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If you are in North America and want turquoise water without crossing the Pacific, the Bahamas. Nassau is the principal gateway with several Out Islands taking direct US service in season, and we have sourced prices for it.

The Bahamas if you are in North America; the Maldives if you are anywhere between Europe and Asia. Neither is reasonably reachable from the other's market, and that ends most versions of this question.

North America points at the Bahamas; Europe, the Gulf and East Africa point at Seychelles. There is no overlap in their catchments worth speaking of.

Where you live decides this. The Bahamas is built around access from North America; Thailand is one of the best-connected countries in Asia and a long way from the Americas.

Almost entirely a question of where you live. The Bahamas is built around access from North America — Nassau is the principal gateway and several Out Islands take direct US service in season. Bali is direct from across Asia and Australia and one stop from Europe.

These are not competitors and it is worth saying so plainly. Bali is among the cheapest destinations in this directory with a whole island behind the coast. Bora Bora is one lagoon at the end of three flights, and it is the best version of that lagoon anywhere.

Bali for cost and for everything that is not the beach; Fiji for the water and the islands themselves. Both are natural choices from Australia, which is where most of this question comes from.

Bali, on cost and access, by a margin that is not close. French Polynesia is one of the hardest-to-reach and least price-transparent destinations in this directory; Bali is direct from across Asia and Australia with some of the lowest sourced prices here.

Hawaii from North America, Bali from Asia and Australia, and almost nothing about the destinations themselves will overturn that.

Bali for a trip with a country in it, the Maldives for a trip with nothing in it but water. They are not really competitors, and the people who ask this question usually want one of them much more than the other once the difference is put plainly.

Bali is cheaper and has far more behind the beach; Mauritius has flat reef-protected water almost everywhere and non-stop flights from a completely different set of markets.

Seychelles for the beaches, Bali for everything else — and the price gap between them is enormous.

Bali, for almost anyone weighing these two on their merits. It is reachable on direct flights from across Asia and Australia and one stop from Europe and the Middle East, and it has sourced prices that put it among the cheapest destinations in this directory.

Thailand, for most briefs. Two coasts on offset monsoons mean some part of it is always in season, the domestic network reaches both in about an hour, and the sourced food prices are in the same low bracket as Bali's.

The two benchmark overwater destinations, and the honest answer is that they are more alike in product than in logistics.

Seychelles, unless the lagoon is the specific purchase. It is far easier to reach from Europe, the Gulf and East Africa, we can source prices for it, and its beaches are the more distinctive of the two.

Entirely a question of hemisphere. Fiji serves Australia, New Zealand and the US west coast; the Bahamas serves North America's east coast. Almost nobody is realistically choosing between them on merit.

Fiji, unless the overwater lagoon is the whole point. They share a season and a corner of the Pacific, but Fiji has a market — backpacker islands through private ones — where Bora Bora has one product at one price level we cannot even source.

Fiji for range and price, French Polynesia for the lagoon and the diving. They share a Pacific dry season, May to October, so dates will not decide this.

For Americans, Hawaii — twenty mainland cities have non-stop service into Honolulu, and Fiji means an international flight and then a boat or a small plane. For Australians and New Zealanders the calculation reverses, and Fiji is also substantially cheaper to eat in.

Hemispheres again. Fiji serves Australia, New Zealand and the US west coast; the Maldives serves Europe, the Gulf and Asia. Few people can sensibly reach both.

Mauritius for Europe, the Gulf, India and Africa; Fiji for Australia, New Zealand and the US west coast. Neither is reachable non-stop from the other's catchment.

Where you start decides this, as it does most long-haul island comparisons. Nadi is the hub for Fiji; Seychelles International on Mahé is the gateway for Seychelles. Neither is convenient from the other's market.

Fiji, unless you are continuing into French Polynesia. It is cheaper, better connected from Australasia, and offers a genuine range of islands; Tahiti is primarily an arrival point for a territory you would be going to for somewhere else.

Thailand, unless you are in Australasia or specifically want Pacific diving. It is cheaper on the sourced figures, vastly better connected, and its two coasts mean some part of it is always in season.

The Bahamas for anyone in North America wanting turquoise water without crossing the Pacific. French Polynesia for the lagoon, if you are prepared for the journey and a market with no published prices.

The two benchmark overwater destinations. The Maldives if you are in Europe, the Gulf or Asia; French Polynesia if you are on the Pacific rim.

Your dates may settle this before your preferences do. French Polynesia's dry season is May to October; the Seychelles inner islands run their dry season December to April. The two barely overlap, so a fixed window in either half of the year points at one of them.

Thailand for almost any brief that is not specifically the lagoon. It is cheaper by a wide sourced margin, far better connected, and has two coasts so some part of it is always in season.

Both are built for the American market and the honest split is coastal: the Bahamas from the east, Hawaii from the west and centre. Honolulu has non-stop service from twenty mainland cities, but from Miami or New York the Bahamas is barely a journey at all.

Hawaii for range, access and a trip you can actually price. Bora Bora for the lagoon, which Hawaii has no version of at all.

Hawaii, for almost everyone outside the Pacific rim's southern half. Twenty mainland cities have non-stop service into Honolulu, it has sourced prices, and it offers six genuinely different islands.

Hawaii from the Americas, the Maldives from Europe, the Gulf and Asia — and they are not really the same holiday in any case.

Counter-seasonal, so check your dates first. Hawaii's calm window is May to October; the Seychelles inner islands are dry December to April. There is almost no overlap.

Thailand, unless you are coming from North America. A mid-range dinner for two is ฿900 against $140 in Honolulu, the water is warm all twelve months on whichever coast is in season, and there is a whole country behind the beach.

Geography again, and starkly. Mauritius has no direct flights from the Americas at all; the Bahamas is built around access from North America, with Nassau as the principal gateway and several Out Islands taking direct US service in season.

Mauritius, unless the lagoon and the overwater villa over it is the specific thing you are buying — in which case Bora Bora and nothing else will do.

Mauritius for almost every practical reason: non-stop flights from four continents, sourced prices, a whole country behind the beach, and a reef ring that keeps the water flat almost everywhere.

Where you are flying from decides this, and it decides it hard. Mauritius has non-stop service from London, Paris, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Geneva, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Réunion, Kuala Lumpur and Perth, and none at all from the Americas. Hawaii has non-stop service from twenty mainland US cities into Honolulu alone.

Mauritius if you want a country, the Maldives if you want a reef and nothing else. They share a catchment — both are reachable from Europe, the Gulf and India — so this one is genuinely decided on what you want rather than where you live.

Seychelles for the beaches, Mauritius for everything around them — and their dry seasons are almost exactly opposed, so your dates will often settle it.

Mauritius, for most people reading this in English — unless you are already going to French Polynesia, in which case Tahiti is the island you land on rather than the one you stay on.

Thailand on price, Mauritius on simplicity. A mid-range dinner for two is ฿900 in Thailand against Rs2,000 in Mauritius, and Thailand has two coasts on offset monsoons so some part of it is always in season.

Seychelles if you want to walk to beaches and see more than one island; the Maldives if you want one island, one reef and nothing to decide once you arrive.

The Bahamas, for almost anyone not already heading into French Polynesia. It is far easier to reach from North America and Europe, we can source prices for it, and Tahiti is fundamentally an arrival island rather than a destination.

Hawaii, unless French Polynesia is where you are actually going. Twenty mainland US cities have non-stop service into Honolulu, it has six genuinely different islands, and we can price it.

The Maldives, unless French Polynesia is the trip. The Maldives is reachable from Europe, the Gulf and Asia, has a market of competing islands, and delivers reef at the sand. Tahiti is the arrival island of a territory you would be going to for somewhere else.

Seychelles, unless you are continuing into French Polynesia. It is the easier country to move around — three distinct islands in a week — and we have sourced prices for it and none for Tahiti.

Thailand, on almost every practical axis. It is cheaper by a wide sourced margin, reachable from far more places, and has two coasts so some part of it is always in season.

Thailand, unless the lagoon is specifically and only what you want. It is cheaper by a very wide sourced margin, far better connected, and its two coasts mean some part of it is always in season.

Thailand for a trip with a country in it, the Maldives for a trip with nothing but reef. They share a catchment from Europe, the Gulf and Asia, so this is decided on what you want.

Seychelles for the beaches, Thailand for everything else and for the price. Both are reachable from Europe and the Gulf, so this is a real choice.