Phuket Thailand 5/9/2026
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 17 hours ago
Today we are back in Thailand, and taking an early, full day excursion to the Sea where we will take inflatable canoes into the caves. As we read the details of the excursion we realized that we will each have a paddler so we won't even be paddling the canoe - nothing like living in luxury.
We took a bus to the pier where we loaded onto a speedboat that would take us to the caves. There were inflatable canoes onboard as well as a group of young men who would be paddling for us.
Our first stop was at a boat dock in Phang Nga Bay, a stunning natural wonder located in Thailand. Known for its emerald waters and limestone karsts, the bay is dotted with numerous islands and islets, making it a popular destination for boating and exploring hidden caves. We headed out towards some small islands in the distance.
Once at the Planak island cave area the team on the ship offloaded the canoes and loaded each couple or single person onto a canoe with a paddler. The paddlers then took us into the caves, we would pass through a small entrance and tunnel type area of the cave but then come out into beautiful grottos with soaring walls and rock formations that were open to the sky again. Pictures don't do it justice....it was like something out of Jurassic Park as far as the scenery we were seeing around every turn and thru every tunnel. The tide was coming in so in some areas it was hard for them to get us in due to low water but a few minutes later on the way out we sailed right through. We then went to Hong island which was about 10 minutes from the first spot by speed boat.
Hong Island is located in Thailand's Krabi province, is renowned for its stunning natural beauty and vibrant marine life. The island is part of the Than Bok Khorani National Park and is full of limestone cliffs, lush greenery, and crystal-clear waters.
At Hong Island, there were lots of paddlers resting in their canoes in the shade of the cave, waiting for more boats to bring guest who needed paddlers. It was quite a business.
Our paddler was great, circling around in a 360 whenever I was trying to get a photo of something, and pointing out all of the areas of interest.
Once we were done paddling the crew served us a traditional Thai lunch on the ship and then took us to a beach in Than Bok Khorani National Park where we could swim and sit on the beach for a bit. Since the park beach was on an island there was almost no one else there. There were bathrooms and shower facilities and a stretch of white sand beach with a swimming area. The water was quite warm, almost like a hot tub. Several people pulled out masks and snorkels but there was really nothing to see. We spent about an hour on the beach and then made our way back to the main island of Phuket to catch a bus back to the ship.
Onboard the ship the crewhad been putting together an international BBQ for dinner, and it was spread around the pool area and the buffet restaurant area so we had dinner there instead of the main dining room.
Tomorrow we start 3 sea days in a row so we'll have a break in the blog until we reach Colombo on 5/13