Koh Yao – Little Or Large?
A nice way to round off your cultural tour of Southeast Asia is to have a few days relaxation by the beach - book in hand and seafood within easy reach. For many people the beaches of Thailand fit this bill perfectly, but with a good number of traditional beach resorts having become over developed it is increasingly difficult to find a genuinely quiet spot which offers a decent level of comfort at a reasonable price.
Well the good news for those looking for a sleepy part of Thailand, with good beaches and a few nice resorts, but not too many, is that the islands of Koh Yao offer the perfect antidote to the ‘crash-bang-wallop' of Phuket or Koh Samui.
Just a few miles from Phuket, Koh Yao is made up of two islands: Koh Yao Noi and Koh Yao Yai, or little (noi) and large (yai) as they are affectionately known. Surprisingly it is Noi, the smaller of the two islands, that has the larger number of hotels and is even home to the luxurious Six Senses Resort. Koh Yao Yai on the other hand has been a little slow on the tourism uptake but now has a few decent resorts which have blossomed from traditional back packer haunts into attractive boutique properties. Our favourite is the GLOW Elixir Resort & Spa which sits on its own beach and offers simple, bungalow style accommodation where you can just relax or perhaps indulge in a number of local activities, such as cooking lessons or diving in Phang Nha Bay.
Both islands have large Muslim populations which has ensured that the frenetic nightlife, so often associated with other Thai resorts, has been kept at bay, and the order of the day on Koh Yao is very much one of relaxing in tranquil surroundings - a world away from the hordes!