Thailand:General
From Skipper2Skipper
For those tempted by warm climes, crystal clear waters, balmy sun drenched beaches and locals who are genuinely friendly you could do worse that charter or flotilla sail in Thailand. This fabulous country has everything.. except marinas.. I've been a regular visitor for many years but it is only during the past three years that my chum and I have chartered and sailed the region.
Thailand sailing is split into three distinct areas - the best known and popular island of Phuket (which is on the Andaman Sea) and two sailing centres in the Gulf of Thailand (Siam) itself - Koh Samui and the Koh Chang archipelago. There's no easy way between the two - a 1,200-odd mile sail down the coast of Malaysia and around Singapore into the Gulf is the resourse by water - the alternative is by road transport.
The sailing facilities are provided by two established companies, Sunsail and Gulf Charters (Thailand) Ltd. Sunsail are active on Phuket and Koh Samui whereas GCT are based at Ocean Marina, Pattaya. Sunsail are planning a flotilla facility on Koh Chang within the next 12 months.
This is the place to practice your anchoring skills, as there is a dearth of marinas. On Phuket there are two on the eastern seaboard, both of which feed into Phang N'ga Bay. Koh Samui has one and GCT have their home base marina plus a facility on Koh Chang. That's it !
The cost of flights from the UK is remarkably cheap (especially if you are willing to stop over in Riyadh, Dubai or other middle east places)- outside the peak times (November to January) a schedule flight with Thai Airways, BA/Quantas or EVA Air can be booked for as little as 600 sovs. And the living/boating costs once, you're there, are astonishingly cheap compared to Europe. Take a tip - catch a late evening flight from Heathrow and arrive at the brand new Suvarnabhumi Airport at 4.00pm the following day. 11 hour flight and a good kip en route..
Bangkok Airways runs domestic flights to Phuket, Koh Samui and Trat (for Koh Chang). If you're heading directly for GCT in Pattaya you're better off hiring a taxi - the 160Km drive from the (old) Dong Muang airport used to cost about 25 sovs (up to four passengers) but the new airport is much closer and the journey time is now down to about an hour. There is an airport just south of Pattaya ( U'Tpao ) where one can get flights to Phuket and Koh Samui - I've not tried it but it could be good for two-centre holidays. You'll need a stopover in Bangkok if you're arriving late afternoon for Trat - the last domestic flight goes before you arrive, next flight is 0830 following morning. If you've never visited BKK before it's worth taking three days out for sightseeing or, as I do, visit the dentist for a checkup and polish - cheap as chips.
Food you will die for. Tons of fish, as you would expect - ask Floyd! - at prices you cannot believe once you're out of the 'tourist trap' areas.
More detail regarding the sailing opportunities on the area pages.
