Skip the crowds in Asia and head to these fabulous family friendly resorts off the beaten path
Indonesia
Luxury awaits in far-flung East Nusa Tenggara province
Ta'aktana is a luxury spa resort in Indonesia’s remote East Nusa Tenggara province that offers families the opportunity to discover the local culture with cultural and wellness adventures.
Specifically tailored for families, programmes at Ta’aktana resort include ocean social awareness workshops with coral planting and baby turtle releases, as well as a Komodo dragon treasure hunt and cultural Manggari language classes exploring the local traditions. There’s also house reef snorkelling, sunrise trekking and sunset hikes.
The beachside retreat is part of Marriott Bonvoy’s global portfolio. Facilities include a spa, olympic-sized resort pool, kids' club, beach access and several dining spots that embrace local cuisine.
Accommodation includes family villas and overwater villas with butler service.
How to get there: Fly into Bali and take a complimentary airport shuttle to Komodo Airport. The resort is a two-and-a-half kilometre drive.
Thailand
Youngsters get stuck into ice cream-making at Soneva Kiri, Thailand
Soneva Kiri is located on the lesser-known island of 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 a little 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.
How to get there: Take the resort's private plane from Bangkok airport.
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.
It might be off the beaten path, but 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.
Spend quality family time in splendid isolation in a three-building, four-bedroom beachfront reserve villa, complete with a private, 60ft infinity pool, private beach, in-villa spa and full-service kitchen with a private chef.
If you have youngsters in tow, 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.
How to get there: It's a two-and-a-half hour drive from Dubai airport. The resort offers a 4WD limousine service.
Indian Ocean
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 and is one of the world's last untouched paradises. The resort offers just 44 luxury villas which dot the sandy coastline.
Boasting rolling sand dunes and an azure ocean filled with dancing dolphins, dugongs, turtles and humpback whales, Ilha de Bazaruto, or Island of the Mist, is a nature-lover’s aqua playgound. The Bazaruto Archipelago is a protected marine reserve and national park; enjoy world-class diving, sailing, snorkelling and deep-sea fishing to whale watching (July to September) and dune boarding.
For young families, every child receives an arrival cupcake and kid-friendly in-room amenities, there's a children's club, child-friendly menus and down on the beach, youngsters can learn how to shore fish with the resort's child-sized rods. There are football games with local children, treasure hunts, wood-carving workshops, African dance classes, story-telling sessions and lots more.
How to get there: Fly to Johannesburg and transfer to Vilankulo International Airport. From here the resort offers a private helicopter transfer to the island.
Philippines
Find some space in the Sulu Sea at Amanpulo
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.
How to get there: The resort is an hour from Manila but is accessible only by private plane.
Thailand
Silence is golden at Anantara Koh Yao Yai resort
The recently opened Anantara Koh Yao Yai is the first high-end resort to set-up on the quiet island by the same name.
The resort is perched on the eastern tip in a private bay with luxury villas cascading down the emerald jungle-clad hills to the golden sands below. There are dedicated family suites and family pool villas, a kids’ pool with slide, a children’s club and plenty of activities such as cooking classes, arts and crafts and movie nights to keep youngsters busy while mum and dad relax. Enjoy family-time kayaking the turquoise waters of the Andaman or relaxing with a family spa treatment.
Secluded Koh Yao Yai is around halfway between Phuket and Krabi and boasts plenty of idyllic sandy beaches, acres of rubber plantations and numerous traditional fishing villages. The waters are rich in marine life and corals; interesting local dive sites include King Cruiser Wreck near Anemone Reef.
How to get there: Fly to Phuket and the resort is a 30-minute speedboat ride from Phuket's Laem Sai pier.
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