Kayaking day trip from Koh Samui to Angthong Marine Park

Kayaking in Angthong Marine Park

Last month I was in Koh Samui and while there I went on an excellent day tour to the Angthong Marine National Park. I am happy to recommend this tour to anyone interested in a high quality tour from Koh Samui. There are several different tours running daily from Koh Samui, most of them are speedboat tours and they are a good way to see Angthong. The tour that I went on, though, was a slow boat tour that focused on kayaking around the islands and caves of Angthong. 

The boat took a leisurely 90 minutes to reach Angthong where we moored in the north of the marine park. On the journey we had breakfast and our guide briefed us on the day's itinerary. There were about 30 guests on board, a mix of nationalities. About half the passengers were German speakers so we were divided in to team English speakers and team Deutsche speakers.  In the morning the German speaking group would kayak first while the English speakers snorkeled and in the afternoon roles would be reversed. 

The snorkeling was ok but nothing to write home about. The water is not as clear as Koh Tao although the reefs look healthy. The corals were also very shallow and a few people returned to the boat with cuts and scrapes. I would recommend Koh Tao above Angthong for a snorkeling day trip. 

Kayaking in Angthong Marine Park

The kayaking on the other hand was very nice, the rock ledges, tunnels and caverns are beautiful. Kayaking was done in pairs, as I was travelling solo I was coupled with Jasmine from the US of A. We chatted away pleasantly as we got to grips with our paddling. She took the front and me the back so most of my photos feature the back of her head :) Our group of kayaks followed our kayaking guide like ducklings following mother duck. By the time we were back on board it was lunchtime. 

Lunch was served as we cruised south through the park to the Emerald lake. I was amazed as we traveled through the park how few other boats there were around. This must be one of the most beautiful places in the World and no one is there to see it. I was there just before Koh Samui's high season so I'm sure it gets busier but still, compared with tourist numbers in Phuket it's very quiet. Our tour guide told us that he makes a special effort to avoid the other tour boats. Because it's quite a small operation they have the flexibility to change the itinerary as required. For example we arrived at the Emerald Lake just as the morning tours were leaving but before the afternoon tours arrived so we got to the top view point alone.

The Emerald lake

When we arrived back down at the beach after visiting the lake we found that our kayaks were waiting for us on the beach and the boat had moved off further south so we paddled off down the coast to meet up with it there. By the time we were back at the boat it was 3pm and time to head back to Koh Samui. Some people sun bathed, other slept or chatted among themselves. All in all a very pleasant day.

Kayaks in Angthong marine park

Relaxing on the cruise home

For more information about Koh Samui tours and things to do please see out website: Easy Day Koh Samui

More on tours in Thailand at www.easydaythailand.com

Phuket Weather 25 July 2013

Weather got quickly to a stable situation and all day was a wonderful time to enjoy any kind of activities.

Traitrang Beach - Patong

Blue sky all day, no wind, rain or anything could bother during an holiday in Phuket.

There is always something to be aware of and this time is sunburn, after few days of bad weather everyone want to get on the beach and many like sun bathing, be carefull as air is very clear and sun is strong, so even if you feel cool and comfortable could arrive back at hotel red and burning.
have one minute fun about it

Best cure for sun burn is Aloe Vera gel, this will cool down your skin temperature, re hydrate it and will allow you too sleep well, then be careful next day.

Tritrang Beach - view to North

Day trip from Samui to Koh Tao - inspection June 2013

We moved this article to our New Easy day Thailand Blog.

>> Samui Snorkeling Tour to Koh Tao

Phuket weather 24 July 2013

Heavy rain all night and during morning, so couldn't dream better for second part of teh day when sky became blue and sun was shining.

Rain in the morning in Kathu

Never feel too bad in the morning if you have booked something, weather at tropics can change during the day bringing in beautiful surprises. Don't forget that could also start good and end up in rain, however is always enjoy at best.

A good option is to book a late departure tour, such as our new launched sunset cruise in Phuket, a bit more than half day tour as included a fantastic dinner on our renewed boat MV Sai Mai. This way can see the weather evolution during the day, fully enjoy your hotel facilities and give an easy answer to the question "what we do this evening and where we go for dinner?". And as said sky opened and clouds left space for sunshine.

Clear Sky sailing out for sunset cruise

Get the three in one option, half day tour on boat in the afternoon, enjoy the sunset from a privileged point of view and great on board set menu dinner. not less important still back on time to enjoy night life.

Sun set at Koh Keao Yai - Phuket

Sailing to Coral Island at sunset

Phuket Weather 23 July 2012 - Khao Pansa Day

Today is first day of Buddhist Lent, Pansa in Thai language, from now for three lunar mounts the Monks will stay in the temples, this is because is the start of the rain period, Sop they will spend more time on meditation. on Khao Pansa Day also many Thai male that haven't done yet their Monkshood period enter the temples.

Weather is on line with this, rain start falling heavily last night and was raining all day long, with some sun strays between midday and afternoon. In the morning wind was sometime strong and waves offshore during storms could be around two meters.

Patong Beach - high tide

being a Thailand public holidays many people enjoyed Khao Pansa Day resting, perfect with air cooled by rain. No alcohol sales and may restaurants will be closed.

From tomorrow weather should improve to then go to sunshine and now wind by the weekend.

Phuket weather 22 July 2013 - Asarnha Bucha Day

Today is Thailand public holidays as it is Asarnha Bucha Day, this also means we are at the 15th night of the eighth month of the Buddhist Lunar calendar.

Kathu Chinese Shrine

So how was the weather for those that have a day off? Not so bad, wind in the morning was strong and blew all clouds then it went down after mid day, leaving a clear sky and a surprising flat sea.

Low tide at Patong Beach - 22 July 2013

Today is the celebration of Lord Buddha first sermon, is a day for relax and celebration before enter the three months Buddhist Lent. So also at Kathu everything was ready for celebration, parade started with bands, costumes and authority dressed for the event... but a storm came from West and over the hills, despite short rain it was strong and the procession almost dissolved, everyone looked for a shelter waiting for the rain to stop.

Kalim Beach - storm coming from sea

One of the band under the rain

Kathu - waiting for rain to stop

Asalha Bucha Day anyway is holidays so soon everyone was enjoying the food stalls and shopping at the markets. And if you are on holidays is a perfect day for an Island tour and see a bite of real local life.

Kathu - the procession start again

After rain the band regroup

Phuket weather 19-20 and 21 July 2013

Another week end without rain or storms as it was from forecasts, likely, wind is still stronger than usual but not dangerous or too strong.

During Friday and Saturday was sunshine for all day and the wind kept air fresh, so very good condition. As usual a lot of people down the beaches to enjoy the sun and playing with waves.

Karon Beach - Phuket

During change in tide waves are bigger this weekend because of full moon, so be careful and stay in shallow water.

Full Moon at Coral Island

This morning a renewed MV Sai Mai was ready to sail for three days to Phi Phi, however waves offshore can be higher then 1.5 meters so customers decided to get to Racha Yai instead.
Today sky was cover in clouds but it didn't rain.

MV Sai Mai ready to go

Phi Phi Islands Tour - Phi Phi Premium

Leamthong Beach - Phi Phi Island

Going on a Phi Phi trip in the monsoon season you really have to consider the sea conditions, so when i booked this trip I was taking into account the strong winds we had at the time and chose the Phi Phi Premium Tour which uses a large, stable ferry, of course on the day of the tour the winds dropped and the sea was flat calm.

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The day started with pickup and transfer across Phuket town to Rasada Pier on the east coast of Phuket.  On arrival at the pier a sticker was attached to my shirt stating I was "Premium", just indicating my cabin class not a personal evaluation, and I was directed to the upper deck of the Royal Jet Cruiser 9, the largest ferry on the dock, and into the cabin.

Save & Quick to Phi Phi - All Year Around

Once in side you have to do a bit of a double take to check you are still on a boat as it seems like you have just entered a cafe bar or a first class airport lounge.

The room has an abundance of well cushioned sofas and is fully air-conditioned, one end of the room has a large flat screen TV which was used to show movies and some Mr Bean episodes, at the other end of the room is a bar where the lounge's hostess is serving tea,coffee, soft drinks and cakes.

At about 8:45 the ferry pulled away from the dock and started on it's way to Koh Phi Phi Island, at about the same time the ship's tannoy sprang to life whith an announcement of the days program for the boat in English and Thai.  Once the tannoy had stopped James, our guide for the day, came and introduced himself to all those doing the day tour package and briefly outlined the day's events and made sure we knew the way to the private sun deck on top of the Premium cabin.

The hour and a half trip went quickly and smoothly and soon James was leading the tour group to the back of the ferry as she approached the pier in Phi Phi Don's Tonsai Bay, after a couple on minutes our speedboat pulled up to the back of the boat and we boarded it, we were the first people off the ferry.

The twin engined speedboat took as around the east side of Phi Phi Don and then north east to to Bamboo Island, which is basically a small piece of rain forest surrounded by a massive beach.  Here all those that didn't want to go snorkelling disembarked to spend an hour on the beach, the rest of us headed to a spot in between Bamboo Island and it's neighbour Mosquito Island.  

The whole area is littered with small rocks and coral bommies with the sandy bottom at about 3 or 4 metres deep, most people were wearing their life vest to keep them securely on the surface while the sergeant majors and rabbit fish mobbed the pieces of bread James was throwing in to stir up some action.  After about 45 minutes everybody was called back to the boat and we headed back to Bamboo island to pick up the others from the beach.

The next stop was Leamthong beach on the north east of Phi Phi Don, this beach has a number of hotels and a restaurant and boat in the only way to get there, we were here for lunch in the Premium section of the restaurant. the lunch started with tempura vegetables and seafood and was then completed with barbecues tiger prawns and fried rice, with fresh fruit to follow. we then hadf about 30 minutes to relax on the beach before taking the speedboat back to the ferry which by this time was moored just off Leanthong beach.


Once back on the ferry most of the people in Premium Class (less than 30 in total) headed up to the exclusive sun deck to take in the view as we cruised back along the east coast of Phi Phi Don and back into Tonsai bay where we picked up the rest of the passengers heading back to Phuket and then we set off for a tour of Phi Phi Lae before heading back to Phuket.

As we left the bay we got a glorious view of Phi Phi Lae, we cruised slowly passed Viking cave, Pi Leh Cove and Loh Samah bay before rounding the southern tip of the Island and  heading into Maya Bay. As the ferry is large we could only come a short way into the bay but this was far enough to be able to see the line of tourist speedboats on the beach.  The boat then turned and headed for home.

Back downstairs in the Premium lounge there was beer and doughnuts and an action movie to speed us on our journey, if the sea conditions changed at all during the day it was hard to tell as the boat never seemed to move at all, in fact you have to look outside every so often to remind yourself you were on a boat.

All in all the Phi Phi Premium Tour is a pleasant day out, particularly good for families with young children or those who are prone to sea sickness, also great for photographers who wish to capture the majesty of these Islands, hard to do from a vibrating speedboat.

Phi Phi Premium Gallery

Phi Phi Premium Tour, a set on Flickr.

Reviews - Catherine K.N.

Catherine and Family enjoyed several tours and transfer services with us. The review below was posted on TripAdvisor earlier this month.

"After reading all the great reviews, I booked all our tours through Francesco. The private tour of Phang Nga was fabulous and Tee was great about being flexible for a large group. It was a relief to be able to arrange all the transports between hotels, and even dental appointments and I can always guarantee to be picked up in a comfortable van. Their drivers were always on time and made me feel safe (I've been in other rides where the drivers drove wildly and rides were very bumpy). The only tour I didn't arrange through Easy Day was the Phi Phi island tour which I arranged at the last minute out of our hotel in Krabi. First, we we picked up in a tuk-tuk, then 10 minutes into the speedboat ride, I understood why Francesco recommended the luxury cruiser option. The speedboat ride out was so bumpy that an elderly woman hurt her back and was in deep pain through the whole trip. All the women were feeling quite sick after the 45 minute ride out which seemed to take a lot longer. Next time, I'll take Francesco's advice and pay the extra for the luxury cruiser. Also, talking to other tourists, it seems that nobody else had been told about the Kapong River tubing which we quite enjoyed. Thanks for helping to make our vacation not only more luxurious, but so much easier."

...and few days later we received this email:

"Thank you, when we return to Thailand, I'll definitely be contacting you guys again.  

I'll be recommending you to all my friends in Norway.  What distinguishes a good service organization from the bad is not that they necessarily have everything go perfectly, but it's how you handle the situation.  I'm very satisfied with all the services we've received from you and you are a top notch service provider.  

Thank you again"

More on tours in Thailand at www.easydaythailand.com

Multi Adventure Safari

As it turned out I didn't book the best day for this tour as it started raining heavily during the night, however it had stopped raining, at least temporarily, when I was picked up and taken to the Island Safari Camp.

After waiting for a few minutes for the other guests to arrive the days activities started, the first activity was an Ox-cart ride, sitting in a well built all wood cart (including the wheels – no tyres) which is attached by a double yoke to two oxen we slowly ambled around a dirt track circling a rice paddy, part way round you stop for a photo opportunity, after a few minutes we

had completed the circuit and dismounted and headed to the next set of activities on a platform on the edge of the rice paddy. Here we had an opportunity sit astride a beautifully groomed Buffalo (another photo opportunity). After everyone who wanted to had had their turn on the buffalo we were treated to a short lecture and demonstration of traditional rice farming techniques.

The next thing was something I was looking forward to, a Thai cooking demonstration, well not really cooking but preparation. Our guide showed us how to make Somtam (papaya salad), though in deference to the western palates of the other guests she only put 2 chillies into it, even so many people said it was very spicy when we got to try it.

From here we made our way to the rubber tapping and processing demonstration, sadly as it had been raining it was not possible to collect the rubber, apparently the sap contains too much water if you tap it straight after rain, but we were shown how it is tapped and and processed to make large thin sheets of latex rubber which is then used in many products, they have examples of many of these, especially those that come in packs of three.

Then it was on to the elephant ride, at the starting station you can buy bags of bananas for the elephants, then you head of on a track around the Safari camp whilst your elephant keeps putting back it's trunk to get a banana from you, during the ride the photographer will get you to pose for a number of photos and you have more chances to buy bananas for your mount, the ride lasts about 20 minutes.

Off your elephant and on to the elephant show, at the

time of my visit there were two young elephants (10 & 12 years old) in the show, the show was made up of simple tricks such as standing on two legs and walking on three legs and playing football and basketball and throwing darts. The finale was the elephant massage, where everyone was given the chance to get a massage (and a kiss) from one of the young elephants.

The next stop was the Monkey show where where the short tailed macaque monkey “Johnny” demonstrated the different steps of training monkeys go through to learn to harvest coconuts and then demonstrated his basketball skills, a slam dunk any NBA professional would be proud of.

Then on to the Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) demonstration, or performance may be a better word. A boxing bout was performed at slow speed to make sure everyone could see the moves and then members of the tour group were invited to practice some of the skills with the boxers.

Demonstrations finished it was on to the fish foot spa where after having your feet washed you sit on the edge of a fish tank with your feet in the water, after a few moment the fish start to tickle your feet, they are actually eating your dead skin. They didn't manage to make much of a difference to my calloused feet but it was pleasant, I thought they might hurt when they started cleaning around my partially grown back nail but it didn't. During the foot spa treatment the photographer came round with the photos he had taken during the day, you can buy these as a reminder of the day.

The last activity for the day was the canoeing along the moo dong river, to get there we mounted pick up trucks with seats in the back and headed of on a ten minute drive to a small jetty on the edge of the river. As there was quite a current running it was decided that those that wanted to canoe should take the canoes down the river towards Chalong bay and then transfer to the longtail boat for the journey back to the jetty, for those whose preferred comfort the whole ride was done on the longtail boat. During the gentle drift along the river we saw the mangroves lining the river and passed a couple of fish farms which are also inhabited by a troop of long-tail macaque monkeys, after this pleasant little cruise along the river it was back into the trucks and back to the Safari camp for a delicious Thai lunch.

The lunch included a range of classic Thai dishes – green curry, chicken with cashew nuts, sticky rice with fried pork and somtam.

After our bellies were full it was time for everyone to board the mini-vans and head back to their hotels.

The Multi-Adventure Safari is a fun, interesting and entertaining morning or afternoon, a brief insight into Thai life and culture.