BA - The Club - Six Asian islands off the beaten track

Singapore – Nikoi island

Nikoi (pronounced ‘idyll’) is a private island 85km southeast of Singapore, ringed with sandy beaches, criss-crossed by forest trails and home to 15 Indonesian-style beach houses. In short, it’s the sort of place Robinson Crusoe would have designed if he’d had the money. Three bars, two pools and an open-air cinema form the main attractions, although there’s a cornucopia of sports, from lawn tennis to rock climbing. Meals are served at a nine-metre table fashioned from salvaged driftwood, and focus on barbecued seafood, Asian dishes and fresh fruit. Psssst: the owners are opening a similar, but adults-only, island early in 2017.
Get me there: BA to Singapore. Ferry from Tanah Merah terminal to Bintan, and onward to Nikoi by private launch.

Photo: Press

Malaysia – Kapas

Chilled, cheerful and much quieter than busier islands such as Tioman and Pangkor, Kapas basks a short way off the east coast of Malaysia, with only a few modest resorts to its name and just the simplest pleasures to entertain visitors. Fishing for squid by night, diving on the Japanese freighter wrecked in World War II by day, exploring the trails and beaches… frenetic it’s not. The summer months are the best time to watch out for turtles who swim ashore to lay their eggs. Note that Kapas shuts up shop for the monsoon between October and February.
Get me there: BA to Kuala Lumpur. By road, or air, to Kuala Terengganu and then ferry from Marang port.

Photo: Getty

Japan – Yaeyama islands

So far south and west of the main Japanese islands as to nudge Taiwan, the Yaeyama group are more like Hawaii than Honshu, and the polar opposite of the concrete angst that is Roppongi, Tokyo’s nightlife maze. The trick is to fly into Ishigaki Island, then head out to the jungles of neighbouring Iriomote, or Taketomi, which is home to a neatly preserved traditional village. There’s a real frontier feel to this mini archipelago, but smart resorts are opening up, such as the Nirakanai, whose 140 rooms, pool and spa take their design cue from Bali.
Get me there: BA to Tokyo, then direct flight to New Ishigaki Airport.

Photo: Getty

South Korea – Jeju

Thousands of Koreans conceived during their parents’ honeymoon on Jeju have gone on to celebrate their nuptials on exactly the same island, off the southern tip of the Korean peninsular. Thus does history repeat itself. But you don’t have to be newly married to enjoy yourself here. Boutique hotels such as Baume Couture are upping the accommodation stakes; the 280 stores at the Jungang underground shopping centre provide plenty of diversion; Mount Halla allows excellent hiking – being overtaken by hearty Korean pensioners is de rigueur – while the eight-kilometre Manjang cave is a Unesco Geopark. Love Land, a theme-is-obvious park, is more erratic than erotic.
Get me there: BA to Seoul, then direct flight to Jeju.

Photo: Getty

Vietnam – Phu Quoc

Talk about a makeover. Phu Quoc (‘beautiful land’) used to be a prison island. Nowadays, many visitors say they never want to leave. The default getaway for Vietnam’s expats, Phu Quoc, hard by the border with Cambodia off Vietnam’s southern coast, has every facet of the tropical island dream – sandy beaches, great diving, jungle trails to explore, mounds of seafood to consume in seaside shacks. There’s a golf course and an airport, but this is still very much a hideaway.
Get me there: BA to Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam Airlines to Phu Quoc.

Photo: Getty

Indonesia – Nusa Lembongan

If the marketing gurus ever get around to rebranding Nusa Lembongan then ‘paradise regained’ could well head the shortlist. It’s like Bali (30 minutes away) before it was swamped by mass tourism, with all the pleasures and none of the hassles. Sleep in a five-star villa or a beach bungalow and eat at a gourmet restaurant or a simple Indonesian warung. The seas are filled with amazing marine life, and the beaches are often empty. Eat, Pray, Love? Lembongan wrote the manual long before Elizabeth Gilbert put pen to paper.
Get me there: BA to Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific to Denpasar, ferry from Sanur to Lembongan.

Photo: Getty

Ed Peters

Six Asian islands off the beaten track

Singapore – Nikoi island

Malaysia – Kapas

Japan – Yaeyama islands

South Korea – Jeju

Vietnam – Phu Quoc

Indonesia – Nusa Lembongan

Singapore – Nikoi island

Malaysia – Kapas

Japan – Yaeyama islands

South Korea – Jeju

Vietnam – Phu Quoc

Indonesia – Nusa Lembongan

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