What to do on a One Day Big Boat Tour to Phang Nga Bay

Day 2

On the second day of our holiday in Phuket, we would be doing a full day Phang Nga Bay cruise by Big Boat. The Phang Nga Bay cruise, along with Phi Phi Island day tour, are the top 2 must-do activities for visitors in Phuket. The cruise would take us to the Phang Nga Bay for island hopping, sightseeing, canoeing, and swimming activities.

 

Map of our Phang Nga Bay cruise tour

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We had a early breakfast at our hotel (Saladee Gallery Residence) before we were picked up by the minibus transport to Ao Por Pier, located at the eastern coast of the island and approximately 1 hour drive away from our hotel in Patong. 

Phang Nga Bay

After the long road journey, we arrived at the cruise operator (Phuket Patri Tour P.P.T)'s premise at Ao Por Pier. We waited for a while for other passengers of the same cruise to arrive before we were picked up by the shuttle to transport us directly to the pier (only a short distance) for the boat boarding.

Boarding the Big Boat at Ao Por Pier

Another similar Big Boat with tourists beside our boat

The Big Boat consists of 2 decks. The upper deck is where the passengers will be located, and the place where lunch will be served too. Overall, there were probably close to 25 passengers on board, but the deck area was quite big, and we did not feel too crowded. Life jackets were provided for every passenger, including children, which were strapped to the side of the boat. The life jackets came with different sizes, so we just had to select the one that fit the individual. The lower deck is where the kitchen and the toilet are located.  The staff provided the safety briefing and introduced the itinerary of the cruise as the boat headed out of the pier and into the Phang Nga Bay.

Cruising into Phang Nga Bay

View from the lower deck

View from the upper deck

The weather was fantastic, sunny and the sky clear and blue, perfect for a cruise tour. Phang Nga Bay is sheltered from the open Andaman Sea, thus the water was relatively calm. In addition, since we were travelling on the big boat (despite slower), it was much more stable and comfortable as compared to travel on speedboat. Throughout the cruise, we would enjoy the sea breeze and beautiful view of the bay, while at the same served with complimentary beverages such as soft drink, coffee, tea, and fruits (bananas).

Hundreds of limestone islets seen across the bay

James Bond Island

After cruising for around 1.5 hour, we had finally reached the first attraction, James Bond Island. As our Big Boat was not able to dock on the island, we had to transfer to the Long Tail Boat, which would bring us to the island. 

Transfering to the Long Tail Boat

The island is officially known as Ko Khao Phing Kan. Within the vicinity of the island shore, there is a 20m tall limestone islet called Ko Ta Pu, which is the most iconic feature of the place. The islands were collectively called James Bond Island because they were featured in the 1974 James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun and became famous worldwide ever since.

Arriving the jetty at James Bond Island

After we disembarked from the Long Tail Boat, we went directly to the towering Ko Ta Pu spot for photo taking. We could see many tourists making the iconic James Bond pose while taking the photoshoot. 

The iconic Ko Ta Pu at James Bond Island

The island is not very big. Other than the Ko Ta Pu photo spot, there is another catching fault feature, which a large rock cracked and now leans against the cliff. 

The rock fault

Introduction of the rock fault

Other than these, there were other tourist shops, especially around the jetty area. We stayed on the island for around 20 minutes only, before we boarded the Long Tail Boat at the jetty again to the next location, Panyee Island.

Panyee Island

Panyee Island is located further north of James Bond Island, and the Long Tail Boat ride took around 15 minutes. 

Panyee Island comprise of a Muslim fishing village, which is built on stilts over the water. The settlement here used to depend on fishing as their main livelihood. But over time, they started to open to tourism to supplement their income. 

Arriving at Panyee Island

From the jetty, our tour guide started to introduce us to the history of the island, as well as guiding us through the village. There are a few notable landmarks at the island, such as the floating football field (located just beside the jetty) and the mosque. Other than that, we could find a number retail and souvenir shops, and restaurants that catered to the visiting tourists.

Dome of the mosque can be seen at the background

Floating Football Field (Photo from ambitionearth.com)

Introduction to the Floating Football Field

The Mosque

The tour on the island was short, around 30 minutes, before we headed to the jetty to take the Long Tail Boat back to our Big Boat.

Hong Island

When we returned to our Big Boat, it was already lunch time. Lunch was already prepared onboard and laid on the table. Our Big Boat left for the next location at Hong Island, while we enjoyed the lunch buffet along the journey. The buffet was simple, but had a good spread such as fried rice, noodles, fish, fried chicken, and vegetables etc. 

Lunch buffet on board (Photo from Phuket Patri Tour)

The next activity at Hong Island would be sea canoeing. 2 to 3 people would be assigned a rubber canoe where a local would paddle us from the Big Boat towards the island. 

Rowing towards Hong Island

That was the point that we would put on our life jackets (although many others didn't). For non-swimmers, it was recommended to put on the life jacket, despite that the chance of falling into the water was low. We would pass through the caves and lagoons, surrounded by lush green cliffs. 

Rowing through the cave

Lagoon surrounded by lush green cliffs

Rowing through a narrow path

I must say that this was the best and most exciting part of the tour so far. After some 20 minutes, we were brought back to the Big Boat. 

A busy afternoon with many other visitors at Hong Island

Phanak Island

After Hong Island, we were brought to the Phanak Island further south. With the same arrangement as at Hong Island, we had more sea canoeing activity. 

Arriving Phanak Island

Paddlers waiting to pick us up

We passed through the bat cave, which was pitch dark inside. The paddler came prepared with torch light, which he pointed to the roof of the cave, and we could see lots of bats. Out of the cave, we were lucky to see a monkey around, which was given a banana treat by other paddlers.

Bats in the cave

Rowing out of the pitch dark Bat Cave

Monkey at Phanak Island

After we returned to the Big Boat, we moved to another location near an island, which we could swim around the boat. It was not shallow water, but those who were non-swimmer could wear their life jackets and had fun swimming with the rest too. 

Swimming around the Big Boat

After the swim, we had a 'shower' at the lower deck, which was simply a hose with fresh running water, to remove the salty water. That was the last activity and concluded the 5-in-1 Phang Nga Bay tour. Everyone onboard was tired and tried to catch some sleep as the Big Boat travelled back to the Ao Por Pier.

Patong Beach

After we returned to our hotel, it was still early for dinner. For those that were still energetic, we decided to head down to the Patong Beach. Patong has a long stretch of white sandy beach, but the water was not very clear or turquoise as compared to other smaller islands like Phi Phi. 

Patong Beach

It was quite crowded when we were there, with many tourists engaged with various activities like sunbathing, swimming, jet skiing and parasailing. Our kids started to build their sandcastles while the adults laze around at the beach and some eventually tried out the jet skiing.

Operator pushing out the jet ski to the sea

Parasailing at the beach

We were lucky that the beach is facing the right direction at that time, as we enjoyed the beautiful sunset at the beach.

Sunset view at Patong Beach

Dinner at Urban Food @ Jungcelyon Shopping Mall

As the day turned dark, we returned to our hotel to wash up. Next, we strolled to the Jungcelyon Shopping Mall in search for the dinner spot. Located just opposite the popular Bangla Road, Jungcelyon Shopping Mall is the largest shopping mall in Phuket. 

Outside Jungcelyon Shopping Mall

It has the regular apparels, footwear, souvenir shops, fast food, cafes, restaurants, and the Big C supermarket. We explored the big mall for a while before we settled at Urban Food for our dinner.

Urban Food had an extensive offering of food, such as Thai, Asian, and Western cuisines. The pricing of the food was acceptable, considering the fact it was in a shopping mall. We ordered a variety of food, such as pizzas, chicken cordon bleu, Thai curries etc. The food was delicious, and portion was big as well. Some of the food also allowed you to help yourself with the salad bar.

Chicken Cordon Bleu at Urban Food

Hawaiian Pizza

After the dinner, we went to the Big C supermarket to buy some snacks and local produces, before we headed back to our hotel and call it a day.