Two coasts, two calendars
The coasts here run on opposite calendars. Thailand's Andaman side, meaning Phuket and Krabi, is at its best from November into April and wet and choppy from May through October. The Gulf coast around Koh Samui reverses that, with its worst weather in November. Vietnam adds a third pattern: Da Nang and Hoi An are dependable from February to August, while Phu Quoc is dry roughly when the Andaman is. The wrong coast for your month is the commonest way a beach week goes wrong.
The second thing worth saying out loud is the crowding. The water around Koh Phi Phi takes hundreds of boats a day, and arriving at eleven in the morning is an exercise in queueing. We work around it: departures at first light, anchorages on the far side of the same island, and beach nights at the end of a route, once you have stopped wanting to look at things. We name the bay and the sort of hotel; the property and the price come in writing.
What these trips look like
- The coast picked by month rather than by name: Andaman, Gulf, central Vietnam or Phu Quoc, whichever is dry then.
- Beach nights at the end of the route, after the temples and the driving, not stranded in the middle of it.
- Private boat departures early enough to reach the good bays before the fleet arrives from the main pier.
- Snorkelling stops chosen for water clarity in your month, with the reefs we would skip named as such.
- Three nights minimum on any island, because two nights is mostly ferries and packing.
- A warning when a crossing will be rough, and a flight offered in place of a boat where one exists.
Journeys in this style
Talk to us
Give us the month you can travel and how many days of it belong to the sea. We will tell you which coast is dry then, and when a beach is better as a day out than as three nights. Send your dates and party size to info@zaratour.com and a written quote follows.