Our Readers Favorite Islands in the Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Bahamas of 2024 – Travel + Leisure

Anywhere you turn in the Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Bahamas, youll find something to love: Anguillas powder-white beaches, Bonaire's unmatched dive sites, Cubas dynamic music scene, the lush, rugged beauty of Dominicas hiking trails. In this corner of the world, theres no wrong choice. These islands may have palm trees and postcard-perfect beach vignettes in common, but each holds its own singular magic and no one knows that better than the readers of Travel + Leisure.

Every year for our World's Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Over 186,000 T+L readers completed the 2024 survey. A total of more than 700,000 votes were cast across over 8,700 properties (hotels, cities, cruise lines, etc.).

Islands were specifically rated on the criteria below:

For each characteristic, respondents could choose a rating of excellent, above average, average, below average, or poor. The final scores are averages of these responses.

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Even within a single island, each reader seemed enamored by a different element of the experience though common themes emerged. Nature was a big draw across the board, be it the soft sands of Grand Anse Beach in Grenada or the magnificent toothlike pitons of St. Lucia.

In Anguilla (No. 3), fantastic beaches and warm, welcoming locals were a throughline of reader feedback. The beaches on Anguilla have some of the most clear, beautiful water Ive ever seen, wrote one visitor. Its remote, but truly a paradise to relax and read a book. Multiple readers echoed the sentiment that the island is a paradise, with one swooning, white beaches, blue clear water once you visit Anguilla you dont want to go home! One word: amazing.

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, meanwhile, St. John (No. 5) stood out for its natural beauty and commitment to land conservation. Since much of the island is USVI National Park, we can feel good about the character of the place staying intact for generations, said a recent visitor. Another called it our favorite place on earth, writing, We love to come here because of all the National Parks. We love to snorkel, and the peace and quiet of this island. We love the friendly people and the fact that so much of the island is a park. Yet another traveler seemed to say what every St. John aficionado was thinking: It was hard to say goodbye to this island.

Three familiar spots re-entered the fray this year after dropping off the list Cuba (No. 2), Bermuda (No. 19), and St. Croix (No. 25) perhaps indicating that T+L readers have found a new appetite for delving deep into history, be it the colonial-era legacies and architecture that have so shaped Bermuda and St. Croix or the midcentury events of the Cuban Revolution which still loom large on the island today.

Read on for more on this years top pick, Dominica, plus the full list of the 25 Best Islands in the Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Bahamas.

Dominica

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This is the third year in a row the Nature Island has clinched first place in our annual rankings, with readers singing Dominicas praises for its untrammeled expanses of wild land and off-the-beaten-path feel. One reader calls it an incredible nature reserve like no other place left on the planet. Another singles out the stellar opportunities for adventure activities like scuba diving and canyoning, while calling it a very romantic destination perhaps the dream destination for getting your adrenaline pumping and reigniting that spark along the way? But one true aficionado put it most elegantly: What a wonderful secret island to discover. If you want nature and the ability to explore your surroundings as well as explore yourself then Dominica is your getaway! Get here any way you can.

What a wonderful secret island to discover. If you want nature and the ability to explore your surroundings as well as explore yourself then Dominica is your getaway! Get here any way you can.

T+L Reader

1. Dominica

Reader Score: 92.47

2. Cuba

Reader Score: 90.61

3. Anguilla

Reader Score: 90.02

4. St. Lucia

Reader Score: 88.70

5. St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

Reader Score: 87.68

6. Aruba

Reader Score: 87.13

7. Turks and Caicos

Reader Score: 86.92

8. Harbour Island, Bahamas

Reader Score: 86.73

9. Vieques, Puerto Rico

Reader Score: 86.57

10. St. Barts

Reader Score: 86.44

11. Exumas, Bahamas

Reader Score: 86.30

12. St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Reader Score: 85.80

13. Eleuthera, Bahamas

Reader Score: 84.77

14. Nevis

Reader Score: 84.48

15. Grenada

Reader Score: 84.46

16. Bonaire

Reader Score: 84.36

17. Cayman Islands

Reader Score: 84.19

18. Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands

Reader Score: 84.16

19. Bermuda

Reader Score: 84.05

20. Culebra, Puerto Rico

Reader Score: 83.35

21. Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands

Reader Score: 83.07

22. Jamaica

Reader Score: 82.74

23. St. Maarten/St. Martin

Reader Score: 81.81

24. St. Kitts

Reader Score: 81.51

25. St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

Reader Score: 81.44

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Our Readers Favorite Islands in the Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Bahamas of 2024 - Travel + Leisure