The islands often evoke the mythical stay between turquoise waters and under sloping coconut trees of everyone who dreams of Asia, the Caribbean or the Pacific. Places where a forgotten lighthouse dwells and the waves of a raging ocean hit the cliffs. The islands are places whose spatial limitations also contain unique microcosms, full of unique traditions and nature and ideal to get lost for a season. Scattered paradises that we collect in this list of 8 islands you must visit at least once in your life.
Fuerteventura (Spain)
The longest island of the Canaries It is a lonely place whose capital, Puerto del Rosario, has various cultural options and a sublime restaurant, The Colorao Crab, personal recommendation. However, the true charm of this island lies in the hundreds of volcanoes that flourish throughout this paradise for surfers (especially the northern area made up of El Cotillo or Corralejo) or the beaches of the Jandía peninsula, to the south. The island that Unamuno fell in love with is a combination of Africa and Mars, an unmistakable ocher and blue where goats graze and squirrels scamper.
Sal (Cape Verde)
Last year I was lucky enough to visit the only island in Cape Verde with an international airport, and the experience was most positive. Despite the lack of tourist attractions itself, the island of Sal makes your lifestyle the most powerful reason to get lost in the colorful streets of Santa Maria, swimming in its turquoise blue beaches or enjoying the dishes offered by the fishing that half the island lives on. One of the most unknown paradises of today despite the increasing foreign activity operating on this island conquered by the Portuguese more than 500 years ago.
Cuba
What can we say about the largest island in the Caribbean? So many things that would not fit in a single post. The Caribbean island awakens to new changes after the death of Fidel Castro displaying a cloak of color, music and optimism that is perceived in each of its towns and beaches. From the colonial charm of the Casas Particulares Old Havana even the French influence that breathes Casas Particulares Cienfuegos, to the beaches of Varadero or Cayo Largo, Cuba is an amalgam of stimuli in which you must immerse yourself at least once in your life.
Santorini (Greece)
The most famous of the Cyclades islands, in the Aegean Sea, remains unbeatable as the most characteristic destination in all of Greece. A Mediterranean paradise famous for its terraces of white houses that seem to lean over the enormous Caldera, in whose depths, according to many, lie the remains of the famous lost city of Atlantis. Donkey rides, the sunset from Oia or the possibility of sunbathing on the island's mythical Red Beach are other possibilities that warm Santorini awaits.
Maui (Hawaii)
The second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago it is possibly the most beautiful of all. Legend has it that, like the recent Disney movie Moana, the demi-god Maui caught the islands with his hook from the rest of the sea, a story more than extended by all Polynesian cultures. On the island of Maui, also known as Isla del Valle because of the geographical accident that divides it into two parts, it counts as the crater of the Haleakala volcano, up to 3.050 meters high, or the laid-back fishing town of Lahaina.
Palawan (Philippines)
Known by the Spanish as the island of the Paragua, the most famous island of the Philippine archipelago is an elongated paradise in which some of the most important natural spectacles of the country are concentrated. From the paradisiacal beach of El Nido to the seabed of the Tubbataha Park, Palawan displays a potential whose best exponent is Puerto Princesa, its largest city and starting point to a underground river in which impenetrable holes, fireflies, giant bats and other exotic dressings have been found that surround what is one of The 7 natural wonders of the world.
Zanzibar
Despite its position away from the coast of Tanzania, the Zanzibar region is one of the most fascinating places on the entire African continent. The archipelago, formed by the islands of Pemba and ZanzibarIt is a paradise of colonial houses and mosques, the result of the strong Portuguese and Muslim influence, vast beaches where fishermen still attend the sunset and yes, also the place where singer Freddie Mercury was born 70 years ago. One of the most idealized edenes in all of West Africa.
Koh Tao (Thailand)
Thailand, that paradisiacal country that emulates the magic of Southeast Asia like no other. The same whose capital, Bangkok, is a hotbed of culture, extravagance and exoticism and Chiang Mai is a mecca for relaxation and temple lovers. And yes, the ancient kingdom of Siam is also a country where some of the most beautiful beaches and archipelagos in the world, from the Krabi area, in the south of the country, to the archipelago of Phi Phi Leonardo Dicaprio arrived looking for paradise in the movie La Playa. Even so, of all its places we are left with the island of Koh Tao (or Turtle Island), the latest sensation of the Thai giant located in the Gulf of Thailand and home to beaches as spectacular as Ao Leuk or Sai Nuan, a paradise for snorkel lovers.
These 8 islands that you must visit at least once on the island they represent the most idyllic image of that paradise that we all idealize at some time.
In which of these islands would you like to get lost?