Gulf of Thailand Best Cruises

After you have been picked up by our taxi from the morning ferry or your accommodation on Koh Tao, you will be transferred to SY Freedom Fargo anchored at Hin Wong bay. Hin Wong Bay is perfectly sheltered throughout the summer sailing season and is one of the last hidden secrets on the island due to it’s accessibility only by 4 WD or boat. There are only two tiny budget resorts there which leaves this bay so wonderfully quiet during night time. Settle into the boat and use the opportunity to snorkel one of the best snorkeling grounds on the island just from your doorstep. Dinner will be served on the boat.

After a hearty breakfast we’ll hoist the sails for Chalok Lum on Koh Phangan. A nice southwesterly of 4 Bft which we have on this course on a beam reach brings us there in 4 hours. This huge bay sports the stunning “Malibu Beach”, a peninsula of white powdery sand, surrounded by tidal waters. Some swimming in the bay and relaxing on board before we are heading over to the fishing village for a stroll before we go to Malibu Beach for a Sun downer at the beach bar.

It’s a 2 hour sail to Than Sadet where we will do some jungle tracking up several water falls. Luckily our guests are more on the adventurous side. So we are just following the water upstream, climbing over granite boulders marveling at colorful dragon flies and butterflies. Reaching the third cascade upstream is then as far as we get. To continue further it would need some real free climbing enthusiasts – no worries, the captain is up to it. After this good workout with amazing views and refreshing fresh water pools we’re heading north again for Thong Nai Pan. Thong Nai Pan is a perfectly sheltered bay during SW – Monsoon with long beaches and a nice array of beach bars for a sunset cocktails.

This is a sailing day during which we will make our way to the Ang Thong Marine National Park. Since the wind turned to SSW, we are taking the northern route around the north of Koh Phangan. While we are sailing close to the wind towards Ang Thong the wind turns back to SW which means we have to tack. The short leg back to the northern islands of the Ang Thong National Park increases our sailing time to 5.5 h but leaves the satisfaction of reaching our target with no help of the engine. Upon arrival we are visiting the small lagoon at Koh Tai Plao, which is pretty busy during day time, but at this time of the day we have this attraction to ourselves.

In the morning we are doing an excursion with our Tender, a 10f RIB with a quiet 10 hp 4 stroke engine on the back. Cruising along the lime stone cliffs at low tide under the over hanging rocks is a bliss. Later we hoist the sails and sail three hours down to Koh Pahluay, the most southern island of the Ang Thong National Park. Koh Pahluay provides anchorage protected to SSW and SW winds in front of an almost perfect beach. This evening we are spending on the beach with a romantic campfire. The crests of the little waves splashing on the beach are illuminated by bioluminescence. The best time to observe this phenomenon is diminishing moon to new moon which we are having at this moment

After a thorough clean up and relaxing on the beach we are going anchor up for a joy sail leeward of the island group. After a couple of hours taking in the views we are going to drop anchor again at Koh Wuatalab where the last day tour boats are about to leave. Koh Wuatalab is the main island of the Ang Thong Marine Park, home to the lovely Dusky Langurs, Bua Boke Cave and the famous view point. We are using the late afternoon to climb the view point and say hello to the Dusky Langurs we are meeting underway. The path to the view point is fairly steep and leads over sharp lime stone edges. Basic fitness and a pair of trainers or good walking shoes are necessary to attempt this climb. The reward is an amazing view over the Ang Thong Marine Park and, at times of good visibility, even over Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao with Koh Nang Yuan as well.

The last leg of our journey goes from Koh Wuatalab in the Ang Thong National Park to Koh Tao. But first we are using the morning, before the tour boats arrive to do the hike to Bua Boke Cave. This cave offers a huge array of speleothems. Famous are the towering stalagmite in the lower cave reaching a height of 8 meters and a stalactite in the shape of a Lotus flower. Columns and Pillars are in abundance, several fragile curtains can be seen and parts of the floor are covered in flowstone. After inspecting this natural wonder it is time to set sails. We are using the asymmetric Spinnaker because of the light winds, which gives us as well the opportunity of having a stop over at Koh Wao Noi, which is one of the premium dive and snorkel spots in the western gulf. One of our guests is a seasoned free diver who enjoys the cave dive leading from one side of the island to the other. The day ends back in Hin Wong Bay.