I am a beach bummer, and I love visiting Island nations such as Maldives, Philippines and Thailand. I have not been to Indonesia, I planned a trip in October 2017 but due to volcanic eruption, ended up going Thailand again. It was a happy trip anyways.
Now we would divide the comparison on the basis of the following points and let us see who the winner is.
Since these island nations are hugely popular honeymoon destinations, we would do the comparisons on the basis of a couple visit. Definitely you can visit them solo and have great experiences as well.
1. Activities/Excursions
Thailand has lot more many activities as a result of tourism. From elephant sanctuary, water sports, dive schools, food tours and temples. Philippines offers better natural scenery but nothing much on wildlife or temple side. Maldives is good for relaxing, it does not have any limestone cliffs or caves, just good beaches and luxurious resorts to explore.
Winner : Thailand -3 Points , Philippines - 2 Points, Maldives - 1 Point
2. Value for Money
I found Philippines to be the best value for money in terms of experiences they offer from food to excursions. Thailand would be next, but due to tourism explosion the prices have slightly been increased and Maldives being labelled in exotic category is definitely the most expensive.
Winner : Philippines -3 Points , Thailand - 2 Points, Maldives - 1 Point
3. Accommodation
Thailand offers most types of accommodation from hostels, private villas, resorts to apartments, they have it all and for all price points. Philippines, since is now getting more and more discovered, is focusing on over water villas and private villas category. However they already have abundance of hotels and hostels on most on their islands. Maldives however either has high budgets private island resort or low budget guesthouses on local islands. They dont have anything in between much.
Winner : Thailand -3 Points , Philippines - 2 Points, Maldives - 1 Point
4. Island Hopping
I found island hopping very easy and convenient in Thailand, while in Philippines I have to take longer journeys on uncomfortable boats. In Maldives, mostly you are dependent on expensive private transfers as public ferries run on limited routes and on specific days only.
Winner : Thailand -3 Points , Philippines - 2 Points, Maldives - 1 Point
5.Food
Thai Cuisine has earned itself a global reputation in the past years, and people love to Travel Thailand especially for its food. Philippines offer a great variety of fresh sea food, halo ice cream, however it lacks the unique flavour that Thai Cuisine offers. Maldives on other hand offers mainly fish as local delicacy served in various forms. However all the resorts serve you a buffet which has large variety of dishes from different cuisines.
Winner : Thailand -3 Points , Philippines - 2 Points, Maldives - 1 Point
6. Capitals
Bangkok is the most eclectic of the three, it is an amazing city that offers quintessential south east asian city experience from food to shopping, temples to pubs. Manila is not that exciting for me as it has mainly malls, and some dutch areas which can be done in a day. Male on the other hand is just 2 sq.kms long, and has nothing other than Govt departments and central mosque.
Winner : Thailand -3 Points , Philippines - 2 Points, Maldives - 1 Point
7. People (Hospitality)
Filipinos are always smiling and ready to help, our boat excursions were extraordinary experiences because of their warm nature. I can not just praise them enough. Second, for me come Maldivians, we stayed with local guesthouses in Maafushi and Fulidhoo and the hosts really take care of you as its run not by big corporates but by local people. People in Thailand are nice, but often they are scams and a bit rude at times, but that usually happens when tourist becomes crowd.
Winner : Philippines -3 Points , Maldives - 2 Points, Thailand- 1 Point
8. Culture
Buddhism is really penetrated deep into Thailand and the culture is rich. I love the buddhist temples and the vibe inside them. Philippines were ruled by dutch and are majorly catholic, so they do not offer deep culture influences. Maldives are most muslim people, and I could not get much intake from there.
Winner : Thailand -3 Points , Philippines - 2 Points, Maldives - 1 Point
9.Sea Life
In Maldives, we saw schools of Dolphins, nurse sharks, bull sharks and plenty of variety of fishes. However the corals were little bleached, and we recommend Maldives for experiences divers and not much for snorkelling. Philippines had beautiful coral gardens and we spotted turtles on most of our dives. Thailand on other hand offers plenty of sea life, just not as great as Philippines and Maldives.
Winner : Maldives -3 Points , Philippines - 2 Points, Thailand - 1 Point
10. Spa
Massages are so relaxing and essential part of any South Asian Holiday, as they are so cheap and authentic in this part of the world. Thailand offers original Thai Massage (Dry massage involving stretching of muscles), Oil Massage and plenty of other notorious massage if you are looking for one of them. The massages we had in Philippines were not that great as Thai, however they were great value for money. In Maldives, you can cherish massages only at resorts which are very expensive as resorts need to refuel their expenses. I just can not enjoy expensive massages, no matter how amazing the spa or masseuse is.
Winner : Thailand -3 Points , Philippines - 2 Points, Maldives- 1 Point
Total:
Thailand - 25 Points
Philippines - 22 Points
Maldives - 13 points
So as you guys see Thailand came out to be the winner with Maximum points. I definitely recommend to start with Thailand, then move on to Philippines and then eventually to Maldives. Philippines offers better natural scenery and Maldives offer best underwater sea life experience though.
Would love to hear about your preferences and what you think about the article in the comments below.
