The best island in Britain

There are literally thousands of islands in the UK, but only one can be the best. According to the readers of luxury travel mag Condé Nast Traveller, that title goes not to a single island byt to a little archipelago right on the southern coast.

Every year, Condé Nast Traveller (CNT) surveys hundreds of thousands of readers on their favourite (and least favourite) holiday destinations across the world. The magazine then calculates each a ‘satisfaction score’ for each location, which is essentially a mix of the number of people who had good things to say, and how positive their reviews were. From there, it curates lists of the top ranking places so you know where to book for your next holiday.

One of the lists that CNT has revealed is its top 10 islands in the UK. Coming out on top was the Isles of Scilly, a group of tiny islands which are a short ferry ride from St Ives in Cornwall. The Isles managed to bag an impressive 98.85 percent approval rating, higher than Crete, Ibiza, and Bali. In fact, that score actually makes it the second best island in the entire world, beaten by only Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean.

Could Scilly’s exceptional rating be partly due to the fact that far fewer people have ever visited compare to Bali or Ibiza, making the potential for negative reviews smaller? Perhaps. But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t earned its place. Plus, Scilly has actually gone up since last year when it came second to Jersey and only scored 93.77.

This year, Jersey was relegated to sixth overall, whereas its Channel Island sibling Guernsey jumped massively from an 81.9 satisfaction rate to 98.57, claiming the silver. CNT didn’t explain exactly why each island scored what it did, but if Scilly and Guernsey are anything to go by, shimmering waters and better weather than the rest of the UK (and its Crown Dependencies) could be helping.

In third was the Isle of Man, which, like the Channel Islands, is a Crown Dependency rather than an official part of the UK. No passports are necessary to visit though, so it’s still a great option next time you need to get away from the chaos of everyday life.

The best islands in and around the UK

Here are the top ten islands in and around the UK, according to the readers of CNT, including their satisfaction scores:

1. Isles of Scilly – 98.85
2. Guernsey – 98.57
3. Isle of Man – 88.57
4. Hebrides – 86.43
5. Isle of Wight – 85.71
6. Jersey – 82.86
7. Isle of Arran – 80.00
8. Shetland – 79.99
9. Orkney – 71.43
10. Lindisfarne – 70.89

Find out which city was named the best in Britain by Condé Nast Traveller here.

Did you see that this remote British train route is officially one of the greatest rail trips in the world?

Plus: 3 British hotels are the best in the world right now.