Arriving by boat, you can already sense the Paradise awaiting you: a little hill emerging from the sea, covered in lush vegetation among which the bungalows are scattered, a dazzling beach, and a turquoise sea. The island is fairly long and the part reserved for the resort extends for about 700-800 m along the beach. The only vehicles present on the island are little electric golf-type cars, used to carry luggage to the rooms. The accommodation, 120 rooms, is divided into seafront (the most expensive) and "second row"; the latter can be scattered on the hill, reachable by about a hundred steps, but dominating from above a splendid view of the sea and the island.
As a tip, for convenience, ask for accommodation near the central services; the rooms are slightly spartan, but very spacious, with a nice patio; you do however have to share them with a few geckos, but you get used to it straight away and they usually don't come into the room, also because there are mosquito screens. The beach is very beautiful, the sea transparent even when it's rough; with a very short swim, you reach a decent coral reef (about 30 m from the shore) pleasant for snorkelling, but many fish come right up to the shore too, and sometimes, towards evening, you find yourself swimming surrounded by very curious little white fish. Beyond the reef, some have even seen medium-sized sharks; we saw a couple right from the jetty, but really tiny ones. On certain occasions, when the sea becomes as calm as oil, dolphins also come to play.
The beach is slightly crowded in the initial part of the island, where the sunbeds are a bit close together; but continuing along the beach, you can settle wherever you like, and the sunbeds are about fifty metres apart from one another. FOOD: infinite choice with 4 restaurants; at midday, the main restaurant with international cuisine, or a snack on a terrace over the sea, with pizza, pasta, sushi, grilled meat and fish. In the evening, a choice of the main restaurant with a buffet, or, by reservation, a Thai restaurant or a fish speciality restaurant, with excellent grilled shellfish and other specialities. The resort is ALL INCLUSIVE: unlimited drinks at the bar from morning to midnight.
PERIOD: the ideal period is from late December to late March, when the climate is dry and rainfall is scarce: in summer, instead, the humidity rises and it often rains. We always found good weather, apart from 15 minutes of rain and a few clouds. COSTS: one night per person all-inclusive from €75 (low season) to €130 (August and New Year), with an average of €110 in high season (January to March). In short, a place where you can choose whether to keep to yourselves (and there's no lack of space), make friends (the clientele is mainly Italian), or, why not, both.
EXCURSIONS: an excursion not to be missed, unique and magnificent, is PHI PHI ISLAND. Unfortunately done with Ventaglio it's very expensive, especially compared to what we found in other catalogues. If I remember rightly, for 2 of us we paid around 150 euros. Once we'd done the excursion, though, we understood the reason for such an exaggerated price: the excursion is done with a private speedboat, max 10-15 people, in an hour you arrive at Phi Phi, then you stop at all the best beaches of the two islands, there's a stop for snorkelling, and you visit the most famous bays, and I assure you, you see some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. Then you stop for lunch in the main village, with a little market and the chance to take an exhausting walk to admire a "postcard" landscape (tiring but worth it, because the view from above is spectacular).
The classic excursions, instead, cost about half, but they're done by ferry from Phuket which takes about 2 hours, so they take you to the main village and that's it (the sea here isn't exceptional); then, if you want to visit the beaches, you have to take the local longtail boats, but there isn't enough time left; that's why before leaving I'd read negative opinions about this excursion. In short, it's really worth spending a bit more. Needless to say that 12 hours of travel + the cost of the flight to go to a beach is a waste, so this is a holiday to combine with a nice tour of Thailand.
(2005 update: The Maiton Island Resort is no longer managed by Ventaglio).
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