Waiheke Island named in top 10 South Pacific islands list

Aerial shot of Waiheke Island. Photo / APN

Auckland's Waiheke Island has been ranked in the top 10 islands to visit in the South Pacific by an influential travel review website.

The annual TripAdvisor Travelers Choice Destination awards honour top travel places worldwide, based on millions of reviews and opinions from travellers.

Waiheke Island - described as a haven of beautiful beaches, gastronomical treasures and small wineries - features alongside a range of stand-out Pacific Island destinations, including Bora Bora and Taveuni Island in Fiji.

In the same poll, Auckland central was rated the second best destination in New Zealand.

Auckland was also the only destination in New Zealand to have three beaches in the top 10 list, with Piha ranked number three and neighbouring west coast beaches Bethells and Karekare also placing in the top 10.

"These accolades reinforce the transformation that Auckland is going through and cements our reputation as a destination in our own right," says ATEED (Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development) tourism manager Jason Hill.

The recognition follows several other accolades in the last six months, with Waiheke Island being listed in the New York Times 46 Places to Go this year and Auckland being named Australasia's top destination in the 2012 World Travel Awards.

Auckland was also ranked third in the world on the 2013 Mercer Scale of Global Lifestyle Cities and named Best Turnaround Destination by Britain's Cruise Insight magazine.