Are you looking for a beach holiday to escape the concrete jungle but want to avoid the overcrowded and touristy beaches? There are many beautiful island retreats to escape to if only you knew.
Here are some underrated island retreats for you to consider.
1. Telunas Island
Situated not far from Singapore is the island retreat of Telunas Island. Telunas is the perfect place for the time-starved couple who want a quick getaway to disconnect from city life.
The island offers two choices – a private island retreat or the resort option. The first offers a natural island paradise accented with creature comforts.
The island resort offers sea villas with spectacular panoramic views of the sea and the rugged terrain of Sugi Island. A cheaper but still great option is the beach resort, which offers chalets and family rooms at about a third of the price of the private island.
2. Pangkor Laut
When it comes to beach holidays, names of popular holiday destinations like Bali, Phuket and Koh Samui come to mind but there are actually a number of nice beaches in Malaysia itself for your holiday.
One of these is Pangkor Laut, a private island fringed by white sandy beaches just three miles off the west coast of Malaysia. To make things easy, there is only one resort on this gem, so you don’t even need to think too hard about where you want to stay.
3. Phu Quoc
If you have been to Vietnam, it is highly likely that you were in Hanoi or Ho Chih Min where most travellers go to experience a holiday. But do you know that there are pretty white sandy beaches in Vietnam as well?
Phu Quoc is the perfect destination for the couple who want the best beach but do not want to be confined to the boundaries of a resort.
With half the island occupied by the Phu Quoc National Park, you can choose to have an active holiday by trekking in the dense tropical forest through the hiking trails. There are plenty of hotels and resorts available on the island.
4. Layang Layang Island
If you are an avid diver, you don’t want to miss a trip to Layang Layang. Less crowded than most other diving sites around South East Asia, you get to experience a large variety of marine life in unpolluted waters.
There is only one resort here called the Layang Layang Dive Resort. Expect nothing super luxurious but if your main aim is just to dive all weekend, this shouldn’t be a problem.
5. Bantayan Island
You’ve looked at those beautiful island beaches on travel sites and vowed that you will pay a visit to the Philippines for your next vacation. Known for its many beautiful beaches, especially Boracay which is considered one of the best in the world, there are many other equally great beaches available in other parts of this country.
Bantayan Island is one of these. Located in central Philippines near Cebu, expect powdery white sand and aquamarine water to greet you when you set foot on the island.
You can find a large variety of vacation accommodation ranging from the basic guest house to beach front properties.
Take yourself off the grid and enjoy the simple life offered on this island with few tourists, no malls, no noise and no night life. This offers a great opportunity to get away from the city and enjoy the simple happiness of sunset views and walking on the beach with your loved one.
This article first appeared in The New Savvy.
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