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Condé Nast poll: Maui is world’s best island

Kauai, Hawaii photo gallery Last week, I blogged some ideas for beating Maui’s tourism blues (e.g., the Superferry is still not running, 50 vacation rentals and B&Bs were shut down, downhill bike tours are suspended inside Haleakala National Park). But it turns out the island doesn’t need much help after all, given that Condé Nast Traveler magazine’s annual readers’ poll just voted Maui the best island in the world for the 13th time. Maui also ranked as the best Pacific island, followed by Kauai.

Deal: This year, the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards poll created a new category just for resorts in Hawaii. The top 3 picks were Four Seasons properties: the Four Seasons Maui Resort at Wailea, the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai and the Lodge at Koele. Incidentally, the Lodge at Koele on Lanai is offering 4th-night-free packages through mid-December (for details, click here).

What’s your favorite island in Hawaii, or the world? Vote in the Comments section below.

When: The full results of the poll are available in the November 2007 issue of Condé Nast Traveler.

Caveat: The 2007 Readers’ Choice Awards were based on the opinions of 28,000 readers.

Why go: For first-time visitors to Hawaii, Maui is arguably the best all-around island. It’s small enough to cover by car in a day but has an incredible variety of beaches, resorts and outdoor activities.

Why not: For an alternative look at the world’s best travel destinations, check out the U.K. version of the magazine Condé Nast Traveller. None of the Hawaiian Islands even made its top 20 islands list, which included the Maldives, Bali, Cuba and Capri.

Connect: High-speed Internet access is available at all Four Seasons Resort hotels in Hawaii; daily surcharges vary.

Contact: Maui Visitors Bureau, (800) 525-6284
Kauai Visitors Bureau, (800) 262-1400
Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, (800) 464-2924

— Sara Benson

Photo by Gail Fisher / Los Angeles Times

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 16, 2007 at 11:35 pm by Sara Benson and is filed under Africa & Middle East, Asia, Europe, Hawaii, Islands & Beaches, Kauai, Lanai, Luxury Travel, Maui. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

4 Comments on “Condé Nast poll: Maui is world’s best island”

Sheila @ GovisitHawaii Says:
October 26th, 2007 at 6:05 am
Wow, it would be hard to pick my favorite Hawaiian island. There is something unique about each one that I love. If hard pressed, I’d probably have to choose Kauai because of the challenging and rewarding hiking trails in Kokee and Waimea State Parks and the Kalalau Trail,.

Outside of Hawaii, my favorite island is Bora Bora.
Michael Huffman Says:
October 26th, 2007 at 7:59 am
Well I guess that I am just a little prejudice…but Kauai is still my favorite island!

http://www.kauaimenu.com
Maui Homeowner Says:
October 27th, 2007 at 10:54 am
Odd how you seem to think the DH Bike Tours and the HSF are positives.

HSF will dump more cars into an already maxed-out infrastructure here, further reducing the quality of your vacation experience (sat in traffic for two hours on the Pali recently?? Or on the Pi’ilani Highway??). HSF also costs (with September-level fuel surcharges, which will increase when it resumes) more than twice as much as flying, and GAWD, bring plenty of barf bags (I have ridden the mechanically identical ferry in The Canary Islands - it’s a nasty ride, and our open-ocean swells are WAY bigger here).

The DH Bike Tours have killed two customers so far this year, injure almost a thousand customers yearly severely enough to require hospital treatment, and choke off traffic to the entire Upcountry area as the drivers use their vans as mobile blockades.

Two of the best things that could possibly happen to Maui, for both residents and tourists alike, is for both the DH Bike Tours and the HSF to go away.
Andro Says:
April 24th, 2008 at 12:16 am
Bali is still the best…if you compare with others Islands, Bali is providing everything…