The time has come for me to share my impressions of yachting in the «Land of Smiles»! :-)

I will say right away that traveling and sailing in Thailand are not at all like in Europe, Turkey, or even the Caribbean. Besides excellent national cuisine, exotic fruits, and beautiful nature, there are also some specific features of the region.

Phuket

I’ll start with tourism. You can sail, both in the Gulf of Thailand and in the Andaman Sea. My advice to you is to start with the waters of the island of Phuket in the Andaman Sea. The number of charter companies here is the highest in the country. But it is still better to choose a yacht or a catamaran for charter in advance. There are many islands in the area. There are both inhabited islands with shops and other infrastructure, as well as absolutely wild, with small cozy bays and deserted snow-white beaches. Each time I sail in Thailand, I discover new places. The distances between the islands are tiny. In a few hours, you can change the location and move from an inhabited island to a wild island and vice versa.

Phi Phi and Krabi

A little more than 20 miles from Phuket, there is the island of Phi Phi — a very civilized place with a calm bay, where there are many buoys for mooring. Almost every evening on the island’s beach, there is a fire show with dancing in the sand and a bonfire. You can also buy food and all kinds of cocktails there. Thais are very smiling and enterprising guys. Foreigners for them are not just people, but wallets. They will smile at you even if you haven’t bought anything. Here you will be offered anything from souvenirs and clothes to massage and tattoos! But remember not to bargain in Thailand, they don’t like this. Often, the farther from civilization, the simpler the people are, and the simpler the design of their cafes is. Moreover, the farther from the «first line,» the lower the price, but the quality of food and everything else is also lower.

About 30 miles from Phi Phi is the city of Krabi. Here, for 6-8 dollars a day, you can rent a scooter and go around to see the temples. At the markets, you can buy fresh fruit, and in the evening go to some beach bars, where, most likely, some live band will play.

Langkawi

Personally, I like to organize special tours and go with my crew to the southern islands on the border of Thailand and Malaysia. It doesn’t take much time to sail there, and along the way, there are many places where you can go on the shore and have a barbecue. And you can also «drop-in» to Malaysia on the island of Langkawi. This is an island with a duty-free zone, and the prices of many goods are really good. Malaysians themselves come here from the nearest island for shopping. Also, on Langkawi, there is a famous suspension bridge, one of the highest in Asia, which stands on only one support. The bridge is almost at the top of 600 meters high rocky ridge. The views of the surrounding bays and islands are amazing!

Specifics of the region

As for the underwater world of the Andaman Sea, it is beautiful here. You can come really close to the fish. Bright parrotfish, garfish, small grouper, and other fish are not afraid of swimmers. You feel like in an aquarium. There are not only fish, but also shells, and crabs, and sea cucumbers. And sometimes small sharks come, but don’t be afraid of them — they are not dangerous. However, beware of jellyfish! Feeding fish here is prohibited by law, and for this, you can get a fine. As well as for gathering corals and shells. It is strictly forbidden to take corals out of the country. The fine for this is huge.

It is worth mentioning that navigation in these parts is not easy: depths, nets, tides, fishing boats without lights. The currents are very strong, and the water level difference is up to 3 meters. The direction of the wind changes quite often, so you need to carefully select places for mooring.