We were one of few boats to anchor in the 25m deep lagoon where we happily leapt off the boat for a relaxing swim in the calm waters under the warm sun. Not much more to say here than – true bliss!
Private Beach & Bamboo Island
Before our next snorkel stop at Bamboo Island, we stopped by a tiny private island located to the north of of Phi Phi was our lunch stop for the day. There was a buffet waiting for us right next to shady cabanas and hammocks by the water. It was a great way to unwind after a morning of activities and we were ready and refuelled for more fun at the beautiful flat beach of Bamboo Island.
James Bond Island
James Bond Island located in Phang Nga Bay was just as beautiful as we expected, but it was also incredibly full of tourists. It’s not hard to see why, the sheer lime cliffs hanging over the water is truly photo-worthy. But that’s about all you can do here since the water isn’t ideal for swimming or snorkelling and you’ll be spending most of your time on-land weaving through crowds. Overall, this was something you’ll probably want to see once to tick off your list but there aren’t too many things to do here.
Panak Island
Panak Island surprisingly ended up being the highlight of our day trip. Under the supervision of local canoe guides, we explored the deep Bat Caves around the lagoons of Panak Island which involved strategically squeezing into tight cave crevices and just floating merrily with our feet in the water embracing the views of mangroves and limestone formations.
Once our canoe ride was over, be sure to tip your canoe guide at least 100THB. We weren’t sure how much to tip our guide and he didn’t seem very happy with the 50THB tip.
Koh Panyi Village
This was the last stop of the day for afternoon lunch. Although we didn’t have much time to explore the quaint restaurants and shops around the village, this modest little town is known as the “Floating Muslim Village” and is marked by a beautiful golden domed mosque.
Promthep Cape
Promthep Cape is often touted as “the best sunset spot in Phuket” and is one of the most photographed landscapes on the island. We stopped here after visiting the Big Buddha and were able to nestle ourselves into a good spot for sunset-spotting, the only problem was that it was a scorching 40 degree day! But after watching the sun set behind the panoramic view of the south of the island, it was definitely worth the sweat.
Patong
We thoroughly enjoyed trying all the ice cream scrolls and various flavours of crepes from the street hawkers. Every night we loaded up on the mango sticky rice and we highly recommend the mango sticky rice from Dang Restaurant.