Andaman coast: How to choose the islands

Hi Group,

I am going to the Southern beaches November 25th (flying from a 2 day trip from Cambodia) and am having a hard time narrowing down what islands and places to go. We have 9 days (7 full days) before heading up to Bangkok. We def want to go to atleast 2 places.

Things we want to do/want:

romantic location/hotel

beach: swim, layout, relax

eat wonderful Thai food

get Thai massages

my boyfriend wants to take a Thai box class if possible (not a big deal if we cant find, but would be neat)

take a cooking class

be around stunning natural beauty

have some privacy

The islands I have researched that I am considering are:

Khao Lak

Pi Pi

Koh Yao Islands

West Railay Beach (although I am concerned about how loud everyone says it is with the boats)

Koh Lanta

Similan Islands

Does anyone have suggestions from experience of where I can best get all of the above?

Thank you!

Andaman coast: How to choose the islands

First off, Khao Lak and Railay are not islands.

Most of your proposed destinations have most of the items on your list, but not all of them. They%26#39;re ALL ';romantic,'; have varyingly busy or crowded beaches, have lots of Thai food and massages. Most are beautiful in some way, but the karst rock formations you%26#39;re probably thinking of are to be found at Railay and on Phi Phi.

Of your list, Railay and Phi Phi are probably the most crowded destinations, and Phi Phi has become rather expensive. Khao Lak has the most exclusive accommodation, but stunning beaches. Lanta is moving from backpacker to package tourist, but still has lots of simple accommodation and uncrowded beaches. Koh Kao Yai and Kao Noi are quite undeveloped (Koh Jum fits in this category as well - my personal favourite). As far as I know, the Similans have no accommodation; you have to go there on a live-aboard diveboat.

Here%26#39;s a good site covering the islands: http://andaman-island-hopping.com/ (just don%26#39;t trust the ferry schedules which are never updated).

Also Travelfish: http://www.travelfish.org/islands.php

And Tezza: tezza-thailandbeachesandislands.blogspot.com/

And you can read up on Koh Jum here: http://kohjumonline.com/

Andaman coast: How to choose the islands

Thank you for the information!