Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Mystery Island Tours Guide

While most of your time in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is spent on your very own (previously) deserted island or the islands of your friends, you can also explore other deserted islands. These islands might seem random, but there are actually 20 different setups, each with its own vegetation, fish, bugs, and more. Here at iMore, we have everything you need to know about Mystery Island Tours.

• What is a Mystery Island Tour and how do I book one?
• What are the different types of Mystery Islands?

What is a Mystery Island Tour, and how do I book one?

A Mystery Island Tour is a service offered by the Dodo Airlines. For just 2,000 Nook Miles, you can purchase a ticket to a Mystery Island, where you can find new flowers and fruits, fish and catch bugs, even meet new potential villagers and find extra fossils. To book a Mystery Island Tour, just follow these easy steps:

1. Earn 2,000+ Nook Miles. Hint: We have a whole guide on How to earn Nook Miles fast!
2. Go to Resident Services.
3. Press A on the Nook Stop terminal.
4. Press A to select "Redeem Nook Miles."

5. Press A to select "Nook Miles Ticket."

6. Press A to confirm "Redeem." The terminal will print out a ticket.
7. Press A to select "No."
8. Go to the Dodo Airlines office at the port. Hint: Make sure you have the tools you will need, materials to make tools, and/or fruit, as well as enough room in your pocket for anything you'll want to bring home.
9. Press A to speak to Orville the Dodo.

10. Press A to select "I wanna fly!"

11. Press A to select "Use Nook Miles Ticket."

12. Press A to select "Time for Takeoff!"

13. Wilbur will arrive to pilot the flight to a Mystery Island.

Then, explore the Mystery Island, fill your pockets with valuable resources, and return home. Just make sure you have everything before you go back. Once you leave a Mystery Island, you cannot go back!

New Villagers?

In addition to all the resources offered by Mystery Tour Islands, you can also recruit new villagers for your island on these tours. While you start with two villagers, to fill up your island, you need to convince others to move there. You can do this using Amiibo at your campsite, or if you don't happen to have a stack of Amiibo at your disposal, you can find them on Mystery Islands. So long as you have an open spot for a new villager, there is a chance that one will be on the island when you arrive for your tour. If you talk to them enough, they will be convinced to move to your island.

What are the different types of Mystery Islands?

Source: iMore/Casian Holly

There are twenty different setups for Mystery Islands. While islands with the same layout will have relatively similar contents and spawns, they are all unique in that once you leave an island, you can never return. If you leave things behind, they are gone forever. There are some tools you will want to have on every island, as well as materials and fruit you might want on certain islands. Because of the random nature of the islands, it's best to bring everything you might need. If you find yourself on an island with especially valuable spawns, you can always leave behind tools or materials for the extra space.

• Starter Islands
• Normal Islands
• Islands that require an upgraded Resident Services

There are only four islands that show up for a player's first Mystery Island Tour. While each of these islands can show up after the first tour, none of the other islands can show up for the first tour. Fans have named these four islands (as well as all the other islands) as they have no official names:

• Spiral River Island: This island is flat with no hills and has a river that forms a spiral. It has a 9% chance of showing up outside of the starter island.
• Short River Island (#1): This island has a second level with the start of its river. The river forms a waterfall and then flows out to sea. It has a 9% chance of showing up outside of the starter island.
• Short River Island (#2): This island is almost identical to the first short river island, but it also has a pond. It has a 9% chance of showing up outside of the starter island.
• "Fidget Spinner" Island: Dubbed "Fidget Spinner" by fans because of the resemblance of its lake to the popular toy, this island has no river. It has a small, second level, but not much else of interest. This island has a 9% chance of appearing outside of the starter island.

The next set of islands can all show up at any point after the first tour:

• Bamboo Island: The most common island you can find, this island has a 10% chance of showing up. It is entirely flat with no hills whatsoever. It has a few palm trees on the beach, but no other trees. Instead, it has bamboo, and it's the only place where you can get it. In addition to several fully grown bamboo plants, there will also be digging spots where you can dig up bamboo sprouts. Bamboo sprouts can be eaten like fruit, as well as planted to grow new bamboo plants. If you planned ahead and brought some fruit along with you, you can also uproot several of the grown plants to take home to your island.
• Mountain Island: This island shows up 9% of the time and has three tiers, no rivers or ponds, and many fruit trees. It also has five rocks where pill bugs and centipedes spawn.
• Sister Fruit Island: This island shows up 9% of the time and has 19 fruit trees. The fruit here, known as your sister fruit, will be the same type of fruit that the player's mother sent early on in the game.
• Waterfall Island: This island has a 5% chance of showing up and is covered with hills and waterfalls. It is good for farming fish that show up at high elevations, and at river mouths.
• Trash Island: This island has a 5% chance of showing up and spawns no fish. Instead, only trash can be caught here. Lots of water-related bugs also spawn here, like dragonflies.
• Curly River Island: This island shows up 5 % of the time and only spawns water-related bugs. It has an elevated area with a waterfall and a river that curls around the island before feeding out into the ocean.
• Scorpion/Tarantula Island: This rare island shows up just 2% of the time, and can only appear once per day. It is entirely flat, with no hills whatsoever. There is a narrow stream that you can cross without a vaulting pole, and the only bug that spawns on this island are either tarantulas or scorpions, depending on the time of year. This island will only appear between 7 PM and 4 AM, as that's the only time when these bugs spawn.
• Hybrid Flower Island: This rare island only shows up 2% of the time and can only show up once a day. The flowers here are all hybrid flowers, and the bugs are only the ones attracted to those flowers.
• Big Fish Island (#2): This rare island only shows up 2% of the time and can only show up once a day. The only fish that show up here are size four or larger. It has a single raised area which has a pair of waterfalls. The waterfalls form a river that circles a smaller island, before leading back out to the sea.
• Hardwood Tree Island (#2): This rare island only shows up 1% of the time and can only show up once per day. The layout is like Bamboo Island, but instead of bamboo, it only has hardwood trees. the only bugs that spawn here are those associated with hardwood trees, such as stags, beetles, and walking sticks.

The last set of islands will only show up after you've upgraded Resident Services:

• Money Rock Island (standard): This island shows up 5% of the time, and has a huge river which can only be vaulted in a single spot blocked off by a rock. Breaking that rock in a single blow will yield 8,000 Bells. After vaulting to the center island, there are five more money rocks. In total, this island can yield 88,500 Bells.
• Money Rock Island (rare): This island only shows up 2% of the time and can only show up once per day. It has no river or ponds, but there are four small cliffs, one in each corner. The ground is covered with money rocks and flowers.
• Finned Fish Island: This is an exceptionally rare island with only a 1% chance of showing up, and even then, it can only show up between June and September. The only fish that spawn around this island are finned fish (Ocean Sunfish, Suckerfish, and sharks.) As such, no fish will spawn in the river, even with bait.
• Big Fish Island (#1): This rare island only shows up 3% of the time and can only appear once per day. Like Big Fish Island #2, only fish size four or larger will spawn here. It also has hybrid flowers and the bugs that those flowers attract.
• Hardwood Tree Island (#1): This rare island only shows up 2% of the time and only once per day. It has no rivers or ponds, but three cliff areas. The only trees that grow here are hardwood trees, and the only bugs that spawn here are those associated with hardwood trees, such as stags, beetles, and walking sticks.
• Gold Rock Island: This is one of the rarest islands, only showing up 1% of the time, and only once per day. This island has a smaller island at the center, surrounded by a river too wide to vault save for a single spot. The center island has a single rock that will produce up to nine gold nuggets when struck. The only bugs that spawn here are tarantulas or scorpions, depending on the time of year.

Questions?

Do you have any questions about taking Mystery Island Tours? Want to show off your latest haul? Drop us a comment below, and be sure to check out our other Animal Crossing: New Horizons guides for all your Nook approved goodness!