Phi Phi islands from Phuket

Hi, anyone ever tried a tour to these islands? I found a private tour company, but it says it returns to port at 'around 4-4.30pm'. The ship leaves at 6pm which is a bit tight if there are any screw-ups.

Any advice welcome.

Thanks

David

It all depends whether the ship docks at the port or tenders to Patong Beach.We were there in December and had a fabulous boat trip to James Bond Island with J.C.Tours. We were picked up at the port at 8.00am,driven through Phuket and changed to another van to go to the harbour. The same routine on the way back. Our ship didn't leave till midnight ,so we went to FantaSea. It would be touch and go if you got caught up in traffic,especially if you tender ashore as the traffic at Patong can be bad.

Thanks prerel, the ship looks from the itinerary like it docks, and the tour is by small boat - no van. Thanks for the advice. David

David,

The harbour where you go to the islands is an hour and half, approx, up to the north end of Phuket, from where the ship docks! The ships' tours to Phi Phi were about 7 to 8 hours including a tour of a rubber plantation. The dock was only a few sheds and stall holders setup under tarps. I didn't think any tours went from the dock by sea.

Preston and Laurel

David, any chance you're looking at the Simba website? Only reason I ask is that sounds familiar. I'm in Phuket for a day in April on the Azamara Quest and had the same concerns so have put a private charter together with Simba for 11 of us at a very reasonable price. We are however going to Phang Nga which is about 35minutes from our port (bear in mond that Phuket has two possible ports to dock at).

Deb.

Debs +Presten/Laurel,

Thanks for the replies. I've linked the website I am looking at (hope I am allowed to do that?). It sates an early start and back at 4pm.

Let me know what you think. I also googled for private charters and came up with a few options. This may be the best as I am concerned about getting stuck somewhere ie.e. boat breaking down with not enough time to get back to port.

http://www.phuket-travel.com/destinations/pp_express.htm

David

David,

I checked your website and reviewed it with my research for our cruise last December. Rassada Port is where the Athena docked,so that would suit you perfectly if you dock there. If you docked at Patong beach and had to tender ashore you may have problems with time to connect with transfers. It's a pain when you have two docks to consider when working out shore excursions. If you can find out where the ship docks,it will make things a lot easier. A lot of the time the ship doesn't know until nearing the destination.

I see on the Phi Phi tour that they have lunch on shore at a hotel. When I was researching our tours I saw a lot of complaints about overcrowding at the lunch onshore tours,which is why I booked a tour where the lunch was on-board the boat. We had about 40 people at an excellent buffet,with free soft drinks and water all day.

If you go to this website it will tell you what ships are in port on the day of your arrival and if there are a few,it may give you some idea how crowded it might be.

http://www.cleancruising.com.au/port.asp?port=THHKT

Preston

David, I had the same concerns when looking at a Phuket tour. Most seemed to say that they would be back to the marina around 4 to 4:30pm which for me was a little too close for comfort. I looked briefly at the company you are looking at but ended up chossing Simba for a private charter. It was only based on trip advisor reviews and I certainly haven't heard anything negative about the company you're looking at. The great thing with the private charter is that we pick our times and are guaranteed only to have our group on the boat. On the flip side though you have to pay a deposit and keep your fingers crossed that you get enough people interested (else you're day trip becomes very expensive!). I put a tentative hold on the date with Simba, made sure I had enough interest and then paid the deposit. There will be 11 of us on our charter which worked out to ab out $95 per person (USD) each. This includes lunch. Perhaps the company you're looking at can offer this as well (if not check out Simba in Trip Advisor). I haven't used Simba yet (we sail from Singapore on April 9th with our stop in Phuket on April 11th). Will post a review about them when I get back.

Deb.

Preston/Debs,

thank you both very much for the advice.

On reflection, I think the private charter is the best option, assuming we can get enough people to cover the cost. I guess posting something in the roll call nearer the time would be a good start.

David

Preston, I checked the link you left but can't seem to find where it says the ship docks?

Debs, what I didn't make clear was that I am also on the Azamara Quest in 2011 from Singapore to Dubai, so am eager to hear your thoughts on the trip when you return!! I have sent a mail to Simba regarding a private charter. How did you organise the 11 people - through the roll call? Also, you metioned Phang Nga in an earlier post and "35 minutes". Does this mean that the ship docks 35 minutes away from where Simba are?

David

David,

That website only shows which ships are in port on the same day,not where they dock. It's handy to know if there are a lot of ships in port at once to gauge how crowded it will be. Ports like Kusadasi in Turkey can have so many ships in port that some have to tender ashore.

Preston

Hi David, Yes, Simba tells me that the marina that we dock at (as mentioned there are two in Phuket so I checked with Azamara as to which one we will dock at) is about 35 minutes from thier marina. They arrange pick up by mini-van at the cruise terminal. I posted for others on our roll call and for the longest time there were only 7 of us which would have meant a price of $145 per person. At some point you have to make the decision of wether to commit to the booking (requries a deposit of about $300) or decide you don't have enough people. Simba held the date for me for a few months We were all prepared to pay this but luckily I kept posting and we picked up two more couples. Simba has been very easy to deal with and if they live up to thier reputation it should be a great day. Another cruiser (VickyN) is also re-booked on your leg so I know we will both give you lots of feedback upon our return.

Deb.

Thanks Debs. I've actually been in touch with Vicky through the roll call. Looking forward to hearing all about your trip. If we dont chat again, have a great cruise.

David

Hi David, Yes, Simba tells me that the marina that we dock at (as mentioned there are two in Phuket so I checked with Azamara as to which one we will dock at) is about 35 minutes from thier marina. They arrange pick up by mini-van at the cruise terminal. I posted for others on our roll call and for the longest time there were only 7 of us which would have meant a price of $145 per person. At some point you have to make the decision of wether to commit to the booking (requries a deposit of about $300) or decide you don't have enough people. Simba held the date for me for a few months We were all prepared to pay this but luckily I kept posting and we picked up two more couples. Simba has been very easy to deal with and if they live up to thier reputation it should be a great day. Another cruiser (VickyN) is also re-booked on your leg so I know we will both give you lots of feedback upon our return.

 

Deb.

Hi Deb - Can you tell me which port we dock at on 11th April ? I've also been trying to plan that day and have been reading horror stories about taxi-drivers at the main port....

thanks

Therese

Therese, No problem. Will post the answer over on our roll call incase anyone else is wondering.

Deb.