Do you have to go to Phuket or Bali?

Anybody planning an island escape in Southeast Asia faces a difficult 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 regrettably, we solely have one, so the shortlist needs to be narrowed down. For a primary style of Southeast Asia’s islands, we would 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’ve a pair of seasoned journey writers readily available to make the case for every of those beloved island hubs. Learn on to see if Phuket or Bali is the fitting 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, typically 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 light turquoise waves, however Phuket (pronounced poo-ket) combines this tropical-paradise attract with the vigorous buzz, artistic vibe and thrilling food 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 strands are a deal with too: Hat Nai Yang, Hat Mai Khao and Hat Nai Thon all sit inside the protected Sirinat National 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 recognized for its rustic seafood eating places, buzzing kitesurfing scene and the powdery strands shut by at Hat Nai Han. Blazing sunsets draw crowds to dramatic Laem Phromthep (Promthep Cape) and there’s an virtually 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 all Thailand’s most irresistible food scenes, born from the mingling of Southeast Asian and Chinese language cultures over the centuries (recognized right here as Baba tradition). The arty island capital, Phuket Town, is the culinary epicenter. A tin-mining hub within the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it is crammed with candy-colored Sino-Portuguese buildings, restored classic shophouses and hidden shrines that burst into life in the course of the September/October Vegetarian Competition.

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 regionally beloved for its noodle dishes; Kopitiam does Phuket-style Thai classics; and Raya prepares its standard coconutty crab curry in a tile-covered Sino-Portuguese home.

On the fine-dining aspect, attempt the modern Sardinian delights dreamt up by celebrity chef Alessandro Frau at Acqua; the elevated Phuketian flavors of Patong’s attractive, 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 lots to take pleasure in on the native espresso scene, too, with hipster-style hangouts reminiscent of Phuket City’s The Shelter Coffee and Bookhemian simply rivaling Chiang Mai’s famously cool cafe tradition.

I’ve fortunately hung out in Phuket with my brother, my companion and plenty of mates over time, 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 (reminiscent of 150-year-old Wat Chalong) or maybe tackling the game of muay Thai (Thai boxing), Phuket’s exercise calendar has it, and all types of vacationers can count on a heat welcome right here.

A signature Phuket spotlight is escaping into attractive Ao Pha-Nga Marine National Park. Kayaking or paddle-boarding is essentially 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 attractive Maya Bay underneath strict conservation guidelines – are completely doable, too.

And do you know there’s additionally nice mountain climbing in Phuket? Rewarding routes embody the sweaty, jungle-traversing climb as much as the 45m (150ft) Big Buddha within the Nakkerd Hills close to Kata, in addition to paths by the wild rainforests of northern Phuket’s Khao Phra Thaew Royal Wildlife & Forest Reserve – house to the pioneering Gibbon Rehabilitation Project.

Beachfront bliss

Nowhere does seductive seashore lodges (or heavenly spas) like Phuket. You can go all out with a deluxe keep at one in all Thailand’s high hideaways, reminiscent of Amanpuri, Trisara, The Surin Phuket or Rosewood Phuket. There are additionally enjoyable, sociable hostels and design-forward boutique lodges, notably in Phuket City (Casa Blanca is a pleasure), alongside mellow beachside guesthouses in locations reminiscent of west-coast Kamala.

But after I’m eager for this scrumptious island, I consider an early-morning stroll by Phuket City, a plastic plate of steaming noodles at a toes-in-the-sand seashore shack, or a soul-stirring swim in turquoise waves backed by rippling casuarinas. That is what Phuket is all about. No marvel the island has drawn folks from everywhere in the world for hundreds of years.

It’d higher be Bali

If Mark Eveleigh have been instructed he may 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 through Indonesia.

Overcrowded and overdeveloped? Or the world’s most stunning island? I lean towards the latter.

The fabled “Island of the Gods,” Bali actually sees its justifiable share 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 celebration central, even when the night time owls at the moment are heading to the seashore golf equipment and funky cafes of Seminyak and booming Canggu.

Alongside five-star resorts reminiscent of Raffles and the Four Seasons that sprawl by tropical gardens and spill onto talcum-powder seashores, guests can keep in a bunch of thrilling new designer locations, reminiscent of Lost 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 underneath $10 per night time, breakfast included.

So, sure, tourism could be booming right here. However on an island that’s over 10 occasions the dimensions of Phuket, it’s nonetheless astoundingly simple to search out an unspoiled nook.

Charming tradition and beguiling seashores

I’m an enormous fan of Thailand and have labored on many assignments in that great nation. However the colourful solid of gods and demons, ghosts and witches that play such a big half in conventional Balinese life fascinate me – a lot, the truth is, that they turned central characters in my newest novel. Certainly, it’s the Balinese those who make the island uniquely interesting – to not point out some of the culturally intriguing spots on the earth.

On the subject of 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 might be tall sufficient to rise over these palm bushes. Even essentially 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. For those who take pleasure in dramatic wave-smashed coastlines (and a number of the world’s finest browsing) then it’s best to stick with the south coast; in the event you desire tranquil reefs that lure 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 provide a smorgasbord of actions that little Phuket may barely dream of. The dawn climb up 1717m (5633ft) Gunung Batur could be – justifiably – the preferred tour on the island, together with the journey to Ubud’s Monkey Forest.

Inland, you too can 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 could be 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 large stairways of terraced paddies, in locations operating proper down the ocean.

I fell in love with Bali some twenty years in the past, and my ideally suited writing retreat is tucked away on the distant western aspect of the island. Each time I’m going again, I notice anew that West Bali could be essentially the most achingly stunning place on the planet.

This third of the island stays virtually fully missed by guests; even the islanders themselves are sometimes astounded to listen to that West Bali National Park has abandoned seashores the place wild deer trot by the shallows, and jungle-clad hills that shelter hornbills, flying foxes and slender langur monkeys.

There are many locations on the earth with lots 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.