Chincoteague Island ranks second on TripAdvisor list

Chincoteague Island ranks second in a list of top 10 island destinations in the U.S. compiled by the website TripAdvisor.

Trailing only Marco Island, Fla., the island off Virginia’s Eastern Shore outranked Nantucket, Hilton Head, Key West and Maui.

The TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Islands list is based on reviews and opinions posted on the website.

“Wild horses can actually drag you away…to Chincoteague Island,” the website says. “Here, ponies run wild, you can catch or dig up your own seafood, and the beaches bring literal breaths of fresh air.”

The website notes that the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge is a unspoiled spot for bird watching, horseback riding, swimming and biking.

Plus there is the Pony Swim. Every summer since 1925, all of the feral ponies on Assateague are rounded up for a swim across the channel to Chincoteague.

The Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce notes that the island has been picked by TripAdvisor as a top travel spot for two years running. It was No. 7 last year on the website’s list of top U.S. beaches.

The islands on the TripAdvisor list this year are:

1. Marco Island, Fla.
2. Chincoteague Island
3. Anna Maria Island, Fla.
4. San Juan Island, Wash.
5. Maui, Hawaii
6. Kauai, Hawaii
7. Island of Hawaii
8. Nantucket, Mass.
9. Hilton Head Island, S.C.
10.  Key West, Fla.