Dream islands and coral reefs

After breakfast, you'll be collected from your hotel and taken to the pier. When you return from Ko Raya you'll spend another night in Phuket, so you can leave the majority of your baggage behind, taking only a few essentials to the island. You'll then travel by speedboat to the fairytail shores of Ko Raya, a real highlight of our Thailand islands itinerary. The crossing takes about 45 minutes. After this, you have the rest of the day to settle into your charming wooden beach bungalow with air conditioning and a fantastic seaview.

You'll stay in a snorkelling and diving paradise, considered one the best places in Thailand for underwater exploration. You don't have to stray far from the beach to find countless tropical fish, starfish, sea cucumbers and even turtles. The sea is so blue and clear on these Thailand beaches that you can often see the incredible sealife beneath the surface of the waves without even a snorkel.

Today, you'll be collected from your hotel in Phuket and taken to the pier for the trip to Ko Yao Yai. Watch the locals cramming the tiny vessels with rice, pots, pans, and sometimes even goats. You'll pay less than £1 for the ferry crossing, handing the fare directly to the boatman. An hour and a half later, you'll arrive at Ko Yao Yai - an idyllic island nestled in Phang Nga Bay. On the way, you'll pass the sheer limestone rockfaces for which the bay is famous, and watch seabirds soaring lazily in the cloudless sky.

You’ll be met at the pier on Ko Yao Yai by your friendly hosts for the next few nights of your Thailand islands itinerary. From here, it's a 30min drive to your small and personal resort, with wooden bungalows equipped with fans, toilets and showers. There's no hot water here, but in such high temperatures you're unlikely to notice its absence. There are also no shops and no restaurants - you really are marooned on a desert island. Take enough cash and a credit card with you, as there’s no ATM. You will eat in the fantastic open-air restaurant, and there's bound to be fresh fish on the menu. The welcoming owner usually stops by for a chat and a drink or two with the guests.

After you've munched breakfast to the sound of waves gently lapping the shore and felt the warm morning sun on your skin, you'll head off around 9.00am in a longtail boat for your day excursion around Ko Hong, an island with two shimmering white beaches and a breathtakingly beautiful lagoon. The lagoon was formed by the collapse of a huge cave in the middle of the island. It is surrounded by sheer limestone walls dotted with caves, and inhabited by creatures like bats and swallows. If you like, take a dip into the deep turquoise water.

In the afternoon you'll visit another stunning beach. Here, the water is so clear that you can see every marking on the tropical fishes from the boat. You can snorkel amongst the coral and shoals of rainbow-bright fish. You'll get back to Ko Yao Yai at around 3pm, giving you a few hours to soak up the sun before it begins to set.

The last few days of your Thailand islands itinerary are dedicated to pure relaxation and total self-indulgence.

Between snacks and sunbathing, you can grab a snorkel and discover the amazing underwater world. As the islands of the Trang archipelago are far from the tourist trail, the coral here is totally unspoilt. If you’ve never snorkelled before, you’ll be amazed at the beauty that lies just beneath the surface of the azure waters. The water temperature is around 27°C. Please wear plenty of sunscreen, especially when snorkelling.