In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, exploring mystery islands is a great way to get resources, non-native fruit, flowers, insects and fish -- but with limited inventory space, players have to make the most of it. There are a few specialty islands full of tarantulas or money rocks, but regular islands can offer players a wealth of resources and Bells, too.

To get to a mystery island, players need to purchase a Nook Miles Ticket for 2,000 Miles from the kiosk inside Resident Services. Using tickets to explore mystery islands doesn't require an internet connection or a Nintendo Switch subscription. Each mystery island is randomly generated, though some players have reported only having access to a few repeat island layouts. These are filled with resources and players should loot them for as much as they can carry.

Related: Animal Crossing: Best Bugs to Sell to Flick for Bells (Besides Tarantulas)

Gathering Resources

Players should have a goal in mind for what they want to get out of a New Horizons mystery island. This will help them determine what tools or resources they should take with them and what they can leave behind. A general rule of thumb for mystery islands is that umbrellas, watering cans, slingshots and magic wands can be left behind. These tools won't be needed and players will want to minimize the number of items they take so they can maximize inventory.

If players want to collect new insects and fish, they only need a fishing rod, net, ladder and vault pole to get around. If they want to stock up on stones, wood or fruit, then they can bring an axe or shovel, a ladder and a vault pole. Whichever tools players bring, they should also equip a couple stones and iron nuggets in case tools break and they need to make new ones.

It's possible to use an iron axe to get wood or bamboo from trees, but this will cut the trees down after three hits. Players who want to bring trees back can use a weaker axe to get wood and wasps, then eat fruit to get strong and dig up trees. With rocks, players should get as many resources as possible by removing anything surrounding the rock (weeds, stones, flowers), then digging a hole behind them so they don't bounce back too far when they hit them. Rocks produce the most resources when they're hit repeatedly and quickly; after their resources are spent, players can eat fruit and destroy them for one last item. There will also be plenty of flowers on the island that can be picked or dug up to replant on players' islands.

Players looking to maximize inventory should note: Wood, stones, iron nuggets and picked flowers will stack (up to 30 per inventory spot), as well as fruit (up to 10 per inventory spot) -- but fish, bugs, uprooted flowers and trees will each take up individual inventory spots.

Related: Animal Crossing: Best Fish to Sell to CJ for Bells (Besides Oarfish)

Earning Bells

If a player's sole purpose on a New Horizons mystery island is to get Bells, there is some math involved in terms of how many Bells can be earned per spot in their inventory. The best routes are probably through fishing, catching bugs or gathering fruit. If the fruit on the island is a non-native fruit, those sell for 500 Bells each, while native fruit only sells for 100 Bells each. A stack of 10 non-native fruit earns 5,000 Bells for one inventory spot. If the fruit on the island is native to a player's island, they can harvest it and use a fruit-based DIY recipe to craft items that sell for more Bells.

While fruit will only fill up so many spots, the next route to earn Bells is fishing or catching insects. The best way to do this is to refer to fishing guides and insect guides and keep swapping out the lowest-value catches for higher ones.

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