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Thai Isles

by Paul Greenway | 26 Nov 2012

Ferry, charter boat or long-tail – Thailand’s got your water transportation down pat, and any form will get you to the southern islands.

Along the coast of southern Thailand, myriad islands mesmerise and tantalise. Forget Koh Samui – which is over developed, overpriced and over on the east coast – the best island-hopping adventures are along the Andaman coast between Phuket and Penang (Malaysia).

All the major islands and most beaches in Thailand are well connected by public ferry. These boats are large, comfortable and safe, and tickets can be bought at the dock on the day of departure. Distances are short and the seas usually calm; they can get rough in the wet season from May to October, when services may be reduced or cancelled.

A more common form of transport is the long-tail boat, a common feature of the best-known images of southern Thailand. Although not as comfortable as ferries – getting in and out can be problematic, especially with luggage – they are great fun. Long-tails can be chartered to anywhere, anytime, and at just about any price (to be agreed before departure, of course).

Start at Phuket

Most visitors start their coastal exploration at Phuket, Thailand’s largest island and the region’s major transport hub. Phuket’s beaches are generally crowded, and a more alluring base is the historic capital, Phuket Town, which is well connected to the island’s beaches and is home to the port.

From Phuket, most visitors make a beeline to the island of Ko Phi Phi, where post-tsunami reconstruction has created a mishmash of pizza bars, Irish pubs and scuba-diving centres alongside the still beautiful beaches. If that doesn't sound like your ideal holiday destination, the delightful riverside town of Krabi is an alternative hub and well connected by air, land and sea.

It offers majestic markets and mangroves, and is only 20 minutes by songthaew (open-air public truck) from the enticing beach at Ao Nang. From both Ao Nang and Krabi, long-tails zip across to Railay, home to southern Thailand's most stunning beaches.

At one, Phra Nang, there are no cafes or bars on the sand, so tourists line up in knee-deep water beside a charming long-tail decked out as a floating cafe for a coconut juice or pad thai.

Go south

From Phi Phi, Phuket, Krabi and Tran, board a boat to Koh Lanta. Without the crowds of Phi Phi or the expanse of Phuket, Koh Lanta is the region’s most appealing island. It is spread out, so the masses dissipate quickly on arrival at the charming port of Saladan.

Unlike other islands, visitors to Koh Lanta can stay in comfortable huts or bungalows at reasonable prices within metres of one of a dozen beaches, but head to Klong Dao beach for mid-range bungalows and a lack of reggae bars.

From Koh Lanta, jump on a ferry further south to less developed islands like Koh Lipe, and on to Langkawi and Penang in Malaysia. Then it’s time to turn around and do it again in the other direction.