The overwater bungalows of Bora Bora appear first, floating above a lagoon so still it looks painted, and from that opening image the question becomes obvious: if one island can look like that, what does a world tour of the best 30-plus actually reveal? For anyone who has ever stared at a map and tried to decide where to go first, the answer matters. Island Hopper TV set out to build exactly that guide, circling the globe from French Polynesia to East Africa, pausing long enough at each stop to explain not just what is beautiful but what is worth the flight.
From the Pacific to the Mediterranean, the first wave
Tahiti anchors the opening, and the distinction it draws is immediately useful: Bora Bora is the honeymoon choice, Moa’orea the explorer’s alternative, and both sit within the same windward group of the Society Islands. The Balearic Islands follow, with Formentera singled out for its crystal-clear water, Mallorca flagged as the family-friendly option anchored by the capital Palma, and Ibiza carrying its familiar reputation for nightlife at clubs like Ushuaia. The Maldives enter next, south of India and Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean, where more than 26 atolls and 1,000 coral islands make it one of the most biodiverse and most romantic destinations on earth, a model eco-tourism destination that has built its brand around both the reef and the overwater bungalow.
The Seychelles bring 115 islands off Madagascar’s coast, many of them uninhabited, with the capital Victoria sitting on the island of Mahe. The Azores, a volcanic Portuguese archipelago 1,500 kilometers from Lisbon, offer something genuinely different: lush caldera slopes, whale watching, colorful markets, and historical architecture on the main island of Sao Miguel, centered on the city of Ponta Delgada. Galapagos follows, just off Ecuador, where Darwin assembled his theory of evolution watching blue-footed boobies and marine iguanas. The most visited islands there are Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, and Floreana. Fiji fills out this first wave, more than 330 islands in the Pacific with Viti Levu and Vanua Levu accounting for over 85 percent of the total land area, the smaller surrounding islands largely uninhabited and available to anyone willing to look for them.
Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and the places people overlook
Palawan in the Philippines arrives as the budget-friendly standout, home to El Nido and Coron, both now recognized among the new seven wonders of the world, plus the rare Palawan peacock pheasant and the Philippine mouse deer. Raja Ampat in West Papua, Indonesia, is described as one of the last genuinely untouched places on earth, with over 1,500 fish species and 600 species of coral in a single marine environment. Singapore earns its place as a two-to-three-day city-island with a food scene that draws from across the world. Jamaica brings reggae, jerk chicken, saltfish and ackee, the Blue Lagoon, and rainforest waterfalls. St. Lucia counters with the Pitons, twin volcanic peaks recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Sardinia stands out for a reason most travel guides miss. The island, the second largest in the Mediterranean, is one of the places on earth where people routinely live past 100 years old, a detail that lands differently than another beach recommendation. Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean with five million residents and the active Mount Etna, is flagged as significantly cheaper than northern Italy, a practical note for anyone budgeting a European trip. Bermuda, a British overseas territory sitting about 620 miles east of the United States and closer geographically to South Carolina than to Florida, is named one of the most underrated island destinations anywhere, with pink and white sand beaches and water clear enough to feel unreal. Easter Island, 2,300 miles west of Chile, requires a connection through Santiago but delivers the moai statues, enormous carved figures whose origins, as the guide puts it plainly, ‘still remain a mystery to this day.’
Mauritius closes the Indian Ocean section with one of the most visually striking details in the entire journey: an underwater waterfall visible from an airplane, an optical effect produced by the ocean floor off the island’s coast that looks, from altitude, exactly like water cascading into an abyss.
One view that keeps stopping the journey
The underwater waterfall off Mauritius, seen from a plane window somewhere above the Indian Ocean, framed by nothing but blue in every direction.
From Bora Bora’s painted lagoon to that aerial illusion above Mauritius, the guide circles back to the same discovery at every latitude: the world’s best islands tend to hide one detail that no photograph quite prepares you for, and the only way to find it is to show up.
