Hooray! Finally, we too have been tagged by fellow Aussie hikers’ lovers and experts Sue and Frank from Ourhikingblog to contribute to “3 Best Kept Travel Secrets”.

Worthless to explain the game started by Katie from Tripbase but, if there are still few out there that haven’t heard about it, she had the great idea to create a list of top travel recommendations put together by us, fellow travellers, to be spread across the net.

So, ready for our travel gems? Here we go, our travel secret for a retreat in paradise:

Koh Tao, Thailand

Thailand is no longer a travel secret and, even if it’s not everybody style, we all know about the full moon party islands of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand.

However, nearby there is a little island worth to be discovered: Koh Tao. Its beauty is starting quickly to catch the attention of travellers, yet it has such a great relaxing atmosphere and it feel like you are miles away in a tropical paradise especially when avoiding the main beach of Sai Ree. Whatever is your style of holiday in Koh Tao you will never get bored: you got the buzz at night in the main beach, you could spend a day kayaking around the island exploring its beautiful beaches or bake in the sun in complete relax as everyone would probably have gone out diving. Of course is great for snorkelling too and if you don’t mind to get your hiking boots you could find your own private beach to unwind. Plus, budget wise, it is still a great backpackers’ destination.

Matapouri Coast and Whale Bay, New Zealand


We couldn’t imagine that New Zealand could have such a tropical setting and the Northland, while we visited it, was surely up to its fame of winterless. The Matapouri Coast is really the place to be during the Kiwi winter to lie on the beach kissed by a warm sun with no one around but only the sound of the birds and the waves breaking ashore. This coastline is scattered with quiet, charming fishing villages and secluded bays and, while the sun was shining, on a trekking expedition along the coast with stumble across Whale Beach, a utter bliss where we lazed the day away.

Orosei Golf, Sardinia -Italy

We might be cheating here as this place is not actually on our RTW route but we discovered Sardinia few years ago and felt in love at first sight. Sardinia is not much of a secret for the Italians yet it holds some pleasant surprises even for us. First of all, wherever you might be, in Sardinia you got a myriad of delicious food to taste, the people are as friendly as the New Zealanders (although you might have some trouble get it for the language barrier) and you got stunning beaches. What we only discovered on our second trip to this magnificent island is the Gulf of Orisei, 40km of pristine coastline dotted with white powder sand beaches and aquamarine bays. Likely, some of those bays are still off the beaten track even for the Italians as some are accessible by few hours of hike along the rugged coastline but the most by boat only, in which case you could drop the anchor in a “cala” and have it blissfully all for yourself. A hint: avoid in any case travelling in the months of July and August, too pricey and too crowded.

We gave it a go to our best travel secrets, what’s your take?

Now it’s your turn:

• Backpacker Ben
• Run Away Jane
• New Adventures In Backpacking
• Backpacking Travel Destinations 
• The Carey Adventures