As searches for "quiet destinations" climb 1,268%, BookRetreats.com's first Unspoilt Index compares 100 islands using satellite and mapping data to find the quietest in the world.
BERKELEY, Calif., Aug. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --
- New Zealand's Stewart Island named the world's quietest, ahead of Greece and Brazil
- Searches for "quiet destinations" up 1,268% year on year; 56% of US travellers now want to retreat for quiet in nature
- Four of the world's ten quietest islands are in Asia
The world has grown louder and harder to switch off from, and travellers are now booking trips just to turn the volume down, on breaks dubbed "quietcations."
Google searches for "quiet destinations" have risen 1,268% year on year [1], and a 2026 survey from leading retreat booking site BookRetreats.com found 56% of US travellers want to retreat for quiet in nature [2].
With insight from silence researcher, author and psychology professor Olga V. Lehmann, BookRetreats.com's newly released Unspoilt Index analysed the latest satellite and mapping data for 100 islands worldwide to find where quiet still exists.
"Quiet means something different for each of us," says Lehmann, "but there are factual markers that count. Low decibel levels in our surroundings are important, and the natural and architectural qualities of a place can all shape the soundscape we experience and whether it lets us truly rest."
The index used the European Environment Agency's benchmark for a quiet area: a pleasant soundscape, where unwanted sound is absent or at least not dominant. To find the quietest, each island was scored against six criteria: rich nature, few roads, low air traffic, uncrowded space, dark night skies and natural coastal spots [3].
Top of the list, with a score of 94.6 out of 100, is New Zealand's Stewart Island. Known in Māori as Rakiura, "the land of glowing skies," it is the world's southernmost International Dark Sky Sanctuary and one of the few places in the country where visitors can watch the aurora australis in skies almost free from artificial light. Just 2.3% of the island registers any at all, according to night-time satellite data.
Despite being three times the size of Phuket, Stewart Island has just 500 residents. The index measured naturalness by the level of human modification on land and found it almost entirely untouched, scoring near-perfect marks (99/100).
Rakiura National Park covers roughly 85% of Stewart Island, making it a refuge for rare species like the Stewart Island brown kiwi. With around 20,000 roaming the island, the birds outnumber residents by around 40 to one.
With one small airstrip and no main roads mapped, there are very few sources of unwanted sound. Instead, visitors get around on 280 km of scenic walking track.
Anafi in Greece places second, and is the quietest island in Europe. Fewer than 300 people live across its 40 km², a population density 28 times lower than neighbouring Santorini, which ranked 99th of 100 for quietness. Among the least developed in the index, Anafi scores 92 out of 100 for naturalness, and there is no airport and no main roads on the island to disturb the peace.
Ilha Grande in Brazil ranks third, the highest-placed island in the Americas and the only one in the top ten where private vehicles are banned outright. The Brazilian Atlantic Forest, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, covers around 90% of the island. Rare wildlife including the brown howler monkey and three-toed maned sloth lives alongside more than 70 beaches and coves.
Lord Howe Island in Australia is the fourth quietest on the index. Barely a two-hour flight from Sydney, it has managed to protect its peace by capping visitor numbers. No more than 400 visitors are permitted ashore at any one time, and just 382 residents live year-round on this UNESCO World Heritage-listed island.
Tucked away in the Isles of Scilly, 28 miles off the Cornish coast, the car-free island of St Martin's ranked fifth. The quietest island in the UK, it is also one of the sunniest: according to the Met Office, the area averages 1,708 hours of sun a year, around 300 more than Manchester sees.
Known as the "Caribbean of California", Santa Catalina is the only US island to make the top 25, ranking 10th in the world for quietness. Just over an hour from Long Beach, the island draws more than a million visitors a year—almost all of them to Avalon, a small harbour town under three square miles. The rest is closer to a sleepy Greek island than anything Californian: 88% protected wildland, turquoise bays and over 165 miles of scenic walking trail.
"Islands have always been where we go to escape, but very few are still as quiet as they once were," says Sean Kelly, co-founder of BookRetreats.com. "Our Unspoilt Index maps where the last genuinely quiet ones are, and what's clear from the data is that they're peaceful because people chose to protect them, and still do."
The world's quietest islands 2026
1. Stewart Island, New Zealand
2. Anafi, Greece
3. Ilha Grande, Brazil
4. Lord Howe Island, Australia
5. St Martin's, Isles of Scilly, UK
6. Tioman Island, Malaysia
7. Koh Chang, Thailand
8. Koh Rong, Cambodia
9. Havelock Island, India
10. Santa Catalina Island, USA
11. Isle of Skye, Scotland
12. Isla Holbox, Mexico
13. Magnetic Island, Australia
14. Herm, Channel Islands
15. Boa Vista, Cape Verde
16. Salt Spring Island, Canada
17. Mljet, Croatia
18. La Digue, Seychelles
19. Vis, Croatia
20. Palawan, Philippines
21. Viti Levu, Fiji
22. Milos, Greece
23. Salina, Italy
24. Ilha das Flores, Portugal
25. La Gomera, Spain
The full Unspoilt Index, including all 100 islands and top 10 breakdown, is available at: https://bookretreats.com/blog/the-worlds-quietest-islands/
Notes to editors
Regional breakdown
Oceania and the Pacific:
1. Stewart Island, New Zealand — 94.6 — best for total solitude and unspoilt nature
4. Lord Howe Island, Australia — 92.8 — best for dark skies and world-class diving
13. Magnetic Island, Australia — 81.7 — best for secluded tropical beaches and wildlife
21. Viti Levu, Fiji — 70.3 — best for relaxation and adventure
Europe:
2. Anafi, Greece — 93.8 — best for peaceful beaches and coastal hikes
17. Mljet, Croatia — 74.1 — best for lake swimming, relaxation and unspoilt nature
19. Vis, Croatia — 71.6 — best for slow travel, wine tasting and quiet coves
22. Milos, Greece — 69.8 — best for quiet coastal villages and beaches
23. Salina, Italy — 69.7 — best for slow travel, sandy beaches and Mediterranean food
24. Ilha das Flores, Portugal — 69.1 — best for waterfalls, canyoning and remote quiet
25. La Gomera, Spain — 68.2 — best for nature hiking, seclusion and culture
Britain and the Channel Islands:
5. St Martin's, Isles of Scilly, England — 90.7 — best for laid-back beaches, sunny weather and snorkelling
11. Isle of Skye, Scotland — 83.0 — best for wild swimming and dramatic coastal hikes
14. Herm, Channel Islands — 80.2 — best for quiet coastal walks and puffin spotting
Asia:
6. Tioman Island, Malaysia — 89.0 — best for jungle trekking and scuba diving
7. Koh Chang, Thailand — 88.4 — best for family beach holidays, island hopping and jungle trekking
8. Koh Rong, Cambodia — 88.1 — best for pristine beaches, nightlife and bioluminescent tides
9. Havelock Island, India — 87.9 — best for scuba diving, world-renowned beaches and laid-back resorts
20. Palawan, Philippines — 71.2 — best for shipwreck diving, relaxation and hidden lagoons
North America:
10. Santa Catalina Island, USA — 84.0 — best for wildlife, scuba diving and adventure sports
12. Isla Holbox, Mexico — 82.6 — best for walkability, whale shark spotting and bioluminescence
16. Salt Spring Island, Canada — 75.1 — best for Pacific Northwest calm, farm-to-table food and outdoor adventures
South America:
3. Ilha Grande, Brazil — 93.4 — best for uncrowded tropical beaches, car-free island treks and snorkelling
Africa:
15. Boa Vista, Cape Verde — 77.3 — best for desert island quiet, whale watching and stargazing
18. La Digue, Seychelles — 71.9 — best for year-round warm weather, secluded beaches and slow island life
Methodology
BookRetreats.com's Unspoilt Index ranked 100 islands worldwide according to their quietness. The islands were drawn from leading travel guides' lists of the world's best and most under-the-radar islands, then assessed against the data.
Quiet was defined not as silence but as a pleasant soundscape—one where unwanted sound is absent or at least not dominant—following the European Environment Agency's benchmark for a quiet area.
Each island was scored across six measurable criteria for a pleasant soundscape, weighted by influence: uncrowded space (people per km²) 20%; rich nature (how undeveloped the land is, measured by level of human modification and converted to a score out of 100) 20%; few roads (kilometres of major road per km²) 20%; low air traffic (number and size of airports, excluding minor airports, plus average airport noise levels in decibels) 20%; dark night skies (night-time light pollution) 15%; and natural coastal spots (natural beaches, shores and bays per 10 km of coastline) 5%.
The six scores combine into a total out of 100: the higher the score, the quieter the island.
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Sources
[1] Google Trends data, worldwide search volume for "quiet destinations," 12 months to August 2026 compared with the preceding 12 months. Accessed August 2026.
[2] BookRetreats.com State of Retreats Report, a survey of 1,040 US travellers conducted December 2025–January 2026.
[3] OpenStreetMap (population, boundaries, roads, coastline, coastal features); Global Human Modification dataset, 2022 (naturalness); VIIRS Nighttime Lights, Earth Observation Group / Payne Institute, 2025 (darkness); OurAirports, combined with airport noise levels from noise-map.com.
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Media Contact
Chelsea Westman, BookRetreats.com, 1 4157070547, [email protected], BookRetreats.com
SOURCE BookRetreats.com
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