Private Island Paradise: Noa Noa, Philippines

Sixteen-hour flight, eight-hour layover, five-hour flight, two-hour layover, one-hour flight, two-hour drive, 45-minus boat ride, and voila! Paradise! Welcome to NoaNoa Private Island, near El Nido, Philippines. Really just a hop, skip, and a jump away, right? Plan to stay awhile. You won’t be sorry.

Here’s the daily: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner beachside. We arrived in time for lunch (though it was hard to tell what time is was after 35 hours of travel!), and were blown away by the homemade veggie curry. And the ice cold local beer 100% hit the spot. You’ll want two mangos a day for breakfast, and by dinner you’ll wonder how you possibly fit another bit, but you’ll find a way and won’t be sorry you did! Sunbathe, siesta in a hammock or in the shade of a canopy of leaves, catch the sunset, and stargaze.

The island can accommodate 12 guests total, in two “houses.” We stayed in the ““main house,” which really should be called “the mansion,” with two of our friends. We loved the open-air, Balinese inspired, massive common area, including our infinity pool with spectacular sea view. Our suite had more ocean views, an outdoor shower and tub, two indoor bathrooms, and a ridiculous (in a good way) round, canopied bed. Photos simply don’t do it justice.

If you want to get active, there are tons of options. We did yoga on our balcony and the helipad, jogged around the island (which feels like an obstacle course with all the stairs and bridges around), snorkeled, paddle boarded, and kayaked!

The pristine coral reef surrounding the island is out. of. this. world. The Island’s owners (wow, so cool to OWN an island!)/your gracious hosts, Andy and Chelo, will set you up with snorkeling gear and bring you on snorkeling safaris. The colors and variety of sea life will blow your mind. We also loved paddle boarding and kayaking to the nearby uninhabited islands, where we explored even more incredible coral reefs.