In the same way you wouldn’t buy a car without taking
a test drive, you shouldn’t have to book a tour without
knowing exactly what you’re getting. In association
with Phuket.com
Magazine, Phuket-Travel.com hops aboard a tour every
month to bring you accurate, in-depth reviews of the fun
we offer. The writer, Aaron Mahan, strings together the
words while the photographer, Stephan Audiger, takes the
happy-snaps (see the tour
photos.)
As they say, it’s a tough job…
Exciting island-hopping to the tropical hot spots in the Krabi sea : Phra Nang Cave, Tup Isl., Chicken Isl. and Poda Isl. Swimming, snorkelling, sunbathing, exploring and photography are the main activities to enjoy.
Phang Nga Province – right next door to Phuket
– is a veritable cornucopia of wildlife, stunning
scenery and adventure opportunities. One tour that
takes in the thrills and spills of the provinces rugged
terrain offers whitewater rafting in the morning and
an ATV tour in the afternoon; the best of both worlds?
We went along to check it out.
Read the entire ATV/Rafting
Tour review.
It seems that everybody has a dream of getting away
from it all. Perhaps an escape to a mountain hideaway
up in the clouds with eagles as companions; or perhaps
a camping adventure in a northern wilderness…
everybody has the same sort of escapist dream.
Read the entire Surin
Islands by speedboat daytrip review.
Koh Khai Nok is a small island tucked away in Phang
Nga Bay. It's only 30 minutes or so away from the
east coast of Phuket but ask anyone on the island
if they've been there and you will probably draw a
blank stare. Still, a hidden gem is sometimes all
the more precious for being so and when we discovered
a half day tour was going there we leapt at the opportunity
to try it out.
Read the entire Koh
Khai Tour review.
Book Koh
Khai Tour
See the Koh
Khai Tour photos
What if you could take Phuket's most romantic aspects,
weave them all together and set sail with them? The
result, I'm sure you can imagine, would be something
close to sensational. Happily enough this is a dream
that is possible to attain. Sunset, romance, good
food, wine and adventure; they're all here on the
Ayodhaya dinner sunset cruise.
Our Phuket Romantic Snorkeling Trip promises to be
a day of love in the sun and personally, I'm totally
looking forward to swim among tropical fish with my
wife Suzie, as she's never done it before. Roll on
the clown fish! Bring on the coral! We're more than
ready for it.
Phuket is often called 'The Pearl of the Andaman'
but did you know that pearls are actually cultivated
here? We decided to find out more through booking
a tour that took in two islands and a pearl farm.
The waters to the east of Phuket are sanctuaries of
peace...
Today, we're discovering what it's like to ride an
ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) and to be honest I'm not
quite sure what to expect. The brochure looks pretty
wild – lots of mud and splashing around in the
jungle and on the beach so I'm wearing shorts and
factor 50 sun block just in case...
Phi Phi Island is s a place that you have to see
to believe as the ‘colourometer’ has gone
off the scale there, with its fabulously turquoise-and-blue
waters, and the luscious green of its jungle and flora.
There are daily tours operating from Phuket, with
swimming, kayaking and snorkeling activities as well
as a buffet lunch but an even more interesting combination
is a one-night stopover...
Read the entire Phi
Phi Stopover review.
Book Phi
Phi Stopover Package
See the Phi
Phi Stopover photos
The Phi Phi islands marine park is an area of truly
outstanding natural beauty. Dramatic 200-metre high
jungle-capped limestone cliffs with tree roots desperately
clinging their sides rise vertically out of the turquoise
water. Below the water the scenery is just as dramatic…
Phi Phi is a leading worldwide scuba diving destination
with visitors flocking all year round to see the islands’
underwater beauty... Read the entire Phi
Phi Diving daytrip review.
Book a Phi
Phi Diving daytrip
See the Phi
Phi Diving daytrip photos
It’s nine o’clock on a sunny morning and
here comes the minivan to take us bamboo rafting at
Khao Lak, some 100kms north of Phuket. We’ve
been looking forward to this trip and its entertaining
stops along the way and it’s not long before
we’re crossing the Sarasin Bridge and barreling
along the highway in Phang Nga Province. Read the
entire Bamboo
Rafting & Elephant Trekking review.
Phuket is surrounded by many beautiful islands and
each one of them has something different to offer.
Only minutes away from Phuket there are sandy beaches,
secluded coves, rare birds and fauna with beautiful
weather thrown in for free. Island hopping by speedboat
is a way of taking all this beauty in. Read the entire
Island
Hopping review.
Khao Sok National Park is home to the world’s
oldest rainforest and its flora and fauna are even
more diverse than the Amazon Forest. At 740sq km,
the park is the largest area of virgin forest in Southern
Thailand yet it is relatively little known outside
the kingdom. Read the entire Earth
Lodge Safari in Khao Sok review.
There’s a pastel-like touch to the Yacht Haven
at four o’clock on a sunny afternoon. The dipping
sun slants through the white of the yachts’ masts,
creating a pleasing optical effect – ‘splintered
sunlight’ so the poet had it. Read the entire
Sunset
Cruise on June Bahtra review.
The waters surrounding Phi Phi are the most luscious
turquoise imaginable and teem with thousands of exotically
coloured fish. The islands lie 48kms Southeast of
Phuket and this translates as roughly one hour 20
minutes, in ferry-speak. Read the entire Phi
Phi by Express Boat Tour review.
Phang Nga Bay covers an area of 400 square kilometres
and is home to some 100 islands, many of which could
be entered for The Guinness Book of Records either
for their beauty or for their freakish shapes. Read
the entire James
Bond Canoe Tour review.
The first sight of Phuket out of an airplane window
can set anyone’s heart pounding with anticipation.
And who wouldn’t get excited about that awesome
bird’s-eye view of the beautiful green islands
in Phang Nga Bay, each one framed by white-crested
waves? To get to know the island and Phuket City better
we decided to go on a tour. Read the entire Phuket
Island & City Tour review.
It’s your first time to Phuket. You’re
confused. You’ve got more tour brochures in your
hotel room than you know what to do with and time
is running out. What to do? Where to go? What to see?
Obviously, you’re going to have to plan your
itinerary around a time frame, so here are four options
– a three-day, five-day and a seven-day stay
and longer.
Siam Safari’s 4-in-1 half-day trip is like a
speed dating session with the natural world. Elephants,
monkeys, and water buffalo are all on the dance card,
as are demonstrations of Thai resourcefulness. Read
the entire Siam
Safari 4-in-1 review.
When other hong-via-kayak tour operators are winding
down for the day, the John Gray Sea Canoe crew is
just getting started. Is it laziness, the result of
a late night out, or a simple case of ineptitude?
Were I in charge, it would be a combination of all
three. Not so with Mr Gray, the godfather of sea kayaking
in Thailand. Read the entire Hong
By Starlight review.
Paris has a tower, London has an eye, and Thailand
has Phuket FantaSea. It’s packed with tourists,
cameras are a required accessory, and there are an
untold number of souvenir shops to spend money in...
Read the entire Phuket
FantaSea review.
Luxury is going slow and enjoying the scenery, taking
time to bask in the finer aspects of life. Sailboats
silently scream luxury. Onboard, time slows down.
Life on land is suspended...
Read the entire Phuket
Yacht Charters review.
The problem: You've found the perfect resort. Peaceful
and quiet, a soothing spa, deserted sandy beach, beautiful
daily sunsets and the pool villa you want is available
at the right price. It's even close to some of the
best scuba diving sites in Thailand... Read the entire
Phuket
Seaplane Services review.
Beaches are great, don’t get me wrong. But there
is plenty more to do and see in southern Thailand.
The three-in-a-day trip to Phang Nga Province is a
miniature activity buffet that combines elephant trekking,
river rafting, and a waterfall excursion in green
mountain forests, where there’s not a beach umbrella
in sight... Read the entire Whitewater
Rafting & Elephant Trekking tour review.
I’m not sure there’s a better way to start
the day than among the floating palaces at Phuket
Boat Lagoon. Boat workers busy themselves doing whatever
boat workers do. Their dress code is ‘sailor
casual’ – polo shirts, shorts, sandals –
and inspired me to make an anonymous drop in the suggestion
box at my office... Read the entire Krabi
by Speedboat review.
I hiked to a sturdy slab of granite near the peak
of Miang Island for a better view of the beach. Below
me, yachts, dive boats, and people float in an aquamarine
sea. They didn’t look anything like ants, unless
ants have taken up recreational swimming. A string
of islands stretched out in the distance, disappearing
over the horizon... Read the entire Similan
Stopover review.
Three ships cruise in parallel – distinctive
sails raised – through the Phang Nga Bay, each
pulling an empty dingy that chases behind like a tagalong
sibling. These boats are solid; no stomach churning
motions, just a smooth push to the northernmost reaches
of Thailand’s aquatic mangrove-and-limestone-cliff
playground... Read the entire Phang
Nga Bay Cruise review.
It's the late afternoon, and from the small plot
of white sand I've laid claim to, I can see Phuket
Island, the mainland province of Phang Nga, and a
couple small, uninhabited islands - both inspiring
Gilliganesque fantasies... Read the entire Phang
Nga canoe daytrip review.
I'm now a believer in the goodness of speedboats;
they're speedy. Having made far too many trips between
Phuket and Phi Phi by ferry, I feel qualified to claim
that this is the best way to travel between islands
- at least until I can afford a helicopter. It's like
being in an Italian convertible that floats. Classy...
Read the entire Phi
Phi by speedboat daytrip review.
