Cebu and the Visayas Islands, as well as Boracay and Palawan Islands, again made it to the list of Best Islands in Asia, as chosen by the readers of lifestyle travel magazine Conde Nast Traveller.
The magazine, which is based in New York, announced the results of its 2019 Readers' Choice Awards for the best islands in the world.
In Asia, the top 5 are:
1. Boracay Island in Aklan
2. Cebu and the Visayas Islands
3. Penang, Malaysia
4. Palawan
5. Bali, Indonesia
The magazine cited Cebu's "pristine beaches and diving off the island’s northern coast", which draw nearly 2 million travelers yearly.
Among the tourist attractions mentioned are the Kawasan Falls in the southwestern town of Badian, Basilica Minore del Santo Niño in Cebu City and the statue of the Santo Niño that was presented by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, and various Spanish and Roman Cathoic influences in the city.
As a tip, the magazine warned against visiting Kawasan on weekends because it is usually crowded, especially the first of the three falls.
Boracay was chosen as the No. 1 Best Island in Asia nearly a year after it was shut down for six months to undergo rehabilitation.
The magazine described Boracay as "as close to a tropical idyll as you’ll find in Southeast Asia, with gentle coastlines and made-for-Instagram sunsets."
"Fold in a thriving nightlife scene, and you have one of the top tourist spots in the region. Unfortunately, it's become too touristed—the island closed for 'rehabilitation' in 2018 to compensate for overcrowding and unregulated development," the magazine added.
Boracay's main attraction is the White Beach, which features "powdery white sand and shallow azure water ideal for swimming and snorkeling."
Palawan, 4th on the list, is a regular favorite among Conde Nast Traveller readers.
The magazine cited the "otherworldly" Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as El Nido and its blue lagoon.
View the complete list here.
A record 600,000 Conde Nast Traveller readers participated in the 32nd annual Readers' Choice Awards survey and ranked the 30 best islands in the world outside the U.S.
The magazine is published by Conde Nast, which is also behind the publications Vogue, The New Yorker, GQ, Vanity Fair, Wired, Architectural Digest(AD), and La Cucina Italiana. (Ventures Cebu)