Island Holidays

In search of an island idyll for a relaxing retreat? The HomeToGo Hidden Islands Index is here to help holidaymakers find the perfect lesser-known spot in which to enjoy a serene escape away from the crowds this summer.

Island escapes are high up on wishlists for 2023 summer breaks. Via HomeToGo, searches for high season stays on Paxos in Greece and Mallorca in Spain have seen year-on-year increases of 180% and 237% respectively. Closer to home, the traveller demand for stays on the UK's Isles of Scilly has more than tripled ( 233% year-on-year search increase via HomeToGo), with a similar uplift seen for the Isle of Wight ( 288%). For travellers hoping to find island serenity, HomeToGo has scoured the seven seas, dived deep into the data, and launched the Hidden Islands Index to surface some lesser-known options.

The index features 20 islands in total, shortlisted for and ranked according to four indicators of hidden gem status: comparatively low traveller demand, standing as a local secret, lack of social media hype, and limited overall awareness. The results show that travellers need not cross oceans this summer to find an idyllic island escape. Three of the top spots were snapped up by destinations in England and Scotland, appearing alongside places across the Netherlands, Canada, Italy, the U.S.A., France, Australia, Portugal, the Bahamas, the Philippines and French Polynesia.

Find out which islands travellers should visit before they become big holiday hotspots with the full index ranking - including total scores out of 40 - below.

Mapped: The top hidden gem islands for summer 2023

Learn more about the top under-the-radar islands for summer 2023

1. Wadden Islands, North Holland / Friesland, Netherlands

Texel, Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog are a collection of islands in the North Sea off the coast of the Netherlands. Head here for incredible nature (a third of Texel is a protected reserve), adventure sports such as kiteboarding and surf rafting, and peaceful beaches on which visitors can ride horses and practice yoga. For travellers in search of quirky activities, the pastime of mudflat hiking is a must-try.

2. Quadra Island, British Columbia, Canada

Quadra is one of the Discovery Islands, situated off the coast of British Columbia in Canada. It’s a location of breathtaking rural beauty, home to animals such as harbour seals, wolves, and bald eagles, with whale watching spots nearby. Visitors can immerse themselves in this amazing nature while hiking through forests to panoramic viewpoints, or canoeing on the island’s lakes and kayaking off its shores.

3. Magdalen Islands, Québec, Canada

An archipelago in the Gulf of St. Lawrence characterised by golden dunes, rolling green pastures and red sandstone cliffs, the Magdalen Islands are some of Canada’s most scenic secrets. With 300km of beaches - one of which hosts the world’s largest sandcastle competition each August - there’s no shortage of seaside fun to be had. This destination is also acclaimed for its birdwatching and cycling circuits.

4. Isle of Portland, Dorset, England

Tied to the mainland by the 18-mile long Chesil Beach, the Isle of Portland is the southernmost point in the county of Dorset in England. Part of the Jurassic Coast UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Isle of Portland’s dramatic limestone cliffs, secluded coves and lighthouses make it a particularly picturesque place to visit. Take in the sights on foot while following the Portland loop of the South West Coast Path.

5. Egadi Islands, Sicily, Italy

Located off Sicily’s western coast, this trio of islands is brimming with Italian charm. After soaking up the atmosphere on Favignana (the largest of the three islands), head to Levanzo to see prehistoric cave-paintings, or hop over to hilly Marettimo for hiking. The islands are surrounded by a marine reserve, with shipwrecks and underwater life waiting to delight snorkellers and scuba divers.

6. Camano Island, Washington, U.S.A.

7. Barra Island, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

8. Île-d'Aix, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

9. Mount Desert Island, Maine, U.S.A.

10. Isle of Bute, Firth of Clyde, Scotland

11. Île de Batz, Brittany, France

12. Pelee Island, Ontario, Canada

13. Maddalena Islands, Sardinia, Italy

14. Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia

15. Porto Santo Island, Madeira, Portugal

16. Moreton Island, Queensland, Australia

17. Harbour Island, The Bahamas

18. Rottnest Island, Perth, Australia

19. Siargao Island, Caraga, Philippines

20. Mo'orea, Windward Islands, French Polynesia

To produce this guide, HomeToGo used internal and open source data to create a global list of inhabited islands with developed tourism industries. HomeToGo search data was then used to identify the least-searched islands in this list.

To rank these destinations, HomeToGo used four data points: the number of global traveller searches via HomeToGo (traveller demand score), the percentage share of said searches coming from domestic travellers (local secret score), the number of Instagram hashtags for each destination (social media hype score), and search engine search volume for each island (overall awareness score). After obtaining the raw figures, each data point was assigned a representative numerical value between 5 and 10. The hypothetical "perfect score" would be 40 out of 40. The following equation was used in order to calculate this for every factor:

Score(i) = 5 · (x(i) - xmin ) / (xmax - xmin ) 5

Traveller demand score: The island with the lowest number of traveller searches across all HomeToGo domains was awarded a score of 10, with the remaining islands assigned a score of 5 or higher according to the above equation.

Local secret score: The island with the highest percentage share of HomeToGo searches coming from domestic travellers was awarded a score of 10, with the remaining islands assigned a score of 5 or higher according to the above equation.

Social media hype score: The island with the lowest number of hashtags on Instagram was awarded a score of 10, with the remaining islands assigned a score of 5 or higher according to the above equation.

Overall awareness score: The island with the lowest search volume, as taken from Semrush, was awarded a score of 10, with the remaining islands assigned a score of 5 or higher according to the above equation.

Year-on-year trend insights are based on searches via hometogo.co.uk carried out between 1st January 2023 - 14th May 2023 with a check-in date during summer 2023 (21st June 2023 - 23rd September 2023), in comparison to searches via hometogo.co.uk carried out between 1st January 2022 - 14th May 2022 with a check-in date during summer 2022 (21st June 2022 - 23rd September 2022).