Travel and Leisure Names San Juan Islands #4 for Top Islands of Continental U.S. and Canada Friday Harbor, Wash. – Travel + Leisure Magazine has just announced its 2010 World’s Best Awards, ranking the San Juan Islands #4 on its list of Top Islands in the Continental U.S. and Canada. The rankings (in order) are: Mount Desert Island, Maine; Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia; Vancouver Island, British Columbia; San Juan Islands, Washington and Prince Edward Island, Canada. The magazine’s 2009 list ranked the San Juans in the #5 position, so a move up in the standings this year is notable. Three of these top five islands are on the East Coast, with the two Salish Sea neighbors, Vancouver Island and the San Juan Islands, in the first and second-ranked positions for the West Coast. A narrow international waterway, Haro Strait, with a width of just six miles in places, separates these two highly-desired destinations. In addition, two cities named to the Top Cities list for the U.S. and Canada – Vancouver and Victoria, B.C. – are just short flights or scenic ferry rides and drives from the San Juan Islands. World’s Best rankings are the outcome of Travel + Leisure’s 15th annual survey of readers’ favorites. These results are featured in the August issue of the magazine, available on newsstands this month. The magazine’s website also presents the annual survey online at http://bit.ly/9hal9C. Criteria for judging islands included natural attractions, activities/sights, restaurants/food, people, and value. To see specifically what the San Juan Islands offer in these categories and to get helpful travel tips and good deals on lodging and activities from the San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau, go online at www.VisitSanJuans.com. The San Juan Islands and their surrounding waterways comprise Washington’s newest Scenic Byway, a byway which traces Native canoe routes now cruised by Washington State ferries. The byway also includes rural roads on Orcas Island and San Juan Island. Travel and Leisure has the world’s largest audience of any travel magazine. It has an eye for authentic, quality experiences and explores the places, ideas, and trends that define modern global culture of interest to the discerning traveler. My comment: Residents of San Juan Island have known these islands are THE BEST any where in the world. (But it is nice to be recognized). Colleen