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The world’s best island-hopping destinations, revealed

Safety, average summer temperatures, and the number of islands on offer have all been analysed in this study

Liv Kelly
Written by
Liv Kelly
Contributing Writer
The Philippines
photosounds/Shutterstock
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Sure, lying on the same beach day after day can be pretty glorious, but for the more adventure-hungry travellers among us, sometimes you gotta change it up – and island hopping is a cracking way to do so. In fact, searches for island hopping are up 25 percent this year. 

The world is full of pretty islands, but if you’re looking to cram as many into one trip as possible, we’ve got some good news. 

Planet Cruise has researched the world’s best countries for island hopping by evaluating safety scores, social media scores (including the number of Insta and TikTok hashtags), average summer temperatures, ferry prices and the number of islands. 

So, where in the world is best to go island hopping? Well, it’s (drum roll, please) the Philippines! That’s right, this nation has topped the island-hopping chart, thanks to its whopping number of inhabited islands (2,000), a pleasant summer temperature of 26.9C (80F) and an impressive social media score of 11,280. 

In second place was Japan, which is the safest destination on the list with a safety score of 77.3, and the cheapest in terms of ferry price at just £4 (€4.75). Thailand claimed third, which has 50 inhabited islands ready to gander and a toasty average temperature of 28.1C (83F).

The 10 best island hopping destinations in the world

  1. The Philippines
  2. Japan
  3. Thailand
  4. Croatia
  5. Greece
  6. Spain
  7. The Maldives
  8. Portugal
  9. Scotland
  10. Dominican Republic

Feeling the allure of island life? Check out this list of the best islands to visit in Europe, or our roundup of the prettiest islands in the world

Did you see that this European city was just named the world’s best destination for solo travel?

Plus: What is the ‘Temple Run Challenge’ and why are conservationists condemning it?

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