TRAVEL AWAITS: My 6 Favorite Islands To Visit In The World

The original article was published in Travel Awaits on Sept. 11, 2022

The Philippine archipelago is composed of 7,641 islands. I was born on one of them, so I am familiar with life on the beach. But I am highlighting these islands that I found on four different continents, not only because of beach life. These six are unforgettable because of one other thing or two—a natural formation, a place in history, a unique creation, or even something completely different.

Marietas Islands: The Hidden Beach and the Mexican Galapagos

The Marietas Islands are on southern Mexico’s Bay of Banderas, off the popular Puerto Vallarta. There are two, 900 meters apart. Both uninhabited, together they form a National Marine Park and UNESCO MAB (Man and Biosphere) Reserve. It’s is said that an innocent Facebook photo of its Hidden Beach went viral and brought droves of tourists to the islands, damaging the area.

Strict new rules have since been implemented. We could only snorkel outside the string of yellow buoys that demarcated Isla Redonda, the smaller of the two,  because that is where Hidden Beach is located. Only 116 people per day can enter (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays) so you have to go early. But you must swim through a 50-foot-long narrow water tunnel through the volcanic rock that leads to the beach below the crater hole. I cannot swim, and my husband didn’t want to go without me, so we just had to be satisfied with the fantasy in the pictures.

At Isla Larga, the larger island, we had to go barefoot to explore its own “hidden beaches” and a thousand-foot interpretive path. It was good enough, we comforted ourselves. The islands’ underwater life teems with rare fish species, sea turtles, dolphins, and manta rays. They are also a protected bird reserve with 92 species, including the world-famous blue-footed booby and large frigate birds, earning them the nickname “Mexican Galapagos.” We took many photos including those of Lion Head, Deadman’s Cave, Blowhole, and Stone Arch.

Pro-Tip: The boat ride from Puerto Vallarta is long so an alternative is to take a car, taxi, or bus from Puerto Vallarta to Punta de Mita, the closest point to the islands. The cost of the boat trip is cheap and you spot whales en route!

Palawan: Longest Navigable Subterranean River & A Prison Without Walls

I took my husband to only one other island in the Philippines aside from Luzon where I was born. Palawan is the fifth largest. Long and narrow, it juts out such that the westernmost point of the country is on its shore. It has consistently been named as one of the Top 10 Islands of the World because of its fine beaches like El Nido and Coron and the Tubbataha Reef, one of the world’s best dive spots. But what I am highlighting here is what made it win a spot in National Geographic’s “7 New Wonders of the World.”   

A two-hour van ride from the capital Puerto Princesa will take you to the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Walking on wooden planks placed on the floor of a green forest inhabited by monkeys and monitor lizards, we reached the Underground River where small paddle boats were waiting for us. The world’s longest (8.2 km.) navigable subterranean river, it flows directly into the sea as a natural phenomenon subject to tidal influences. A thing of beauty with the striking limestone karst mountain landscape outside, stunning cave formations followed inside its deep chambers. The light at the end of the tunnel was not welcome because it meant the tour’s end. 

Another reason we cannot forget the island was our tour of the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm. It’s a “prison without walls,” housing about three thousand inmates on about 45,000 hectares (originally) of land. The only real barriers were in the maximum-security section. Minimum and medium-security prisoners were provided with some land and farm animals to build a livelihood. Some practiced crafts, and we bought some of their products at the gift store. Nobody attempts to escape because it was certain death in the mountains.

Pro-Tip: There is a lot more to see in Puerto Princesa: caves, mangroves, wildlife refuge centers, refugee camps, and island hopping so a few days may not be enough.

Shetland Islands: The Broch And The World’s Smallest Pony  

After Iceland, our cruise ship docked at Lerwick (population 7,500), the capital of the northernmost islands of Scotland called the Shetlands (population 23,000). A city walking tour showed us stone buildings whose foundations were on the water. We toured Fort Charlotte, the Lerwick Town Hall, the Shetland Museum and Archives, and the Old Town Center.

There was time left before we had to go back to the ship. We had a choice of a site where humans had lived since the Mesolithic period, accessible by bus, or join a Shetland pony tour. We dared ride the bus to get to the Broch of Clickimin. Constructed in the first century BC, it’s a very dramatic Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found only in Scotland.

With unbelievable luck, a Shetland pony was grazing on the bright green grass around the Broch! Originating in the Shetlands, the world’s smallest ponies stand only up to 42 inches, sport a heavy coat, and have short legs. Still, they are used for riding, driving, and packing because they are very strong for their size.

Gozo: Older Than the Pyramids of Giza And The Stonehenge

Once I took time off with my BFF to visit the Maltese archipelago. We heard that many movies were filmed on Gozo Island, the other island of about 26 square miles. So we took the 25-minute ferry ride from Malta, the bigger island, through the Gozo Channel.  But instead of movie sets, we saw something else.

We were quite lucky we saw the Azure Window, a rock bridge arch on the beach because two years later, it collapsed. We were also fascinated by the Fungus Rock which hosts a promising medicinal fungus plant, the artifacts of miracles at Ta’ Pinu National Shrine, and the statue of the Virgin Mary in the middle of the beach on Ramla Bay.  

But what impressed us the most was a huge pile of old blackened rocks propped together in some parts by support structures. It was the Ġgantija Temple Complex, older than either the Pyramids of Giza or the prehistoric Stonehenge and the second oldest only to Göbekli Tepe in Turkey.  Together with the other temples in Malta, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the earliest of the series, erected during the Neolithic Age (3600–2500 BC).

Pro-Tip:  We took one of the 'Hop-On Hop-Off' buses to these stops. A taxi would have allowed us to stay longer at the Temple.

Ile St. Marguerite: The Man In The Iron Mask In The French Riviera

During an anniversary, my husband and I chose to be on the French Riviera, visiting Antibes, Cannes, Nice, Grasse, Eze, St. Paul de Vence, and Monte Carlo from a base in Mougins. While in Cannes, we found out about the Lerins Islands, a group of four small Mediterranean islands off the coast. The two largest and inhabited are Ile Saint Honorat with a historic Cistercian monastery and Ile Sainte Marguerite where a fortress has the cell occupied by the Man in the Iron Mask.

We chose the latter. From the ferry dock, we hiked to the top of the hill to what is called the Musee de la Mer. My husband loved the Man in the Iron Mask’s dark cell where he was held captive for 11 years. But I loved more that we were able to bring home photos of an entirely different view of the Cote d’Azur, Cannes harbor, and Palais des Festivals.

Waiheke: World-Class Wines

Waiheke Island is the second largest and most populated island off Auckland, New Zealand. It was ranked fourth/fifth best island destination in the world for a few years. From the ferry dock, we rented a car and proceeded to the southernmost part of Orapiu Bay. After some photos, we drove east through rough coastal roads, unfarmed fields, idyllic scenes with flocks of sheep, and rich olive groves.

At the easternmost part, we lingered at the Man O' War Bay, where we photographed the lovely event sections and sampled the best sellers of this only world-class waterfront winery on the island. Satisfied, we resumed our trek up north and then west where most of the 9,000 islanders’ beachfront residences are. Farther west on Ocean View Road, we found the enviable holiday homes of 3,000 affluent Aucklanders, visiting one owned by a friend.

Back to the ferry side, where most of the art galleries, shops, restaurants, etc. were located, we chose to have late lunch at the prestigious Mudbrick Winery and Restaurant. The Chef paired world-class wines with our meal and explained each dish we ordered. We chose to sit at the beautiful open garden on a hill rather than the extended balcony or the second-floor deck. From each, there was a mystical view of Auckland and Rangitoto Island. For dessert, we moved to the nearby Cable Bay Winery to sample after-dinner wines and to get another view of Auckland from the wide expanse of greenery rolling down to the waters below.    

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