Travel + Leisure magazine readers have voted Hilton Head Island the best island in the continental United States in 2017, the second consecutive year the South Carolina destination finished on top.
The magazine’s readers showed love for other Southeast destinations as well. Georgia’s Golden Isles (Jekyll Island, Little St. Simons Island, Sea Island and St. Simons Island) ranked fourth and Kiawah Island, S.C., ranked ninth. A couple of Florida spots also finished in the Top 10, if you consider Florida part of the Southeast. Some do, some don’t. The Top 10:
- Hilton Head, S.C.
- Nantucket, Mass.
- Mount Desert Island, Maine.
- Georgia’s Golden Isles (Jekyll Island, Little St. Simons Island, Sea Island, St. Simons Island).
- Mackinac Island, Mich.
- San Juan Islands, Wash.
- The Florida Keys.
- Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.
- Kiawah Island, S.C.
- Sanibel Island, Fla.
Travel + Leisure readers — almost 5 million of them worldwide — rated the islands based on five characteristics: natural attractions and beaches, activities and sights, restaurants and food, people and friendliness, and value.
One reader described Hilton Head as “relaxing, historic, with beautiful scenery, awesome accommodations, a fantastic variety of restaurants and friendly people”
Travel + Leisure described Hilton Head as a “South Carolina outpost where generations of families have made an annual trip a tradition and little wonder, where there is something for everyone who wants to be outside — and all activities can be reached by bicycle.”
Hilton Head also made the 2017 all-world list, ranking second to Palawan, Philippines. Other locations on the list are found in Croatia, Ecuador, Greece, Hawaii, Indonesia and Italy.
