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National Geographic rates best (and worst) islands

by Grant Martin (RSS feed) on Nov 1st 2007 at 3:00PM

National Geographic has just published their newest list of island destinations, both in their Nov/Dec Traveler magazine and abridged online.

Among the top contenders are

Faroe Islands, Denmark
Azores, Portugal
Lofoten, Norway
Shetland Islands, Scotland, UK
Chiloe, Chile

Ever been to any of them? Me neither. That's probably what makes them a cut above the rest though -- they are as yet unspoiled by tourists like you and me.

What I find interesting is the number of winners that stipulate the beauty with "as long as the cruise ships don't keep coming." As one who has experienced the tidal wave of headphone-wearing-flag-following cruise herds first hand though, I can sort of see why they're saying this. We just need to get there before they do.

Filed under: Ecotourism

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Beverly Bass Nov 1st 2007 4:49PM

I've been to Chiloe, Chile -- It is a special place.

david hill Nov 1st 2007 5:13PM

Pleasantly surprised to find that I have been to most of the best ones. I've been to 14 of the whole list, including 5 of the top 6. Strongly recommend a visit to Faroe and the Lofotens

Janelle Nov 2nd 2007 11:53AM

Thanks for the post! We're excited about the list as well - but are musing over the same questions about travel and sustainability. We actually posed them to New York Times Environmental Reporter Andrew Revkin this week and got his interesting responses on our blog:

http://intelligenttravel.typepad.com/it/2007/10/we-are-very-ple.html)

and he got some more on his own:

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/the-value-and-costs-of-travel-on-a-small-planet/

Mary Jan 8th 2008 2:08PM

I traveled to Shetland last year -- a place of sublime beauty and pristine natural wonders. And there actually are Shetland ponies running around everywhere -- in common grazing areas, in people's yards...the place is crawling with 'em! One of my favorite spots was St. Ninian's Isle, which is linked by a tombolo (a thin thread of sand) to the main island (called Mainland by the islanders). There are the ruins of a church on the islet, and we found a small holy well, unmarked on any map, where people had left offerings. The wind blew from all directions, the grasses rustled, the seabirds cried, and otherwise all was blessed silence. A more peaceful place couldn't be imagined. I go back to it for mental "vacations" all the time!

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