Description

Phang Nga Bay sea kayaking day trip

Sea Canoe 4 U

Schedule

Runs all year round.

Available daily with transfer from Phuket.

Available with transfer from Khao Lak hotels on Monday, Wednesday, Saturday.

Itinerary

0715-0830 hrs: Pick up from your hotel and transfer by AC minivan to Klong Khian pier in Phang Nga province.

0930 hrs: Departure on a beautiful scenic cruise into Phang Nga bay. You guide will give a briefing of the day’s activities.

0930-1600 hrs:
• Explore the caves at Panak Island by kayak.
• Explore Hong Island by kayak.
• A tasty Thai buffet lunch on board (Halal friendly).
• Visit at James Bond island by long-tail boat.
• Swimming and relaxing on the beach.

1600 hrs: Back to the pier and transfer to your hotel by air-con minivan.

*itineraries are subject to change

Prices

Price: 2,800 2,400 baht per adult / 1,600 baht per child (3-12 years)

Price includes: Lunch, drinking water and soft drinks, guides, round trip hotel transfers*, insurance, life jackets.

*Hotel pick up and transfers: Free land transfers by shared minibus are provided from hotels on Phuket Island in the areas of Kata beach, Karon beach, Patong beach, Kamala beach, Surin beach. Transfer fees apply for other areas. Transfers cannot be provided from private addresses or AirBnBs.

Khao Lak hotel transfers are available on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday (Bangla-on, Nangthong, Bangniang, Khukkak).

Cancellations:
In the event of cancellation by you the following charges apply:
– 7 days or more prior to the package or tour date: 30% of total price.
– Within 7 days of the package or tour date, or no show: 100% of total price.

Weather Policy: This is an all weather tour and still runs if it is raining in the morning. The tour will be cancelled if the forecast is for rough sea unsafe for small boats. The decision to cancel is made on the morning of the tour by the boat captain and the harbour master, not the passengers. If a trip is cancelled because of bad weather you can reschedule to the next available day. If you cannot reschedule you will be refunded in full.

What to expect

There are several companies running sea kayaking day trips into Phang Nga bay and even more running sightseeing tours to James Bond Island (Koh Tapu). Some of the tours are very high volume operations and not recommended by us unless you just want the cheapest tour. Others like John Grey Sea Canoe offer excellent kayaking but may be a little too expensive at 3,950 baht per person. The “Sea Canoe 4U” tour falls somewhere in between. At 2,800 baht it’s good value tour and very well run. It’s popular but not so popular that it’s overcrowded.

The guests are usually a mix of nationalities, not all from one country. I went on the tour last Friday and there were about 30 guests on board of which about 40% were Chinese. The rest was a mix of Aussies, Brits, Americans, Scandinavians, Germans, Indians and Qataris.

There are lots of staff on the boat also (one guide per two person kayak). Most of the boat boys sleep on boat when they get a chance, they told me that before they come to work they go to the fields in the early morning to tap rubber. But the two main guides are always up on deck chatting with the guests. actually these guys made the trip what it was. They were friendly and funny and very inclusive to all guests. I got the impression that they really enjoyed their job. I’ve been on many trips like this so I know that local staff are not always like this, often they don’t speak English and just sleep all day. So to have such good guides was a real pleasure, they turned an ok day into a very good one.

Sea Canoe 4U run their trips slightly differently to other operators. Most boats depart from Ao Por pier in North East Phuket and cruise in to Phang Nga bay. Sea Canoe 4U drive into Phang Nga province and board their boat at Klong Kien pier, already in Phang Nga Bay. That means a longer drive to start and a shorter boat ride to the islands. It will suit you if you are prone to sea sickness because the sea is always flat in the bay.

Once on the boat the itinerary depends on the tide, sometimes the kayaking will be in the morning and James Bond Island in the afternoon, sometimes the order is switched. On my trip there was one long guided kayaking session around Hong Island and the caves there, it really is very beautiful. Later there was a shorter guided kayaking session at Panak Island which was basically just a paddle to the beach where we grounded the kayaks and walked into a cave accessible only at low tide. The cave was long and dark enough that our guides needed torches to light the way and stop us cracking our heads on the cave ceiling. At the other end of the tunnel it opened out to an inner lagoon, very tranquil indeed.

In the afternoon we had an hour or so for swimming and self kayaking. The boat stopped near a beach that had dozens of macaques on it, I stayed in my kayak but enjoyed watching the monkeys chase anyone who stepped on shore.

The James Bond Island stop was 40 minutes that I could have done without. It’s a tourist trap but people want to see it and photograph it so most tours make a brief stop. It is pretty if you just imagine it without everyone else there. Apart from this one small island I’m always amazed how few boats there are in Phang Nga Bay and how much wildlife is there. On our return journey we were followed by white bellied sea eagles that dived for the chicken skin we threw over board.