MANILA The Philippines very own Palawan and Boracay islands were hailed as the best in the world by the readers of an upscale travel magazine.

Travel + Leisure recently released the results of its Worlds Best Awards 2013, which is based on votes from the magazines discerning readers.

Palawan debuted at No. 1 in the Top 10 islands category, unseating Boracay, which has been praised by several magazines for its powdery white sand and crystal clear waters. It received a score of 95.04.

Boracay, which topped the list last year, landed in second place with a score of 93.58.

Maui in Hawaii ranked third, followed by Santorini in Greece, Prince Edward Island in Canada, Bali in Indonesia, Kauai in Hawaii, Sicily in Italy, Koh Samui in Thailand, and Galapagos.

In an article published in the Wall Street Journal last April, writer Wells Tower lamented how Boracay has suffered from overdevelopment, while praising Palawan for being a diminishing rarity.

A month later, Catharine Hamm of the Los Angeles Times wrote a scathing article on Boracay, basing it on her visit last year.

Addressing Travel + Leisure magazine, Hamm wrote: Can Travel + Leisure be wrong? Thats the magazine that crowned Boracay the best island in the world After my visit last year to this island 250 miles southeast of Manila, I decided that yes, they could be wrong. Or misguided. Or I could be.

But most of the online readers of the LA Times disagreed with Hamms article, saying that they enjoyed their stay in the Philippine island.

Discovery Shores reaps awards

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Palawan, Boracay among world's best islands