July 1, 2017. It covered only islands outside the United States.

ADVERTISEMENT

The 30 best islands in the world:

1 Boracay, Philippines

2 Cebu and Visayan Islands, Philippines

3 Palawan, Philippines

4 Mallorca, Spain

5 Mykonos, Greece

6 Bermuda

7 St Barts

8 Turks and Caicos

9 Bali, Indonesia

10 Cayman Islands

11 St Lucia

12 St John, US Virgin Islands

13 Crete, Greece.

14 Sardinia, Italy

15 Ibiza, Spain

16 Antigua

17 Vancouver Island, BC, Canada

18 Isla Mujeres, Mexico

19 Barbados

20 Capri, Italy

21 Fiji

22 Moorea, French Polynesia

23 Bora Bora, French Polynesia

24 British Virgin Islands

25 Santorini, Greece

26 Mauritius

27 Anguilla

28 Hvar, Croatia

29 Madeira, Portugal

30 St Thomas, US Virgin Islands