Best Island EscapesA tropical island reference

Information only · no bookings

Island Guides: the water, upsides, downsides and how you get there.

27 islands with the upsides, the downsides, the airports, and how you actually get from the tarmac to the beach or harbor. Tropical pages plus one Adriatic island. This is a reference guide, not a booking desk or an advice inbox.

Islands
27
Includes
Airports
Not included
Bookings

Region

Budget

Vibe

Showing 27 of 27 islands

Turquoise tropical lagoon and overwater bungalows
South Pacific

Bora Bora

French Polynesia

The lagoon postcard — overwater bungalows, Mount Otemanu, and a price tag to match.

$$$ SplurgeHoneymoonLuxury

PPT · Faa'a International Airport

Pros, cons & transit
Thatched beach building over turquoise lagoon water and white sand
South Pacific

Moorea

French Polynesia

The island people should compare with Bora Bora — a lagoon, a mountain spine, and a ferry from Tahiti.

$$ Mid-rangeHoneymoonAdventure

PPT · Faa'a International Airport

Pros, cons & transit
Overwater villas stretching into a Maldivian atoll
Indian Ocean

Maldives

Maldives

Private-island resorts, house reefs, and seaplanes — paradise with a transfer plan.

$$$ SplurgeHoneymoonLuxury

MLE · Velana International Airport

Pros, cons & transit
Balinese temple rooftops against tropical hills
Southeast Asia

Bali

Indonesia

Temples, rice terraces, and a coastline for every budget — if you can live with the traffic.

$ ModestCultureBeach

DPS · I Gusti Ngurah Rai International

Pros, cons & transit
Napili Bay on Maui, with golden sand, palms, and low-rise buildings along a turquoise cove
Hawaii

Maui

United States

Trade-wind beaches, a dormant volcano, and the Road to Hana — with US convenience and Hawaiian prices.

$$$ SplurgeFamilyBeach

OGG · Kahului Airport

Pros, cons & transit
Diamond Head and the Honolulu coastline
Hawaii

Oahu

United States

The lived-in Hawaiian island — Waikiki, the North Shore, and a real city behind the beaches.

$$ Mid-rangeFamilyBeach

HNL · Daniel K. Inouye International Airport

Pros, cons & transit
An outrigger canoe on turquoise water lined with coconut palms
Hawaii

Kauai

United States

The wet, green Hawaiian island — Nā Pali cliffs, a canyon, and no road that goes all the way around.

$$$ SplurgeAdventureHoneymoon

LIH · Lihue Airport

Pros, cons & transit
Volcanic rock shoreline and a colorful twilight sky over the water
Hawaii

Big Island

United States

Kona is dry beaches and coffee. Hilo is rain and waterfalls. The volcano sits in the middle.

$$ Mid-rangeAdventureCulture

KOA · Ellison Onizuka Kona International

Pros, cons & transit
Papohaku Beach on Molokai’s west side, a wide empty stretch of golden sand and turquoise water
Hawaii

Molokai

United States

The Hawaiian island that never built a Waikiki — few hotels, few flights, and a long memory.

$$ Mid-rangeCultureBeach

MKK · Molokai Airport (Hoʻolehua)

Pros, cons & transit
Infinity pool and cabanas facing a calm ocean at twilight
Hawaii

Lanai

United States

One luxury beach, one plantation town, and not much in between unless you like dirt roads.

$$$ SplurgeLuxuryHoneymoon

LNY · Lanai Airport

Pros, cons & transit
Lush Caribbean coastline with steep volcanic peaks
Caribbean

St. Lucia

Saint Lucia

The Pitons on the skyline, rainforest in the middle, and a long transfer from the main airport.

$$ Mid-rangeHoneymoonLuxury

UVF · Hewanorra International

Pros, cons & transit
Pale sand beach and bright turquoise Caribbean water
Caribbean

Turks and Caicos

Turks and Caicos

Grace Bay's famous sand, easy US flights, and a grocery bill that will humble you.

$$$ SplurgeBeachHoneymoon

PLS · Providenciales International

Pros, cons & transit
Turquoise water, palms, and a small South Pacific islet
South Pacific

Fiji

Fiji

A mainland with buses and markets, plus island groups that still feel far away.

$$ Mid-rangeFamilyDiving

NAN · Nadi International

Pros, cons & transit
Limestone cliffs and a turquoise lagoon in Palawan
Southeast Asia

Palawan

Philippines

Limestone lagoons, wreck diving, and a two-hop journey that still rewards the effort.

$ ModestAdventureDiving

PPS · Puerto Princesa International

Pros, cons & transit
Tropical beach with granite boulders and turquoise water
Indian Ocean

Seychelles

Seychelles

Granite boulders, jungle, and beaches that look invented — with ferry hops between islands.

$$$ SplurgeHoneymoonBeach

SEZ · Seychelles International

Pros, cons & transit
Traditional boats on a tropical East African shore
Indian Ocean

Zanzibar

Tanzania

Stone Town's alleys, spice farms, and an east-coast kite beach — culture and sea on one island.

$ ModestCultureBeach

ZNZ · Abeid Amani Karume International

Pros, cons & transit
Infinity pool on a wooden deck facing a calm tropical ocean
Indian Ocean

Mauritius

Mauritius

The Indian Ocean island with a country attached — lagoons, food, and a long airport drive.

$$ Mid-rangeBeachHoneymoon

MRU · Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International

Pros, cons & transit
White sand Palm Beach with turquoise water, palapas, and palm trees
Caribbean

Aruba

Aruba

Outside the hurricane belt, reliably dry, and more desert-island than jungle-island.

$$ Mid-rangeBeachFamily

AUA · Queen Beatrix International

Pros, cons & transit
Paynes Bay on Barbados’s west coast, with golden sand, turquoise water, and a white hotel behind the trees
Caribbean

Barbados

Barbados

English-speaking, easy from the UK and East Coast, with a calm west coast and a wild Atlantic east.

$$ Mid-rangeBeachCulture

BGI · Grantley Adams International

Pros, cons & transit
Mahogany Beach in Ocho Rios, with lounge chairs, thatched umbrellas, boats, and a hotel along the bay
Caribbean

Jamaica

Jamaica

Music, food, and mountains — and a tourist north coast that is a different country from Kingston.

$ ModestCultureBeach

MBJ · Sangster International

Pros, cons & transit
Aerial view of small green cays, white sandbars, and turquoise Bahamian water
Caribbean

The Bahamas

The Bahamas

Nassau is the easy weekend. The water people screenshot is usually the Exumas.

$$ Mid-rangeBeachFamily

NAS · Lynden Pindling International

Pros, cons & transit
Flamenco Beach on Culebra, a horseshoe of white sand and turquoise water framed by green hills
Caribbean

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

A US island with a real city, a rainforest, and beaches — no passport for US citizens.

$ ModestCultureBeach

SJU · Luis Muñoz Marín International

Pros, cons & transit
Aerial view of a tropical cove with clear water and small boats near the sand
Caribbean

US Virgin Islands

United States

St. Thomas is the airport and the cruise pier. St. John is the beach. St. Croix is a separate trip.

$$ Mid-rangeBeachFamily

STT · Cyril E. King Airport

Pros, cons & transit
Philipsburg waterfront on Great Bay, with turquoise water, palms, boats, and town buildings
Caribbean

St. Maarten

Sint Maarten / Saint Martin

One island, two countries — Dutch beaches and a famous airport on one side, French food on the other.

$$ Mid-rangeBeachCulture

SXM · Princess Juliana International

Pros, cons & transit
Seven Mile Beach with lounge chairs, palms, and hotels along the sand
Caribbean

Cayman Islands

Cayman Islands

Seven Mile Beach, wall diving, and a grocery receipt that reads like a luxury tax.

$$$ SplurgeDivingBeach

GCM · Owen Roberts International

Pros, cons & transit
Thai long-tail boats on a tropical beach
Southeast Asia

Koh Samui

Thailand

A full Thai island with an airport on it — spas, food, and boats to the next gulf island.

$ ModestBeachFamily

USM · Samui International Airport

Pros, cons & transit
Stone waterfront and islands along the Croatian Adriatic
Europe

Hvar

Croatia

The Eastern Adriatic island people usually mean — limestone towns, ferries from Split, and a summer that is not tropical.

$$ Mid-rangeBeachCulture

SPU · Split Airport

Pros, cons & transit

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