Covers Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Lanta, Koh Phi Phi, Bali, Palawan, the Maldives, Mauritius, the Seychelles and Zanzibar, with visa and park rules checked at the source.
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Asia's islands are far from the US, cheap once you arrive, and ruled by monsoons rather than hurricanes. We scored seven of them on the same six factors we use for Hawaii and the Caribbean: four in Thailand, Bali in Indonesia, Palawan in the Philippines and the Maldives.
The top is a tie. Bali and Palawan both score 7.6 out of 10, for opposite reasons: Bali has the most to do, Palawan the better water. Phuket is third at 7.1. No island here has a US nonstop, so every pick costs at least one connection; the real choices are the season, the kind of trip and the entry paperwork.
Score = the weighted average of six factors. How we score
| # | Island | Score | Weather | Beaches | Things | Access | Value | Crowds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bali | 7.6 | 9.2 | 6.5 | 9.5 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 5.8 |
| 2 | Palawan | 7.6 | 7.6 | 8.5 | 8.0 | 2.3 | 10.0 | – |
| 3 | Phuket | 7.1 | 8.4 | 8.0 | 8.5 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 1.0 |
| 4 | Koh Samui | 6.8 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 2.0 | 9.3 | 1.6 |
| 5 | Koh Lanta | 6.3 | 7.7 | 8.0 | 5.5 | 2.0 | 9.5 | – |
| 6 | Maldives | 6.3 | 8.7 | 9.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 2.7 |
| 7 | Koh Phi Phi | 5.9 | 8.4 | 7.5 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 6.8 | – |
1Bali tops the list on things to do: a 9.5 for the temples of Ubud and Tanah Lot, the UNESCO-listed subak rice terraces, Mount Batur sunrise hikes and diving at Amed. Its value is a perfect 10, with a well-reviewed Seminyak 4-star at $22 in January and $30 in July. Beaches hold it back at 6.5: swim at Nusa Dua or Sanur, not the surf of Seminyak. Budget $28 for the visa on arrival and an $8 levy, and plan on traffic.
2Palawan ties Bali at 7.6 and has the best water in Asia outside the Maldives: an 8.5 for beaches, with El Nido's lagoons and Coron's World War II wrecks. Rooms are cheap, $40 to $44 for a well-reviewed El Nido hotel. Weather is its weak factor, 7.6, because the rainy season runs June to November and typhoons can cancel boats and flights. Go December to May, fly via Manila, and expect a 5- to 7-hour van ride north.
3Phuket is the easiest island here to plan: the most flights, hotels and boat trips in Thailand, scoring 8 for beaches and 8.5 for things to do. A well-reviewed 4-star in Patong cost $76 in January and $32 in July. Crowds sink it to third, with 13.0 million overnight tourists in 2025 and a crowd score of 1.0. Go November to April; from mid-May to mid-October the west-coast beaches get red-flag surf.
4Samui is Thailand's island for the northern summer. On Thailand's Gulf coast it misses most of the Andaman monsoon, so its weather score of 9.0 is second only to Bali here. Things to do (7) keep it below Phuket. Chaweng's cheapest well-reviewed 4-star was $84 in January and $58 in July. It suits couples in pool villas and families on calm Choeng Mon. Avoid mid-October to early December, its wettest weeks.
5Lanta is the quiet Thai choice, with long, gentle beaches at Klong Dao and Long Beach and an 8 for beaches. It scores 5.5 for things to do and loses 0.4 points because its page calls it worth it only from November to April. It is the best pick here for young children and tight budgets, with 3-star rooms from $8 in July. There is no airport: fly to Krabi and continue by road and car ferry.
6The Maldives has the best beaches on this list, a 9, with white coral sand and house reefs off the beach. It ranks sixth because things to do score 5 and its page rates it worth it only if the reef is the point. Its perfect value score comes from a $43 guesthouse room on Maafushi, a local island; resort stays were not priced and carry a $12 nightly green tax. The dry season runs January to March. Dogs are banned.
7Phi Phi has the cliffs and Maya Bay, and scores 7.5 for beaches, but it is last here for things to do (5) and value (6.8). The cheapest well-reviewed 4-star on Phi Phi Don was $187 in January, more than twice Phuket's. Maya Bay charges foreign adults $12 (400 baht) and closes August 1 to September 30. Stay one or two nights, or visit on a 1- to 2-hour boat ride from Phuket.
In this guide
Beaches and things to do are our editors' scores and carry 25% each. Weather (20%) comes from 2016-2025 climate data at each gateway airport, with a monthly penalty in storm seasons. Access, value and crowds (10% each) come from flight distances and US nonstops, two Kayak hotel prices, and visitors per square mile. Islands rated worth it only for some travelers lose 0.4 points. The details are in how we score islands.
Access barely moves this list. Every island scores between 2 and 2.3, because the gateways sit 7,600 to 10,200 miles (12,200 to 16,400 km) from our four US hubs. Value does the opposite: six of the seven score 9.3 or higher.
Bali's score is built on things to do (9.5, near the top of the site) and weather (9.2). Its beaches score only 6.5: Nusa Dua and Sanur are calm, but the west coast faces open surf, and plastic washes up in the wet season. Palawan scores 8.5 for beaches and 8 for things to do, but its weather is 7.6, the lowest here, because the Philippine rainy season runs June to November.
Asia's seasons do not line up, which is useful: some island here is in good shape in almost every month. These are the three highest-scoring months for each in our dataset.
| Island | Best months in our data | Wet season, per the island page |
|---|---|---|
| Bali | July, August, September | West monsoon, about October to April |
| Palawan | February, March, April | June to November (PAGASA) |
| Phuket, Phi Phi, Lanta | January, February, March | Southwest monsoon, about mid-May to mid-October |
| Koh Samui | February, March, June | About mid-October to early December |
| Maldives | February, March, June | Southwest monsoon, mid-May to November |
Palawan is the only island here inside a typhoon basin in our scoring; PAGASA says storms that reach the Philippines form near the Marianas and Caroline Islands and track northwest. The Thai and Maldives risk is monsoon rain and rough boat crossings. More in our storm seasons guide.
Our passport rules guide covers every island on the site.
You will connect at least once. Bali's routes run through Singapore, Doha, Dubai, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Taipei, Manila and Kuala Lumpur. Phuket adds Bangkok and Istanbul. The Maldives is reached through Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul or London. Palawan's Puerto Princesa airport has only domestic flights, so fly to Manila first.
Then comes the last leg. Phi Phi is a 1- to 2-hour ferry from Phuket. Lanta is a road and car-ferry ride from Krabi. El Nido is 5 to 7.5 hours by van from Puerto Princesa, or a small plane from Clark or Cebu. In the Maldives, resorts sell seaplane or speedboat transfers at their own prices; local islands such as Maafushi have public ferries.
The Maldives hotel price, $43 in Maafushi on both dates, is a guesthouse on a local island, not a resort. We did not price resort islands, which add their own transfers and a higher green tax, so the value score describes the budget way to go. Bali and the Maldives do not admit pet dogs, Bali under a 2009 rabies regulation and the Maldives by customs law. For the rest of the Indian Ocean, see Mauritius and Zanzibar, which we group outside Asia. Thailand's four islands are compared in more detail on our Thai island ranking.
Guide, breakfast, headlamp and the Kintamani ticket (with transfer options) are included. Pickup is around 2 am from the south, and the climb is steep on loose gravel.
Rating as shown on GetYourGuide
Guide, boat and lunch are included; the El Nido eco-fee (400 PHP), Big Lagoon fee (200 PHP), kayak rental and hotel pickup are not. Every operator runs the same fixed route, so you are mostly choosing a boat crew.
Rating as shown on GetYourGuide
Boat, snorkel guide, lunch, GoPro photos and entry fees are included; free shuttles only from Canggu, Seminyak and Kuta. Bluuu Tours runs its own boats.
Rating as shown on Viator
Booking through these links supports this site at no cost to you. Prices move by date, so we do not print them here; the official prices we checked are in the page above.
On our scores, Bali and Palawan tie at 7.6 out of 10. Bali is the better pick for culture and things to do, Palawan for lagoons, snorkeling and diving. Phuket is third at 7.1 and the easiest first trip.
Bali has more to do inland and cheaper rooms ($22 to $30 for a 4-star in Seminyak against $32 to $76 in Patong). Phuket has better beaches for swimming and is best from November to April, while Bali is driest from July to September.
The Maldives scores highest for beaches (9), then Palawan (8.5). The Maldives has white coral sand and house reefs a few fins from shore; Palawan's best beaches are in El Nido's Bacuit Bay, reached by boat.
Yes. Buy an e-VOA online or a visa on arrival for $28 (IDR 500,000), valid 30 days and extendable once. You also pay Bali's tourist levy of $8 (IDR 150,000) once per visit.
It depends on the island. Thailand's Andaman coast and Palawan are best from about December to April, Bali from July to September, and Koh Samui from roughly January to September. Few months are good everywhere at once.
No. None of the seven islands on this list has a US nonstop. Expect one connection through an Asian or Gulf hub, and sometimes a second flight or a ferry.
Further reading
