Skip the crowds when the world opens up at the region’s most socially-distanced hideaways.
Thailand
Youngsters get stuck into ice cream-making at Soneva Kiri, Thailand.
Soneva Kiri is located on Koh Kood, Thailand’s fourth largest, but least populated, island. The luxurious family-friendly resort is an hour’s private plane-ride from Bangkok. Resort pool villas boast up to six bedrooms; perfect for families in search of seclusion.
The eco-friendly accommodation is found scattered across the white sandy beaches, clinging to verdant hillsides or perched on cliff tops overlooking the Gulf of Thailand. Larger villas come with children’s tree houses and water slides.
Ensure ultimate privacy with the resort’s Mr and Mrs Friday private butler service and your own electric buggy or bicycle for getting around.
Dining options include seclusion in a bamboo pod in the treetops with dishes delivered by zipline.
Oman
Escape the crowds at Six Senses, Zighy Bay.
Set in a secluded inlet and flanked by a private beach, Six Senses Zighy Bay feels a million miles from the crowds of the Middle East.
This sprawling, ultra-luxe resort set on Oman’s Musandam Peninsula is a reassuring two-hour drive from the hustle and bustle of Dubai airport.
Seclude the family in splendid isolation in a three-building, four-bedroom Beachfront Reserve Villa. It comes complete with a private, 60ft infinity pool, private beach, in-villa spa and full-service kitchen with a private chef.
Bored children? Mask them up and let the hotel kids’ club staff keep them busy with treasure hunts, crafts, hikes, wadi swimming, canyoning, archery and raft building.
Or leave it all behind and sail off into the Gulf of Oman aboard the resort’s 90ft Dhahab, complete with five crew members to attend your every need.
Mozambique
Room to roam in the Indian Ocean at Anantara's Bazaruto Island Resort.
Bazaruto Island Resort by Anantara lies in the Indian Ocean, 30km off the mainland of Mozambique. Boasting rolling sand dunes and an azure ocean filled with dancing dolphins, dugongs, turtles and humpback whales, Bazaruto is a nature-lover’s aqua playgound.
Mozambique has a mind-blowing 2,500km of Indian Ocean coastline and the Bazaruto Archipelago is a protected marine reserve and national park.
It might be remote, but Ilha de Bazaruto, or Island of the Mist, offers both a private helipad and an airstrip for socially-distancing guests. Step aboard your private helicopter before losing yourselves in one of the world’s last untouched paradises.
Enjoy diving, snorkelling, deep-sea fishing and sunset dune boarding. or sail off into the sunset on the resort’s private yacht.
Philippines
Find some space at Amanpulo in the Sulu Sea.
The resort of Amanpulo sits on its very own, private desert island, blissfully marooned in the Sulu Sea.
Nestled in the forests and along the six-and-a-half-kilometre beach sit serene Casitas - solitary hideaways with spacious bedrooms and wrap-around verandahs. The lush landscape cradles every Casita in complete privacy and each has its own stretch of private beach.
This is a wildlife lover’s paradise; the island’s seas are teeming with corals and marine life and the beaches are nesting sites for both green and hawksbill sea turtles.
The resort is just an hour from Manila but is accessible only by private plane.
Indonesia
Fun for all the family away from the crowds at Nikoi Island.
Nikoi Island is a family paradise. It lies in Indonesian territory approximately 80 kilometres south of Singapore, nestled just where the sparkling aquamarines of the Java and South China Seas meet.
A private car meets you at Bintan Island ferry terminal once you’ve been whisked through customs by your Nikoi welcoming committee. Then it’s a 40-minute drive across Bintan before you’re sped away by private launch to the palm-fringed island of Nikoi.
There are just a handful of huts (rent the entire island for proper social distancing), a covered dining area on the sand and a pool. Move seamlessly from bed-to-breakfast-to-beach while the children are kept entertained at the kids’ club on the other side of the island with plenty of outdoorsy, Famous Five-style activities.
Later, linger for longer over your dinner and cocktails while the kids enjoy a starlit movie.
*Please note that many resorts are currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Check with individual properties for reopening schedules.
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