Phuket, Land of Blue
Phuket is legendary for a reason. More than the sum of its immaculate beaches, stunning geography and mind-blowing food, this island in the Andaman Sea really is a slice of paradise.
Somewhere, Beyond the Sea
Phuket being the paragon of islands, you can’t miss out on the life aquatic. Take a day trip by speedboat around the Phi Phi Islands, a group of limestone islets made famous a host of movies including 2000’s “The Beach.” They’re impossibly beautiful, with pale blue water that seems to glow under towering cliff faces.
There are many tours on offer (from around THB1,600 ($350)) taking you among a series of stunning locales: from the flawless white sand of Bamboo Island, to snorkeling in oceans teeming with life; from the simian-strewn Monkey Beach, to the encircled Pileh Lagoon, where cliffs tower over turquoise waters.
Shades of Gray
John Gray’s Sea Canoe tours should be on every Phuket traveler’s bucket list. The “Hong by Starlight” day trip takes you to Phang Nga Bay via double decker boat. Switching to a kayak paddled by a personal guide, you’ll explore the lagoons, sea caves and donut-shaped islands, known as hongs, dotted along the coast.
Paddling out into pristine sunny bays, views rival the famed James Bond Island near Koh Phi Phi—just without the crowds. You’ll see mangrove-lined basins full of crustaceans and mudskippers, and pitch-black caves inhabited by bats (and thick with the stench of guano). One cave leads to a further verdant clearing where long-tailed macaques watch curiously from the branches above.
