Maui Named Top Island in the World

Maui island. Photo courtesy of Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA)/Tor Johnson.

By Sonia Isotov

Readers of the Conde Nast Traveler magazine have named Maui the number one island in the world for the 19th year in a row.

According to the recently announced Conde Naste Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2012, Maui came in first followed by Bermuda (2), Bora Bora (3), the Maldives (4), Nevis (5), Vancouver Island (6), Bali (7), Bozcaada and the Turkish Aegean Islands (8).

In this 25th annual survey, 46,476 Conde Nast readers elected 1,306 properties and places. The questionnaire contained lists of candidates in various categories (cities, hotels, etc.). Individual candidates are judged by relevant criteria for each. Those that receive a required minimum number of responses are deemed eligible for a Readers’ Choice Award.

Honolua Bay, Maui. Photo courtesy of Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA)/Tor Johnson.

Each candidate is rated, criterion by criterion, on a five-point scale: excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor. Those scores, which represent the percentage of excellent and very good ratings, are averaged to calculate the final score published.

Maui received a score of 92.1 rating which is an average of its scores for all criteria: food/dining, location, overall design, rooms, service, and (for resorts) activities/facilities.