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  • Activities, Destination

Explore Phang Nga Bay by Sea Canoe

Plunge into the legendary beauty of Phang Nga Bay deep within the Marine National Park, famous for its remarkable unique seascape of emerald waters sprinkled with sheer limestone karst formations, hidden caves, tropical lagoons, and lush mangrove forests.

Just picture it – a leisurely day cruising through the dramatic scenery, occasionally stopping to enjoy deserted beaches and deep green waters, whilst egrets, sea eagles and Brahminy kites soar overhead. Protected from both the Northeast and the Southwest monsoon seasons the sea is calm all year-round, ideal for swimming, snorkelling, and kayaking.

The bay is easily accessible from Phuket with lots of organised join-in day tours leaving daily to show you the highlights, or charter a boat if part of a group, enjoy all the beauty of the bay from the deck of a private yacht. You can also stay overnight at the bay, with some tours offering camping options, and absorb its breathtaking beauty under the moon and stars.

John Gray’s Sea Canoe Tours

To fully appreciate the scenery and have an amazing experience you need to explore the sea caves and tropical lagoons hidden within the limestone karsts, and to do this you need to be in a kayak. An eco-friendly and peaceful alternative to boats with noisy engines you can choose to self-paddle or sit back and enjoy the scenery whilst the guide does all the hard work for you.

John Gray’s tours are ASEAN’s best sea kayaking company, they are also the first to explore inside the caves by canoe back in 1989, their tours are not just about fun, they also care about the environment and aim to create a top-quality learning eco-friendly adventure for everyone. Expert guides, most of them local to the area, can tell you everything about the history of the bay, its wildlife and the ecosystem of these unique sites.

They run several tours around the bay, here we have highlighted some of the favourites.

Hong by Starlight

A dramatic and unique experience, Hong by Starlight is John Gray’s signature trip, led by professional guides who take you on a magical tour around the islands of the bay in custom-designed kayaks. Gliding through caves and narrow passages into the centre of the limestone islands you will be amazed as you emerge into an oasis of deep green lagoons enclosed by tall, cylindrical limestone cliffs. Open to the skies above, the cliffs are rich in flora and fauna and all kinds of wildlife live in the trees and crevices, if you’re lucky you’ll see macaques swinging through the trees by their long tails, water monitors with their powerful legs, the unmistakable bright blue and orange plumage of kingfishers, and mudskippers skipping along.
But the fun doesn’t stop there, once the sun has set you are shown how to create a ‘Loy Krathong’, beautiful lotus-shaped rafts, decorated with candles, incense and flowers, which is then released into the sea in a ceremony that thanks to the Water Goddess, with fireflies and sparkling bioluminescent plankton enhancing the experience it’s very spiritual and something you’ll never forget.
If you do have the opportunity to visit Phang Nga Bay, please consider who you choose to show you around. Kayaks are the best means of exploring this highly sensitive environment, they let you get close up to fauna and flora whilst still enjoying the peaceful ambience and have virtually zero impact on the surrounding nature.

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