Anybody planning an island escape in Southeast Asia faces a tough choice – in a area studded with sand-circled tropical islands that sizzle with fabulous meals and overflow with tradition, how do you choose only one?
This magical a part of the world has sufficient island escapes to fill a number of lifetimes of journey, however sadly, we solely have one, so the shortlist needs to be narrowed down. For a primary style of Southeast Asia's islands, we'd make a powerful pitch for Phuket in Thailand and Bali in Indonesia – each are wealthy in tradition, wrapped in glowing sands and accessible to everybody from college students in flipflops to empty-nesters catching up on far-flung journey.
However which to decide on… Fortunately, we now have a pair of seasoned journey writers available to make the case for every of those beloved island hubs. Learn on to see if Phuket or Bali is the precise escape for you.
Favor fabulous Phuket
Isabella Noble is a Barcelona-based journey journalist and the creator of Lonely Planet's Pocket Phuket information. She has been spending time on this stunning, generally underappreciated Thai island for nearly a decade.
For anybody who loves Phuket – as I do – it's a magical island that immediately defies the stereotypes with out making any fuss. Thailand bursts with dreamy, laid-back, palm-filled islands washed by mild turquoise waves, however Phuket (pronounced poo-ket) combines this tropical-paradise attract with the vigorous buzz, artistic vibe and thrilling meals scene of a dynamic city hub.
Let's begin with these fabulous, flour-soft, salt-white seashores. My favorites are within the north of the island, together with glowing Hat Surin, limitless Hat Bang Thao and wilder Hat Layan. Phuket's three northwesternmost seashores are a deal with too: Hat Nai Yang, Hat Mai Khao and Hat Nai Thon all sit throughout the protected Sirinat Nationwide Park and have a blissfully relaxed, nature-first really feel.
On the island's southern tip, mellow Hat Rawai is one other beachy magnificence that I hunt down on each go to. It's identified for its rustic seafood eating places, buzzing kitesurfing scene and the powdery seashores shut by at Hat Nai Han. Blazing sunsets draw crowds to dramatic Laem Phromthep (Promthep Cape) and there's an nearly mystical really feel as everybody concurrently gazes out because the solar drops into the jade-colored Andaman Sea.
Phuket's vibrant meals scene
Phuket additionally has one in every of Thailand's most irresistible meals scenes, born from the mingling of Southeast Asian and Chinese language cultures over the centuries (identified right here as Baba tradition). The arty island capital, Phuket City, is the culinary epicenter. A tin-mining hub within the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it's stuffed with candy-colored Sino-Portuguese buildings, restored classic shophouses and hidden shrines that burst into life in the course of the September/October Vegetarian Pageant.
I like popping into the Lock Tien meals court docket, the place Phuketian classics like mee hokkien (Hokkien noodles) and just-made spring rolls are served at plastic tables, or grabbing flaky roti bread topped with a fried egg on the always-popular Thai-Muslim breakfast spots on Thalang Rd. Lengthy-running Mee Ton Poe is domestically cherished for its noodle dishes; Kopitiam does Phuket-style Thai classics; and Raya prepares his fashionable coconutty crab curry in a tile-covered Sino-Portuguese home.
On the fine-dining facet, strive the modern Sardinian delights dreamed up by famous person chef Alessandro Frau at Acqua; the elevated Phuketian flavors of Patong's beautiful, garden-facing Ta Khai; Cherngtalay's elegant Suay for chef Noi Tammasak's arty twist on Thai delicacies; or Michelin-starred PRU in northern Phuket. There's a lot to take pleasure in on the native espresso scene, too, with hipster-style hangouts equivalent to Phuket City's The Shelter Espresso and Bookhemian simply rival Chiang Mai's famously cool cafe tradition.
I've fortunately frolicked in Phuket with my brother, my accomplice and plenty of pals through the years, but additionally as a solo feminine traveler. Whether or not you fancy a beachfront yoga class, heading out on a diving journey, visiting Buddhist temples (equivalent to 150-year-old Wat Chalong) or maybe tackling the game of muay Thai (Thai boxing), Phuket's exercise calendar has it, and every kind of vacationers can anticipate a heat welcome right here.
A signature Phuket spotlight is escaping into beautiful Ao Pha-Nga Marine Nationwide Park. Kayaking or paddle-boarding is probably the most rewarding, low-impact solution to discover this bewitching bay dotted with limestone karst formations. Day journeys to Ko Phi-Phi – the place vacationers are permitted to go to beautiful Maya Bay below strict conservation guidelines – are completely doable, too.
And do you know there's additionally nice mountaineering in Phuket? Rewarding routes embody the sweaty, jungle-traversing climb as much as the 45m (150ft) Massive Buddha within the Nakkerd Hills close to Kata, in addition to paths by way of the wild rainforests of northern Phuket's Khao Phra Thaew Royal Wildlife & Forest Reserve – dwelling to the pioneering Gibbon Rehabilitation Undertaking.
Seaside entrance bliss
Nowhere does seductive seaside accommodations (or heavenly spas) like Phuket. You would go all out with a deluxe keep at one in every of Thailand's high hideaways, equivalent to Amanpuri, Trisara, The Surin Phuket or Rosewood Phuket. There are additionally enjoyable, sociable hostels and design-forward boutique accommodations, notably in Phuket City (Casa Blanca is a pleasure), alongside mellow beachside guesthouses in locations equivalent to west-coast Kamala.
But after I'm eager for this scrumptious island, I consider an early-morning stroll by way of Phuket City, a plastic plate of steaming noodles at a toes-in-the-sand seaside shack, or a soul-stirring swim in turquoise waves backed by rippling casuarinas. That is what Phuket is all about. No surprise the island has drawn folks from all around the world for hundreds of years.
It'd higher be Bali
If Mark Eveleigh had been advised he might solely journey in a single nation for the remainder of his life, he'd select Indonesia. This broadly traveled journalist and creator has written for quite a few publications; take a look at his journey ebook, Kopi Dulu: 15,000km by way of Indonesia.
Overcrowded and overdeveloped? Or the world's most stunning island? I lean in the direction of the latter.
The fabled “Island of the Gods,” Bali actually sees its fair proportion of vacationers. The city of Ubud, a well-known yoga haven and artwork capital, has its devoted devotees – as does Uluwatu, with its elegant temple and adrenaline-pumping surf. Kuta was as soon as social gathering central, even when the night time owls at the moment are heading to the seaside golf equipment and funky cafes of Seminyak and booming Canggu.
Alongside five-star resorts equivalent to Raffles and the 4 Seasons that sprawl by way of tropical gardens and spill onto talcum-powder seashores, guests can keep in a bunch of thrilling new designer locations, equivalent to Misplaced Lindenberg and Nirjhara. And whilst demand soars, you’ll be able to nonetheless lease a easy, comfy room with a personal balcony overlooking a tropical backyard for below $10 per night time, breakfast included.
So, sure, tourism is perhaps booming right here. However on an island that's over 10 occasions the dimensions of Phuket, it's nonetheless astoundingly straightforward to search out an unspoiled nook.
Charming tradition and beguiling seashores
I'm a giant fan of Thailand and have labored on many assignments in that great nation. However the colourful forged of gods and demons, ghosts and witches that play such a big half in conventional Balinese life fascinate me – a lot, in truth, that they turned central characters in my newest novel. Certainly, it's the Balinese folks that make the island uniquely interesting – to not point out some of the culturally fascinating spots on this planet.
Relating to seashores, Bali and Phuket each boast palm-shaded white-sand seashores that make guests drool. However solely Bali has a regulation stipulating that no buildings may be tall sufficient to rise over these palm bushes. Even probably the most congested vacationer facilities right here have been spared from high-rise, Thai-style cityscapes.
Along with the dreamy white seashores round Nusa Dua and the Bukit Peninsula, there are additionally romantic volcanic seashores the place you’ll be able to stroll for miles throughout a floor that shimmers like a black mirror, with out seeing one other holidaymaker. Should you take pleasure in dramatic wave-smashed coastlines (and a number of the world's finest browsing) then you must keep on with the south coast; if you happen to desire tranquil reefs that entice dolphins, turtles and different marine life, head to the sheltered north coast.
An island of pure delights
While you've had sufficient of seashores, Bali's volcanic highlands supply a smorgasbord of actions that little Phuket might barely dream of. The dawn climb up 1717m (5633ft) Gunung Batur is perhaps – justifiably – the preferred tour on the island, together with the journey to Ubud's Monkey Forest.
Inland, you may as well cycle downhill for 40km (25 miles), go whitewater rafting or discover jungles and peaks on foot, by horse and even by helicopter. Within the island's unspoiled “wild west,” you’ll be able to stroll with pink buffalo or go to what is perhaps the planet's most photogenic conventional fishing fleet.
The arid hillsides of Northern Bali are planted with cashew, dragon fruit and (surprisingly) even vineyards. To the south, the slopes are dominated by the enormous staircases of terraced paddies, in locations working proper down the ocean.
I fell in love with Bali some twenty years in the past, and my perfect writing retreat is tucked away on the distant western facet of the island. Each time I’m going again, I notice anew that West Bali is perhaps probably the most amazingly stunning place on the planet.
This third of the island stays nearly totally missed by guests; even the islanders themselves are sometimes astonished to listen to that West Bali Nationwide Park has abandoned seashores the place wild deer trot by way of the shallows, and jungle-clad hills that shelter hornbills, flying foxes and slender langur monkeys.
There are many locations on this planet with a lot to occupy you for a two-week trip. Twenty years after my first go to to Bali, I'm nonetheless satisfied that there's sufficient right here to maintain me busy for a lifetime.
