Tropical Destinations

Boracay is a fantastic tropical island about an hour’s flight from Manila in the Philippines. Its long white sand beaches rivals any of the best beaches in the more popular beach destinations such as the Caribbean, the South Pacific as well as neighbouring Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Boracay can only be reached by ferry from Caticlan. SEAir serves up to 28 flights a day, each flight takes as short as 35 minutes, from Manila to Caticlan Airport. The other way is via Kalibo Airport on the other side of Aklan Island. From Kalibo, visitors have to take a two-hour (2-hour) ride to Caticlan. Mini-vans, buses and other rental vehicles take tourists from Kalibo to Caticlan.

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Rai Leh, also commonly known as Railay, is a tourist area located on the Andaman Coast of Thailand, in Krabi Province. Rai Leh is primarily known as a rock climbing hot spot, attracting climbers from all over the world to its superb towering limestone.

As Rai Leh is a peninsula surrounded by ocean and mountains, final access can only be by boat. Long-tails depart from Ao Nang (10 minutes, 60 baht/person) and Krabi (30 minutes) on demand, making those towns the gateways to Rai Leh. It’s also possible to access Rai Leh via regular ferries that run between Ko Lanta, Ko Phi Phi, and Phuket (more frequent in the November-May dry season.
From Bangkok there are flights to Krabi and Phuket, direct bus services, and trains to Surat Thani with onward connections by bus.

Rai Leh is considered to be all of the peninsula, which has four primary areas:
• Phra Nang: a fine white sand beach, on the southern tip of the peninsula
• Rai Leh East: the mangrove side of the peninsula, used by long-tails to/from Krabi
• Rai Leh West: a fine beach of white sand and shallow water, where most long-tails arrive from Ao Nang
• Ton Sai: a cove around the corner from Rai Ley West where rockclimbers and backpackers hang out in cheap accomodation and practice climbing
It’s a 5-10 minute walk between any of these landmarks. The village itself is a pedestrian’s dream, as there are no cars, and the uneven bumpy walkways make even bicycles impractical.

On the east side of the peninsula, to the north of Rai Leh East, Diamond Cave is an interesting place to explore and one of the few strictly sight-seeing destinations at Rai Leh. A nominal entrance fee pays for a short walk along the lit boardwalk through formations that glitter as if they were full of diamonds. Though not breathtakingly large (and thus easily viewed in about fifteen minutes) it is quite beautiful.
Phra Nang Shrine, north end of Phra Nang Beach. Dedicated to the spirit of the drowned princess (phra nang) who gave the beach her name, this small shrine in a small cave is notable primarily for the dozens of carved red-tipped phalluses donated by fishermen seeking her favour.

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The Perhentian Islands are a small group of beautiful, coral-fringed islands off the coast of northeastern Malaysia in the state of Terengganu, not far from the Thai border.
The two main islands are Perhentian Besar (”Big Perhentian”) and Perhentian Kecil (”Small Perhentian”). Kecil, the more popular of the two, has cheap accommodation and is a bit of a backpacker party scene, while Besar is slightly more expensive and caters more to families. The relative difficulty of access and the higher prices compared to Thailand mean that both are still relatively unexplored.
The small, uninhabited islands of Susu Dara, Seringgi and Rawa lie off Kecil. The Perhentians belong to Pulau Redang National Marine Park, which means that fishing, collecting coral and littering are strictly prohibited.
The name “perhentian” means “point to stop” in Malay, referring to their longstanding role as a waypoint for traders between Bangkok and Malaysia. The islands were sparsely inhabited by fishermen for centuries, although tourism now accounts for most economic activity.

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