Phuket has many little islands nearby and the problem is actually figuring out which ones would be the best to visit. After some research, I decided to join a tour to Racha Island (ko racha yai) and Coral Island (ko hae) that seem to be very beautiful. I joined a full-day tour with Phuket Tours direct that cost me 1200 baths with pick up from Patong and lunch included, and also some fruits onboard the boat as well as water.
The only problem with these full-day tours is that, in my opinion, they end too soon. I was back at my hotel at 5 pm.
So, they picked me up from my hotel in Patong at 8.15 am and we left Chalong pier at 9 am. Over there I discovered that there are 6 other people that will do the same as me. I was actually afraid there will be no people joining this tour, cause this was during the pandemic, so before booking it, I asked if it was possible.
Basically, we are 7 people on board this speed boat that might be able to carry about 25 people. It almost felt like a private tour.
Racha island
From ao Chalong pier we depart to Racha island that is our first destination. The day is cloudy but still, the water color arriving on the island doesn’t cease to surprise us with beautiful green tones. Firstly we stop for snorkeling very near the beach of Ter Bay. From the Chalong pier here it was quite a long journey and not smooth as the waves were big that day.
This beach is beautiful and the snorkeling spot nearby is amazing. We stopped there for 30 minutes to snorkel and the gear was provided by our guide. There were lots of different fishies to be seen and I also saw a big school of these long sharp fish I can’t name. So cool. I could have stayed there much longer but I’m a snorkeling lover.
From Ter bay, we walked 15 minutes to Patok bay where we could spend 1 hour. This beach is very pretty with this beautiful blue water and a viewpoint that I could not skip visiting on the rocks with a privileged view of the beach and its blue tones. I pitty wasn’t sunny as I’m sure it would look even better. The place was very desertic and no one was laying on the sand. On our way, we saw a few huge Jurassic-looking lizards and some not-happy water buffalos.
Coral Island
At about 12.15 pm we departed from Racha Island to Coral island where we had a very diversified and tasty lunch in the company of some birds I have only seen on BBC before. A visit to the island was already worthy just for the birds alone haha. They are big and are flying around not far from the restaurant. Maybe they are already used to people and maybe people feed them… Anyway, seeing those birds around was mesmerizing.
After lunch, we had until 3.40 pm to explore around as wished. Our guide said we can snorkel around on our own but I dedicated my time walking from one tip of the beach to the other.
Coral island was very deserted too and most part of the business there was closed. There were some accommodations on the island but I don’t think there was someone staying.
In the afternoon more and more people were arriving, including a Muslim bride and groom that were having a photo shoot at the beach. The water color on Coral island is beautiful but when the sun finally showed up, its true beauty was revealed at last. The beach is so pretty!
There is nothing else to do on Coral island. There are no treks available or viewpoints to explore. You can only stay at this pretty long beach where all the boats dock. So just relax and enjoy the warm water.
The trip back from Coral island to Chalong pier is very short /about 15 min). In fact, I think you can rent a longtail boat to go to Coral island from Rawai as it is not that far.
