Condé Nast Traveler readers rank the top islands in the world, from Indonesia to the United States. This year, the three most known islands in the Riviera Maya and the Yucatan Peninsula were awarded by this famous travel magazine as the Top Islands in North America 2022. One thing is for sure, we love these islands and you’re going to love them too. Holbox, Isla Mujeres, and Cozumel are the Top Island in 2022, are you ready to hop along and explore them?
Haven’t you heard about Condé Nast Traveler?
If you haven’t, let us introduce you to the number one Travel Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler. They specialize in luxury tourism and lifestyle as a global media company that produces some of the world’s leading print, digital, video, and social brands. This brand has worked alongside Vogue, GQ, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Wired and Architectural Digest (AD), and La Cucina Italiana.
Launched in the United States in 1987, Condé Nast Traveler is a market-leading monthly travel magazine, and today there are nine different international editions. With its motto of “Truth in Travel”, the publication provides enlightening content on a wide range of topics, including destinations, hotels, food and beverage, airlines as well as fashion, cars, digital, and grooming.
Just to mention, they have a print readership of 5 million monthly readers; 16 million unique digital users, and over 16 million followers. This is the travel magazine you can rely on.
Top Islands in 2022 Awards
Now, getting deeper into the topic, here’s how Condé Nast Traveler’s reader’s votes ended up listing the islands in North America:
Rest of North America
- Isla Holbox, Mexico
- Isla Mujeres, Mexico
- Cape Breton, Canada
- Vancouver Island, Canada
- Cozumel, Mexico
Holbox
The island of Holbox won first place in the Best North American Island for Travel category in the Reader’s Choice Awards, given by readers from around the world of Condé Nast Traveler.
Out of more than 860 destinations, the readers and tourists surveyed took into account the beauty of the place, customer service, comfort, and the experience during their visit, picking the Island of Holbox their number one choice.
Holbox has tripled the number of visitors in the last five years, reaching an average of 60 thousand tourists per week. The great attraction of Holbox, besides its beaches and sand, has to do with the fact that it offers a more “natural” and less industrialized experience, different from Cancun or Playa del Carmen, which offer a style much more focused on nightlife.
Visitors also highlighted that on this island it is possible to find wonders that cannot be enjoyed elsewhere, such as the phenomenon of bioluminescence, which at night dyes the beaches of Holbox in a neon blue tone due to the action of microorganisms, as well as the tours to meet the whale shark.
Isla Mujeres
Even though we think it is great that Isla Mujeres is on this list, we must note in the last edition, Isla Mujeres had reached first place. Still having Holbox surpass Isla Mujeres is nothing to be sad about. This type of “friendly competition” does not invalidate or is due to any criticism of the destinations, it’s based on preference and popularity. It is true that Isla Mujeres has been famous for further time than Holbox, but each one has a uniqueness that makes them shine in their own way.
Isla Mujeres is full of history and a nice ambiance. You can find peace and serenity and also a few party vibes, but nothing too crazy. The reason why Isla Mujeres is so famous is hard to describe as it has too many good things to offer. We can name a few that should be enough reasons for you to visit Isla Mujeres on your next vacation.
One good reason, and probably the clincher to all, are the beaches in Isla Mujeres. Playa Norte and Playa Sur, are astonishing scenes in which people from all over the world gather to swim in what is probably the clearest waters in the area. Another great thing about Isla Mujeres is the fact that it is so close to Cancun. Either if you’re staying in Cancun or Isla Mujeres, the connection between the two of them is not expensive and is pretty quick.
Check out the Ferry to Isla Mujeres, to learn more about how to get to Isla Mujeres.
Cozumel
This is probably the most iconic destination of the Riviera Maya, and for many years, the top island in the Yucatan Peninsula. Cozumel is one of the biggest Islands in Mexico and the biggest in the Caribbean. Worldwide, Cozumel is known as the place to go for divers. It is full of marine life and caves you can visit. It is also very well known because it’s the main destination for Cruise ships.
Cozumel is also known for its laid-back atmosphere and how it allows you to feel yet disconnected but with everything you may need on a vacation. You can find small friendly hotels at All-Inclusive Resorts. On the whole island, you’ll find restaurants and bars for all budgets in which you can have a great time, relaxing or in happy hour.
Source: Condé Nast Traveler