DIGITAL ISSUE 23 02/2026
Why Hamamatsu city needs to be on your must-visit list.
ITINERARY
What's the best island you've ever been to?
Kate Gazzard @kate_gazzard
In my 28 (almost 29) years of life, I've never met an island I didn't love, so answering this question is a tough one. I could say Palawan in the Phillipines, or the small atoll in the Maldives where I celebrated my dad's 70th birthday.
But in all honestly, I'd have to say Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu's largest island.
It's a bit unassuming and kinda not talked about much, but I'm doing my best to change that. Read: I regularly hype it up to friends, colleagues, and generally anyone who'll listen to me ramble.
As far as I'm concerned, it's got everything you'd want in an island; insanely blue water (like Gatorade water, but 10x more saturated), great snorkelling, the best food (Santo beef, hello?!), adventure in spades (do yourself a favour and make the trek to Millennium Cave or read about it in issue 20 lol), the friendliest people you'll ever meet, and thankfully not a single large resort (suck on that Marriott).
Kate Robertson
During those ‘Take a deep breath’ moments, when I need to go to my happy place, my mind immediately takes me to a tiny island off the coast of Malaysia that I visited more than a couple of decades ago. I can still recall its warm sea breezes, the gritty sand between my toes, and the calming sway of a hammock as if it were yesterday.
Sandwiched between its big brother island Pulau Perhentian Besar and the east coast of Malaysia, Pulau Perhentian Kecil is a tiny tropical paradise surrounded by pristine waters. At least it was back then. This was well before the big chain resorts discovered it.
We stayed on the quieter Coral Beach strip where the huts were alcohol and electricity free. My favourite memory is of walking to Long Beach on the other side of the island through the jungle at night, our path lit by fireflies; it was the first time I’d seen them in real life and was gobsmacked to learn they weren’t a Disney movie creation. Ah, they were some good times...
Roberto Serrini @serrini
"Best" is a travel journalist's most feared word. How can you rate paradise against itself? The answer is, you can't.
There's Sardegna with impossibly pristine beaches and succulent cuisine. Or the deliciously remote, untouched beauty of Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas, hell, even good ol' Long Island (where I'm from) has its salty charm with excellent wine and legendary Jelly Donuts.
But if we're talking "best" as in "kept secrets", well, then I would turn your head toward the little spec of paradise known as Samal Island off Davaa City in the south of the Philippines.
It's dangerous to get to and there's no guarantee you'll even find a place to stay, but if you are bold enough to go, you will be rewarded with an experience that will feed your dreams (and nightmares?) for years to come, that's the best I can tell you.
The rest you'll just have to figure out for yourself.
get in the know There’s an actual protocol for what happens if extraterrestrial life is confirmed. Spoiler: nobody panics, nobody replies immediately, and everyone triple-checks their homework.
