Island hopping in Andaman Sea

We’ve made the most of Good Friday this year with an indulgent day trip from Krabi. We booked a private tour of the Hong Island chain on a traditional wooden longboat. Our itinerary took us to four islands in the Andaman Sea, visiting five scenic locations.

Our guide picked us up from our hotel at 9:00am. A short 10-minute drive took us to the local dock where we boarded our vessel. The wharf is a local fishing hub. As a result, we got to see the colourful local fishing boats in action, preparing for their next catch.

It took an hour to reach our first stop, Ko Pak Ka island. Here we donned some snorkels and set about exploring a shoreline reef. Sadly, the sea life was rather spartan. We saw schools of Yellowstrip Scad, a small tropical trevally fish, plus sea urchins and sea cucumbers, but little else.

We then headed for a sand spit on Ko Phakbia, where we swam in the sea almost continuously for an hour. The water was incredibly warm, with schools of fish swimming endlessly past us. Our guide then took us to Lao Lading Island, where we swam in a stunning bay with a sheltered white sand beach. This is a popular location that we paid extra to include in our itinerary. Unfortunately, its popularity meant that the bay was crowded. If I’m honest, our photos reflect a tranquillity we never experienced.

We stopped for lunch inside the magical Hong Island lagoon. This genuinely tranquil bay is accessed via a narrow channel framed by soaring granite cliffs. Here we dropped anchor and spent an hour enjoying a delicious meal of fish cakes, Pad Thai and fresh fruit with only two other boats in sight, followed by a leisurely swim. Garry and I were surprised to discover the water was barely shoulder deep. As a result, we could wade through large sections of the lagoon with ease.

Our final stop of the day was a genuine showstopper. We sailed around Hong Island to its southern coast, dominated by stunning white sand beaches and sheltered coves. We discovered, much to our delight, that leaving this destination to last also meant we had it largely to ourselves. Most boat tours depart here for the mainland at 2:00pm. In other words, we arrived as the crowd was leaving. We had its picturesque beaches and bays almost entirely to ourselves for more than an hour.

We kicked off our time on the island with a trek to the Hong Island 360 View Point. This is a panoramic platform built on a limestone pinnacle about 109 metres above sea level. Depending on who you ask, there are 400 to 500 steps up to the lookout, a tiered series of grated metal platforms.

The view was simply breathtaking. We could look back at the tiny tree-clad limestone islands we’d just visited, and across the bay towards our hotel on the mainland. It was well worth the steep climb despite the hot and muggy conditions. However, one of the most memorable sights was a surging flotilla of speedboats heading for the mainland. Literally dozens of boats were visible. It became clear how savvy our guide had been in leaving this island to last.

Once our climb was done, we spent time swimming in peaceful turquoise water with barely a person in sight. The images above aren’t framed to hide the crowd. This is literally the view we enjoyed. Without a doubt, it was the perfect finish to a wonderful day. Following a final quick dip, we returned to the mainland and were back in our hotel shortly after 5:00pm.

Hiring a private tour wasn’t cheap. However, the ability to enjoy ourselves without the maddening crowds and travel at our own pace under sunny blue skies was magic. In my humble opinion, it was money well spent and made for a truly relaxing day.