Mr. & Mrs. Vandebilt + kids

From Phuket we set sail to Koh Yao Noi an island in between Phuket Island and Krabi. It’s relatively unknown especially compared with PhiPhi or Ko Samui which is why we picked it. We had learned about it from friends who had visited earlier this year and raved about it.

The island is quite small, onlly about 18km around. It was unsurprisingly quiet and peaceful. We were just about the only tourists there since it was still low season for another couple of weeks. The people we met were all very friendly.

Unfortunately though since it was low season the budget accommodation was not quite ready. After paying the “taxi” driver far too much to take us to the other side of the island we checked in to the best one we could find as their first guests of the season. It smelled like an unopened cottage and came complete with heaps of gecko poo in the mosquito net. All of the accommodation on Koh Yao Noi is bungalows and ours came with a hammock. A good job too seeing as that was it’s most redeeming quality and where we spent a lot of time. I’m sure in high season it’s much much better.

It rained for the better part of our stay on KYN but we did get to spend one full day on the beach. I think I would have a hard time recommending the place as a great island to visit. It was certainly charming with lovely people but the beaches weren’t spectacular and the water was quite murky. There were islands off the coast that we could have gone to visit which apparently have beautiful sandy beaches and clear waters but since it was raining we didn’t make the trip.