March 2023

There are 1430 islands off the coast of mainland Thailand which all have something different and special to offer. I would have needed 3 years to visit them all. However this time round I only had 1 month to select a handful of islands to visit, I guess that means I will have to return to this beautiful country.

I landed in Phuket and spent a night in a hotel recovering from my 35 hour journey from Savannah, USA. I then took a small propellor plane across to Koh Samui, followed by a 45 minute ferry ride to the island Koh Tao which is part of the Chumphon Archipelago region. During my two weeks on the island I completed my PADI Extended Underwater Photography course. On my final day of the course I was blessed to dive with a female whale shark at Chumpon Pinnacle dive site, a site 40 minutes off the coast of the island. Other incredible dive sites included Sail Rock and Mango Bay.

After finishing my course I was joined by my mum for an island hopping adventure! We left Koh Tao and returned to Koh Samui for a couple of days where we sunbathed on Maenam beach. We then flew back to the mainland and spent time in the Krabi province. The geology of the Krabi coast is breathtaking. Ao Nang beach is popular with lots of bars and restaurants and a crazy night market which is open everyday of the week. We took a local longboat around the headland to get to Railay beach. Railay beach is the postcard picture of Thailand with its large craggy rocks sticking out into the turquoise Andaman sea.

To get to our next location Koh Lanta, we caught a ‘ferry’ which actually turned out to be a large speed boat! The 3 hour journey turned into 5 when our engine cut out in the middle of the ocean! We saw the funny side whilst the other people around us were all sea sick! It was worth it in the end because Koh Lanta was my highlight of the trip. We stayed in a gorgeous beachfront bungalow on Coconut bay, which was almost a private beach with a small local restaurant on stilts facing the sunset. Hiring a moped and driving around the island took an entire day but it was an unforgettable one. Stops along the way included; Pirate Beach, Saladan Village, Long Beach, Phu Pha view restaurant, La Lanta Beach (wild cows roam this beach) and finally the lighthouse in Mu Ko National Park.

Our last island paradise that we visited was Koh Lipe which is about as far south as you can go in Thailand before you reach Malaysia. Koh Lipe is not as popular due to the length of time it takes to get there (6 hours from mainland). This island is famous for its snow white sand! We stayed in a bungalow at the Mountain Resort on North point beach. Incredible sunset views, relaxed atmosphere and of course the most breathtaking scenery which reminded me of Whitehaven Beach in Australia. We travelled back up to Phuket on a ‘ferry’ for 6 hours to catch our flight back home to England. This trip was potentially my favourite travel experience so far and I’m so pleased I got to share it with my Mum.