Lonely Planet declared the island the playground of gods in the book that covers the best trends, destinations, journeys and experiences for the year ahead.

“Aucklanders have always known Waiheke Island is one of the jewels in our crown and this accolade from one of the world’s leading travel authorities only echoes that sentiment.

“In 2014 Auckland was named in the top 10 as one of the world’s best cities and it’s fantastic to now have Waiheke singled out as the only Australasian region to make the list,” he said.

Luxury travel magazine Conde Nast Traveller also included Waiheke Island on the best islands in the world list last week.