Recipe for a Perfect Island

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After spending countless hours pouring over travel books in the local bookstore, we keep coming up with the same conclusion - the best islands for backpackers are the ones we have already been to! There MUST be something else out there, just waiting for us to visit, but where?... That's where you, travellers of the world, come in. We need help to find another perfect tropical paradise!

As far as we see it, these are the essential ingredients for our perfect island get-away:
1) white sand beach
2) warm, clear ocean
3) good offshore snorkelling
4) reasonably priced scuba diving
5) reasonably priced accommodation (6) small and easy to get around (no cars)
7) a variety of beaches to choose from
8) some nightlife
9) majority of visitors are independent travellers/backpackers

Here are the top islands that we have visited that fit into this general description:

Ko Lipe, Thailand
Beautiful white beaches and warm calm waters welcome you as soon as you step foot on this island. There is also great snorkelling right offshore, and fantastic snorkelling if you take the reasonably-priced snorkel trip around the island. It is a small island with no motorized vehicles. However, there are several different beaches within easy walking distance from the main beach. Accommodation is comfortable - little concrete huts just steps from the beach for less than US$10 per night. Nightlife is low-key, centered around quaint bamboo restaurants and bars right on the sand. Because of the location (roughly 20 hours south of Bangkok), it is difficult to get to during a short holiday, so the majority of visitors are young backpackers on extended trips. We discovered this island on our second word trip after a recommendation from a friend, and consider it one of Thailand's real gems.

Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia
I first visited this gorgeous island in 1999. It totally blew me away. At the time, it was very basic and somewhat "undiscovered". It wasn't even a feature in Lonely Planet's highlight page! It had basic wooden bungalows on the beach with no electricity. As evening approached, the bungalow owners would place a kerosene lamp on each doorstep for light, creating a magical appearance. Because of local laws, Perhentian Kecil was officially a dry island. However, most night there would be an impromptu party around a big bonfire with homemade Baileys poured from an old tin teapot, and warm overpriced cans of beer, smuggled from the mainland.

Last time I visited in 2005, there has been a lot of change. It is now a major highlight in Lonely Planet and prices have soared. Still, that $5 bungalow is now $20, but has electric lights and a fan - you can't stop progress. Unfortunately, the island has also received its first two storey hotel with air-conditioning, catering to Korean package tourists. Around this hotel, there has been increased litter and damage to the spectacular coral by careless flippers. Despite this blot on the landscape, however, Perhentian Kecil remains a beautiful island. The main beach, Long Beach, is a gorgeous sweep of soft white sand, the ocean unbelievably warm and sandy all of the way out. Beautifully-colored coral encrusts the northern edge of the bay, making for great offshore snorkelling.

There are several beaches to choose from. D'Lagoon, a short boat ride from Long Beach, has the best snorkelling but the beach isn't as spectacular as it is strewn with coral. However, the dive we did here was one of our best ever. We saw shark, huge sting rays, two turtles, cuttlefish, and every tropical fish you can imagine against a spectacular backdrop of soft and hard corals - truly beautiful!

A short hike from Long Beach brings you to the second most popular beach to stay on, Coral Bay, with it's white sand and good snorkelling. Yet another beach lies around the corner from this beach. We often had it completely to ourselves apart from a little scurrying crab or two. Again, fantastic snorkelling was the focus here.

The nightlife remains low-key at all of the beaches. Laws have now been bent to allow bars onto the island, but they are few and far between and still serve overpriced cans of beer! At least they are refrigerated now - unless there has been a recent power-cut (frequent!). My advice is to visit this perfect gem before it is not-so-perfect. Oh, and PLEASE don't step on the coral heads!!!

Gili Trawangan, Indonesia
This tiny island was a real find. After being quite disappointed with Bali, we were really happy to discover this island. It was well-worth the day and a half of travel on boats and mini-vans from Bali . There were two main modes of transport on the island: walking or pony trap. What a contrast to the noisy traffic on Bali! The people were also very different. On Bali, everything was a scam or at the very least a sales-pitch. This island was much more laid back. There were still hawkers roaming the beaches, but they seemed somehow less intrusive.

The main (only!) village on Trawangan is an eclectic mix of casual yet funky restaurant/bars associated with the dives shops (such as the La La Lounge) and back-to-basics local-run places serving traditional Nasi Goreng, a simple rice dish. It was so small and compact that we never had to make arrangements to meet our family and friends that were visiting for our upcoming wedding - we knew we'd just bump into them! The accommodation was a mix of $25 a night air-conditioned/hot water rooms associated with the dive shops, and simple but clean "homestays" for less than $5 a night, including a cooked breakfast served on your verandah! That's value! There were also a couple of "fancy" hotels in the mix, but these were off to the side and didn't really spoil the feel of the place.

The beach is a short walk from the village. Soft sand is mixed with coral and pine needles. The ocean has a very strong side current, making it ideal for drift-snorkelling, but very difficult to stop and inspect anything of particular interest. We often spotted turtles right off shore amongst the colorful corals and vibrant fish. There is also a snorkel trip available on a glass-bottom boat. This was well-worth the trip, even though we are almost positive the "giant" clams were ripped up from various locations and placed all together to create a marketable feature!!!

Although this island does not have the variety of beaches to visit that other islands featured in this blog do, it does have two other smaller "gilis" to visit just a short boat ride away. Althogether, a lovely place to spend some time doing some serious chilling!

Ko Phi Phi, Thailand
Made famous by the movie "The Beach" and the disastrous tsunami, Phi Phi is becoming increasingly popular. Both Scott and I have visited this gorgeous island many times since 1999 and have experienced it pre- and post-tsunami. It was actually going to be the location of our wedding in 2005 until the tsunami hit at Christmas, dashing our plans.

The first thing you notice about Phi Phi is the sheer beauty. Steep limestone cliffs plunge dramatically into the surrounding sparkling blue ocean every direction you look. Nowhere is this more spectacular than from the Phi Phi viewpoint, a steep yet short hike up a stone stairway. If you continue down the other side, you come to secluded Rantee beach with some of the best snorkelling on the island and one of the most laid-back beaches.

Another great beach is Long Beach. Just a 20-30 minute scramble over the rocky coastline brings you to this spectacular beach, the best on Phi Phi. Its white sand slopes gently into the warm ocean. The snorkelling here is good, but can be a little too far out for some people to reach. There are several bungalows here with assciated beach-front restaurants serving a mix of western and local tasty Thai food. Times to avoid are the couple of hours around mid-day when the day trippers from Phuket get dropped off for lunch and a swim.

The main town on Phi Phi is quite developed compared to the islands we have mentioned so far, yet it has character. There are countless bars and restaurants, and many guesthouses. The small streets are fun to explore. Nightlife is casual but lively and fun. The main bars have nightly drink specials to draw in the crowds, and many have live entertainment in the form of fire-twirlers. These guys are amazing! Tiger bar is also a fun place to hang out for a night and watch the Thai boxing.

On a snorkel trip we took, a man who'd worked for years on cruise ships in the Caribbean really brought it home with his comment: "It's a bad day for the Caribbean!"

Boracay, Philippines
I visited this island briefly way back in 1999. I remember it to be a tropical haven with white sand beaches, clear tuquoise watr, laid back bars and restaurants, all independent travellers, and some reasonabe snorkelling off-shore. If it is still how I remember it from all those years ago, it is still a true gem!

There must be more...but where?

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Additional photos below

Photos: 9, Displayed: 9

Photos

Koh Lipe, Thailand
Tree roots act as anchors for the longtail boats.

Perhentian Besar (Big Island)
It's a hard life!

Maya Bay, Phi Phi
Made famous by the movie "The Beach"

Comments

[Born to travel]

Continuing the Search
We will help you with your search for the perfect beach, we set off on our travels in 5 weeks time and intend to visit a few islands off the east coast of Malaysia. I'll keep you posted if we find any little gems as yet undiscovered by the hoards! Mum and Dad xx

[Andi and Paul]

Just reading through your blogs trying to find the kenya / tanzania ones. Spotted the Ko Lipe one - I wonder who the friend was who recommended you visit?! Must be someone very special :)