Thailand in November, off-beach snorkelling locations?
Discussion
Probably one for our resident Thailand expert Griffith4ever if he's around, and a bit too specific to chuck into one of the other Thailand threads.
We're off to Thailnad in the second half of November, and usually we spend our time there "doing stuff" rather than lying on the beach the entire trip, but I've suggested that this trip we spend more time on the beach and take our snorkelling stuff for a change.
The slight snag is, most of the suggested locations for snorkelling have a couple of drawbacks,
- organised speedboat daytrips.
That puts you into the same cattle pen as the thousands of other daytrippers, and that's not really our thing. If I wanted to be elbowed out of the way by Chinese and Russians all day I'd stay in Pattaya. It also starts racking up the cost if you're paying for multiple daytrips.
- totally mediocre national park bungalows
The next alternative is to try and get an overnight stay on the island (eg SImilian), but the accommodation seems vastly overpriced for what you get, and you still have a limited time when the island isn't overrun by daytrippers. It also seems near-impossible for a foreigner to book the national park accommodation.
We're not interested in partying all night. If there's some half decent restaurants and bars witihn a walk that'll do,
So what I'm looking at is trying to find places where a) it's a bit off the beaten track and b) there's snorkelling accessible from the beach. It doesn't have to be the best snorkelling in the world ever, but quieter islands that have something might be a better option.
Couple of ideas in my head so far,
Koh Tao has some, but we'd probably want more than one island in the trip and I'm not sure if there's much that would fit the bill on Phangan or Samui.
Maybe Koh Lanta and some of the smaller islands like Koh Ngai, Koh Kood and Koh Mook.
Open to any suggestions.
We're off to Thailnad in the second half of November, and usually we spend our time there "doing stuff" rather than lying on the beach the entire trip, but I've suggested that this trip we spend more time on the beach and take our snorkelling stuff for a change.
The slight snag is, most of the suggested locations for snorkelling have a couple of drawbacks,
- organised speedboat daytrips.
That puts you into the same cattle pen as the thousands of other daytrippers, and that's not really our thing. If I wanted to be elbowed out of the way by Chinese and Russians all day I'd stay in Pattaya. It also starts racking up the cost if you're paying for multiple daytrips.
- totally mediocre national park bungalows
The next alternative is to try and get an overnight stay on the island (eg SImilian), but the accommodation seems vastly overpriced for what you get, and you still have a limited time when the island isn't overrun by daytrippers. It also seems near-impossible for a foreigner to book the national park accommodation.
We're not interested in partying all night. If there's some half decent restaurants and bars witihn a walk that'll do,
So what I'm looking at is trying to find places where a) it's a bit off the beaten track and b) there's snorkelling accessible from the beach. It doesn't have to be the best snorkelling in the world ever, but quieter islands that have something might be a better option.
Couple of ideas in my head so far,
Koh Tao has some, but we'd probably want more than one island in the trip and I'm not sure if there's much that would fit the bill on Phangan or Samui.
Maybe Koh Lanta and some of the smaller islands like Koh Ngai, Koh Kood and Koh Mook.
Open to any suggestions.
Koh Lipe , great beaches and off shore snorkelling, can be busy but no full moon parties, just very chilled and laid back vibe, lots of other national park islands easily accessible,recommend Wapi Resort 3300bht a night for own deluxe bungalow but need to book in advance as gets booked out early , i booked in May for Jan/Feb next year. Don’t go around the two weeks when Chinese new year starts, heard it’s nice and quiet early March onwards.
Also heard great things about Koh Kradan but good accommodation expensive.
If going to Koh Lipe fly to KL for a couple of nights then take a cheap morning flight to Langkawi for afternoon ferry also book in advance ( Telega Terminal website)
Also heard great things about Koh Kradan but good accommodation expensive.
If going to Koh Lipe fly to KL for a couple of nights then take a cheap morning flight to Langkawi for afternoon ferry also book in advance ( Telega Terminal website)
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