If you want to see what the rest of coastal Thailand might have been like 30 years ago, this is the island for you. Rugged, authentically Thai and heart-stoppingly beautiful, it boasts only 18km of roads and has by some miracle escaped the attention of the cement mixers. Boats leave Phuket for the 45-minute transfer, but Yao Noi’s another world completely from the bright lights across the bay.