James Bond Island Hopping Tour
And Phang Nga Bay with Sea Hi Andaman
Stuck on which tour to choose when in Phuket? I highly recommend the one outlined in this blog, as you’ll be able to see many different parts of the incredible Phang Nga National Park, as well as swimming in the warm blue ocean of the Andaman Sea.
We simply found this tour at one of the hundreds of tour company stalls around Patong, Phuket. We compared a few prices and chose one that wasn’t one of the higher end more prestige tours, and also not an extremely cheap most likely dodgy. We paid 1300 baht each for the “Sea Hi Andaman” company run James Bond tour for a full day stopping at 5 islands, buffet lunch and pick up and drop off from your accommodation. That’s around $60 AUD, and it was well worth the price in my opinion. You don't need to pay more for a bigger boat if you're worried about the movement on the boat, as the bay is always pretty flat and you're not going far out into open seas, unless it's a really windy day, so you might want to check weather conditions before you book. We went in wet season and we got great weather. The service was beautiful and our tour guide was so lovely. Below is an outlined guide of what's included.
1. Canoeing around islands and rock formations through caves
Our first stop was probably my favourite. Partly because I still had energy at this point, but mostly because it was the most exquisite part. One of the most beautiful surroundings I've seen throughout Southeast Asia, Phang Nga Bay is similar to Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, but cheaper to explore by canoe for the morning. Going in and out caves on a canoe over turquoise water was just incredible.
2. James Bond Island - walking around and seeing the viewpoint
The famous James Bond Island is named after the movie as it's in one of the most renowned scenes, and this is what the tour is named after as of course us Westerners love anything Hollywood related! There's a great viewpoint up some stairs where you can get this iconic photo.
3. Muslim Village for buffet lunch
Next stop - FOOD! This floating muslim village is like a mini venice in the middle of the Andaman sea, hundreds of years ago they built houses on stilts in between the islands to escape the monsoons and harsh weather conditions. Apparently the storms cant get in the bay because the land around it protects it from the wind. We had some delicious rice and noodles, deep fried prawns and onion rings, fruit, tea and coffee, and much more.
4. Panak Island Ice-Cream Caves
By this time we were exhausted and in a food coma from the buffet, but these caves were super interesing to walk through and learn about. The stop wasn't too long, just enough to gain some knowledge of how the formations occurred and take some cool photos. Each stop is between 10-20 mins apart from each other by speed boat.
5. Na Ka Island to swim
A great way to end off the long adventurous day, we were taken to this stunning island with blue water to swim and relax for an hour before heading back. Here they sold food and alcoholic drinks too.
Na Ka Island