Chartering in Thailand, Advice please.

[kevandros]

Hello everyone,
We would very much like to charter for a couple of weeks over the winter in Thailand and would appreciate any advice. I have done some reading, and there seems to be confusing advice about where would be best to go. We have been chartering for about ten years and like quiet locations with beautiful scenery, good food, and snorkelling. We usually enjoy a mixture of sailing, swimming/snorkelling and a bit of site seeing. We wouldn't want to end up with the back packers at party central! I would also like to know when the best time of the year would be. We can go anytime from November through to May. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[Ex-Calif]

We've used Sunsail Phuket (once). Good folks.

Most touristy places in Thailand can be the beach/party scene. However with a little local knowledge (and your own boat) you can leave the crowds behind. Plenty of Yachties around the place to give you some tips.

Phuket Cruising Yacht Club has the real down to earth locals hanging out and they make an awesome cheeseburger.

http://phuketcruisingyachtclub.org/about/

[MeiWenti]

We've chartered with Sunsail in Phuket (several times) and in Koh Samui but not for several years since we got our own boat. They were always pretty good in Phuket but Samui was pretty basic as no marina there so all provisioning, water, etc, was by dinghy to the boat at anchor.

Dec-April is the NE monsoon and therefore the best time to sail the west coast of the Malaysian peninsula (Phuket side) which in any case is more attractive. May is when the monsoon starts to swing around to the SW and weather can be changeable. Don't expect too much wind though.

There are lots of day boat trips out to the islands of Phang Nga bay so lots of tourists during the day but they clear off and leave most of the anchorages reasonably peaceful overnight. The further away from Phuket and Krabi you get the quieter it will be. That means south east towards Koh Lanta. The alternative is a 60 mile trip out to the Similians off the west coast of Phuket which has the best coral in the area but you will need special permission from the charter company for that trip.


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[kevandros]

Many thanks for the replies. Does anyone know anything about Ko Chang as a sailing area. Sounds quite remote and unspoilt??

[junek]

We chartered a cat out of phuket last March. We had a fantastic time and was surprised how easy it was to get away from the crowds. We are young (ish) and it was our honeymoon so some nights we actively seeked out the crowds for bit of night life, which was easy to do. However it was also easy to find pretty quiet anchorages. It was an amazing area to sail in, and we anchored in some truly incredible locations.
Overall, the wind was on the light side. We were thankful of the great performance of our cat. (St Nina, andaman cabriolete)

if you head south from phuket, the crowds thin substantially.

I have not sailed kho Chang, but I have been there about 10 years ago. At that time it was a magical place free of most of the tourist trappings found elsewhere in Thailand. However I have heard that tourism has cought up with it and it now sports some resorts. It would no doubt still be much quieter than phuket. We thought about chartering over there, but in the end decided with phuket as it had more to offer In the way of islands anchorages and attractions. Also extremely easy to get to.

Have fun.

[SailBeat]

I would head to Phuket and charter from there. It's easy to get away from the crowds and loads of places for a quiet anchorage. The snorkelling won't be great but as you have two weeks if you head south towards Malaysia you'll find some great desired beeches and snorkelling.

I use to work as a sailing instruct there so if you have any questions feel free to drop me a private message.

This might help: Yacht Charter Thailand | Sailing Holidays Thailand