Itineraries
9 routes out of Phuket, from three nights to ten days
Distances are round trip from the departure marina, and every route says how many hours the passages actually take. That is the number that decides whether an itinerary is real or optimistic.
- Marina
- Anchorage
- On this itinerary
- Positions are projected from real coordinates. Coastlines are simplified and not for navigation.
Phang Nga Bay in three days
58 nmThe shortest itinerary that still feels like a voyage: flat water, limestone on every side and no passage longer than three hours.
3 nightsAo Po Grand MarinaSheltered water300 THB park feesBest months: Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Phi Phi and the Racha islands in four days
96 nmThe southern loop, built around being at Maya Bay and Bamboo Island at the hours the day boats are not.
4 nightsChalong BayMixed water400 THB park feesBest months: Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Krabi, Koh Haa and Koh Lanta in five days
138 nmEast then south, from the climbing walls at Railay to the cave diving at Koh Haa. The route for a group that includes certified divers.
5 nightsAo Po Grand MarinaMixed water700 THB park feesBest months: Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
The Similan and Surin islands in seven days
232 nmThe best water in Thailand, fifty-eight miles northwest into the open Andaman, on the only itinerary that has a legal season rather than a preferred one.
7 nightsPhuket Yacht HavenOpen water1000 THB park feesClosed part of the yearBest months: Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
The grand circle in ten days
268 nmBoth halves of the Andaman in one voyage: the sheltered limestone of Phang Nga first, then the crossing south to Phi Phi and the Rachas.
10 nightsAo Po Grand MarinaMixed water700 THB park feesBest months: Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
The far south in seven days
214 nmPast Lanta towards Trang, where the day-boat radius ends: Koh Haa, Koh Rok and the swim-in Emerald Cave at Koh Muk.
7 nightsChalong BayMixed water400 THB park feesClosed part of the yearBest months: Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Five days in the lee, from May to October
92 nmThe itinerary that exists because Phuket has two coasts: when the southwest monsoon closes the west, the bay to the east stays workable.
5 nightsAo Po Grand MarinaSheltered water300 THB park feesBest months: May, Jun, Oct
The Mergui Archipelago in ten days
320 nmEight hundred islands in Myanmar waters, entered at Kawthaung with a permit and a government guide aboard, and reached overland from Phuket rather than by sea.
10 nightsranongOpen waterClosed part of the yearBest months: Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar
A day to the Racha islands
26 nmThe shortest thing worth doing on a yacht from Phuket: twelve miles south to the clearest water within reach of the island, out and back in a day.
1 dayChalong BaySheltered waterBest months: Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Choosing between them
The hours are the number that matters, not the miles
Distance sounds abstract. Fifty-eight nautical miles to the Similan Islands reads as nothing until it is stated as five to nine hours under way with the guests aboard, twice in one week. So when an operator sends you an itinerary, ask for the passage time in hours for each leg rather than the distance.
That single question sorts out most of the itineraries that do not work. Any charter shorter than five days that lists the Similans is either running a fast motor yacht and giving you two hours ashore, or it is not really going there.
The second question is the season. Mu Ko Similan, Mu Ko Surin and Mu Ko Lanta close by national park order from mid-May to mid-October, which takes four of the routes below off the map for five months of the year. That is a legal fact rather than a weather judgement, and no operator can arrange around it.
What suits what
| Route | Nights | Distance | Water | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phang Nga | 3 | 58 nm | Sheltered | Catamaran, Motor yacht, Sailing yacht, Superyacht |
| Phi Phi and Racha | 4 | 96 nm | Mixed | Catamaran, Motor yacht, Sailing yacht, Superyacht |
| Krabi and Lanta | 5 | 138 nm | Mixed | Catamaran, Motor yacht, Sailing yacht |
| Similan and Surin | 7 | 232 nm | Open | Motor yacht, Sailing yacht, Superyacht, Explorer, Catamaran |
| Grand circle | 10 | 268 nm | Mixed | Catamaran, Motor yacht, Sailing yacht, Superyacht |
| Far south | 7 | 214 nm | Mixed | Catamaran, Sailing yacht, Motor yacht |
| Green season | 5 | 92 nm | Sheltered | Catamaran, Motor yacht |
| Mergui | 10 | 320 nm | Open | Explorer, Superyacht, Motor yacht, Sailing yacht |
| Racha day | 1 | 26 nm | Sheltered | Catamaran, Motor yacht |