marine iguana galapagos islands

Photo by Roberto Plaza.

The Galapagos Islands are the best place in the world for wildlife, according to the recent 10Best reader’s choice poll sponsored by USA Today and Natural Habitat Adventures (NHA).

The rankings were based on votes cast over a four week period in January and February. USA Today asked the wildlife travel experts at NHA to come up with their top 20 worldwide wildlife hotspots and then readers were given the opportunity to vote for their favorites.

We weren’t surprised to see the Galapagos claim the top spot. Where else can you snorkel with sea lions, penguins and marine iguanas in the morning and hang out with giant tortoises in the afternoon?

Congratulations to all of the winners who fought tooth and tail to make the list. Here they are:

1. Galapagos Islands
2. Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, Peruvian Amazon
3. Costa Rica
4. The Pantanal, Brazil
5. Katmai National Park, Alaska
6. Okavango Delta, Botswana
7. Churchill, Manitoba
8. Yellowstone National Park, USA
9. Serengeti/Maasai Mara, Tanzania & Kenya
10. Ranthambore National Park, India