Island hopping

Island hopping is a term that refers to the means of crossing an ocean by a series of shorter journeys between islands, as opposed to a single journey directly across the ocean to the destination.

Forms

Oceanic dispersal in biology, where nonmarine species migrate by sea from one landmass to another, is often achieved by rafting on mats of tangled vegetation—the outcome of which is called a rafting event. This process may be facilitated by geographically intermediate islands that break up the migration into a number of shorter steps. Colonization of a series of islands (or larger land masses) by a sequential rafting process is sometimes described as island hopping.

Used as a military tactic, island hopping is a series of battles taking one island and then moving to the next after establishing a base on the previous island. Leapfrogging is a strategy of island hopping used by Douglas MacArthur of the Allies in the Pacific Theater of World War II in which many of the enemy's strong points are neutralized at minimum cost by being bypassed.

Tourists who island hop will often hop using small seaplanes and ferries.