It’s easy enough to identify the world’s biggest ocean (the Pacific), or the warmest (Indian), but the best? There is no science for this, so can such a thing be found via online reviews? Let’s take a look at the Google reviews to find out.
World’s best ocean: top five
5th Southern Ocean – 3.4 stars
Also known as the Antarctic, the Southern Ocean is generally thought to be the world’s coldest but, by this ranking, not the best ocean. That has not held it back in ratings numbers, though, as it’s currently topping the review figures with more than 2,800.
“Very nice and humid weather. Friendly locals, although they did try to eat me but I can’t blame them with how thick I am. Amazing snow, tasted great, I had to consume that for the whole vacation. 10/10 experience,” said one reviewer.
4th Arctic Ocean – 3.5 stars
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world’s five major oceans, but that hasn’t stopped it from picking up some fans with more than 2,500 reviews as of early 2023. However, that only places it fourth in the world’s best ocean top five.
“It was pretty fun, fish were nice, the birds were nice (not you Jerry the albatross) and the polar bears were nice,” reads one review.
3rd Pacific Ocean – 3.5 stars
The Pacific is the largest, and arguably the most famous, of the world’s oceans, though that isn’t enough to make it the best. Perhaps, surprisingly, it has picked up just two reviews, with one critic being particularly harsh:
“One of the worst oceans I’ve ever seen. There is trash in every corner. If you are lucky enough you have a chance to see some fish, but most areas got out of them sadly. Going here will also make you wet, but the water doesn’t taste good, way to[o] salty.”
2nd Atlantic Ocean – 4.8 stars
Pipping the Pacific into second place is its old rival, the Atlantic. The latter may be smaller but, for the users of Google, it’s also better, well, for the four people that left a review anyway.
“Much better and way more clean than the Pacific Ocean. Saw many fish here and there even is water. Like water everywhere,” said one reviewer on the rivalry.
1st Indian Ocean – 5.0 stars
A poor showing for the body of water that contains such holiday destinations as the Maldives, Seychelles and Mauritius, with just two people leaving a review. However, both reviews gave a solid five stars, making it the technical winner of ‘world’s best ocean’.
“Magical ocean, very beautiful and very warm. The Indian Ocean, formerly known as the Eastern Ocean or the Indian Sea, is an ocean that covers an area of 75,000,000 km2, or nearly 20% of the globe. It is bounded to the north by the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Pakistan and India; to the east by Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia (islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, Sumbawa, Sumba and Timor), Australia and the meridian 146° 55′ east longitude, bordering the ‘Pacific Ocean; to the south by the Antarctic continent and to the west by Africa and the meridian 20° east longitude, which separates it from the Atlantic Ocean,” said one of the enthusiastic two. (Facts are reviewer provided)
Is this the best ranking for the world’s best ocean?
Voter participation is probably a flawed way to determine this list with regard to the average star rating. There seems to be a big skew between the interest in the Southern and Artic Oceans with their 2,500-plus reviews and then the other three with vote tallies that you could count on one hand.
Still, if there is a better way to rank them, we have yet to hear about it.
[Read more: Overfishing: Why coastal fishing cities need to act now]
