Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Our writers have weighed up the options and voted for their favourite islands of all time, ranging from beach escapes to art hubs and foodie hotspots. Here’s the 12 best, including the overall winner.
Raja Ampat, Indonesia With its biodiversity including thousands of species of fish, 75 per cent of all known types of coral and its famous red birds of paradise among its many birds, this collection of white-sand-and-palm-fringed islands may just be the most beautiful place on Earth. K’gari, Queensland Lake McKenzie on K’gari. Credit: Tourism and Events Queesland K’gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, is not just home to a headline-making dingo population, and not just the largest sand island in the world, but it is also a unique landscape of freshwater lakes diverse wildlife and cultural significance.
There are shipwrecks, rainforests growing on sand and a dozen different ways to explore. Kangaroo Island, South Australia Remarkable: Kangaroo Island. Credit: SATC A blueprint for preservation, fortitude and cohabitation has surely been forged in this crucible of Australian flora and fauna off the South Australian coast.
It’s also a remarkable culinary destination and home to one of Australia’s most famous and lauded stays, Southern Ocean Lodge. Hokkaido, Japan Hokkaido is Japan’s last frontier. Credit: iStock Japan’s thinly populated, second-largest island is its last frontie.
