Boat
Charter & Fishing in Phuket
Thailand's Andaman Sea coast stretches over 540
miles from Tarutao National Park on the southern border with Malaysia
to the Surin Islands on the northern border with Burma.
On the surface the terrain offers an incredible
variety, with rocky headlands, long broad sandy beaches, limestone
cliffs, forested hills, small estuaries and lagoons, and tropical
vegetation of all kinds. Protecting the shoreline are a series of
sheer-sided limestone mountains and other artistic rock formations
that soar up to a thousand feet out of the sea like an eerie army
of stone monoliths. Two quite different types of island are found
interspersed together forming an odd geological pattern that creates
a surreal quality to the awesome beauty of this region. Granite
outcrops dominate the area around the Surin and Similian Islands,
and run roughly parallel through the region with a series of jungle
covered limestone islands that that are straight out of a tropical
daydream.
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Islands
to the South of Phuket
Racha Island
12 miles SW of Phuket
Closet major island to Phuket, very popular anchorage. Excellent
beach, crystal clear water, several beach restaurants. Many fishing
charters out of Phuket will head for the channel seperating Racha
Island from Phuket.
Phi Phi Islands
 28
miles SE of Phuket
A pair of remote tropical islands 28 miles off Phuket. Good anchorages,
wonderful offshore scenery, numerous places to visit for eating
and drinking out. Starting point for the annual 'Kings Cup' race.
Ko Rok Nok
48 miles S of Phuket
These twin tropical islands are separated by narrow channel. The
best anchorage is in the channe between the islands. The
water is normally crystal clear and offer good snorkeling and
diving. An unusual shrine on the island has phallus effigies.
Thare are no facilities on these islands and usually no tourists.
Butang Islands
Near Thai/Malaysian border
If you are seeking remote this is where you want to go. This group
of 18 islands is virtually untouched, you will rarely even see
anotther boat. The islands offer endless possibilities for exploring,
many interesting waterfalls and streams to be found on the shores.
One of the 18 islands has a tiny settlement and a restaurant.
Some quite good snorkeling and diving.
Ko Tarutao
Part of a large national park on the border with
Malayisa. Long history as a haven for pirates. A river can be
navigated upstream by dinghy deep into the mangrove forest. Several
well maintained hiking trails and a large waterfall. A number
of good anchorages with good diving possibilities. One small restaurant
at national park buildings.
Langkawi Island
Is the northernmost island in Malaysia and is
part of an archipelago of 99 islands. Langkawi Island itself is
a popular duty free area and in some areas is very developed with
hotels, restaurants, resorts etc. The rest of the group are mostly
deserted and offer a variety of good anchorages, many caves to
explore, hiking trails in the dense rainforest and there are streams
and waterfalls.
Penang Island
Very interesting place, not so much for it’s
natural beauty, but for the historically interesting capital Georgetown.
Unlike many SE Asian towns where historical buildings and narrow
alleys have largely given way to concrete towers and motorways,
this town of 400.000 inhabitants is still very much the Chinatown
that Singapore
once was, time seems to be 50 years behind. Georgetown is renowned
for it’s excellent selection of Chinese and Indian restaurants.
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Island
to the North of Phuket.
Similan Islands
55 miles NW of Phuket
An archipelago of nine islands protected as a national park and
one of the most famous dive ares in the world. One island maintains
a tiny settlement with the park headquarters and a small restaurant.
These islands are comprised of granite outcrops that rise off
the seafloor and are topped with massive formations of granite
boulders stacked into weird formations that give the islands ther
own distinctive charactor.
Surin Islands
Near Thai/Burmese border
A group of wind swept islands of awesome beauty on the border
with Burma. Famous as a dive site and for its colony of Sea-Gypsies.
Part of a national park and maintanis several good anchorages
with camping facilities.
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Island
to the West of Phuket.
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
300 miles NW of Phuket
Large Archipelago of remote islands which are administerated by
the government of India, and serve as the border seperating the
Andaman Sea from the Indian Ocean. Almost untouched by western
civilization, and apart from the capital at Port Blair may be
the most remote area anywhere in the world. s and islets are all
in a pristine state and offer endless opportunities for exploring.
The waters are teeming with fish and are first class for snorkeling
and diving. Numerous islands are populated with ancient tribes
that totally avoid contact with the outside world and continue
to live in the way their ancestors have done for centuries. To
the credit of the Indian government and the local authorities
who have sucessfully protected these beautiful islands the cultural-and
natural heritage of the people who live here.
Officially it is possible to visit some tribal
settlements under the guidance of an officially appointed guide
but the mindboggling Indian bureaucracy involved will dissaude
all but the most determined. These islands have remained untouched
by the 20th century because they are truly in the middleof nowhere,
and suffer from a variety of nasty weather patterns that often
make the journey a true expedition. The reward is visiting an
area of pristine beauty that only a very few have visited before.
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