Koh Yao Yai
Koh Yao Yai is located east of Phuket and has a sister island called Koh Yao Noi. This is definitely the most non touristic island I have been and definitely worth visiting.
What to do and where to stay at Koh Yao Yai?
At Koh Yao Yai you don't have many options when it comes to staying low budget. There are 4 hostels at Koh Yao Yai and I choose backpack hostel koyyaoyai because it had great reviews, it was close to the dock and had a scooter rental. They also arranged our boat tickets for Phuket and you only pay €9,00 per night. I also could use the fridge and a small kitchen.
​
Koh Yao Yai is perfect if you want to escape from mass tourism and explore a little bit of the Maldives in Thailand. You can go around on a scooter and visit different cute and peaceful beaches. For good food you can go to every single local restaurant and it is just a perfect place to escape all the busy and touristic areas around these islands. Koh Yao Noi is also worth a visit if you have time but you can easily take a boat to the other side because it is only a 10 min ferry.