The Ko Samui Archipelago
 Imagine
a sailing area with more than 80 islands spread over a canvas of
50 miles of azure tropical seas. Imagine beautiful powdery white
sand beaches, fringed with swaying coconut palms, lush emerald green
vegetation stretching over the limestone hills and mountains. Imagine
cool freshwater streams cascading over ancient towering granite
boulders. Imagine a place where you can still easily fi nd a deserted
bay to anchor for the night… Welcome to sailing in the Samui
Archipelago.
Away from main cruising routes, Samui and its neighbours do not
see many visiting yachts and, until now have remained a retreat
for the adventurous, or the privileged few local sailors.
Stretching 50 miles from Ko Rap in the south, via Ko Samui and
Ko Pha-ngan, to Ko Tao in the north, and 25 miles east from Samui
to the Ang Thong Marine National Park, nowhere is more than a leisurely
day sail away.
Ko Samui is a wonderland of the rich hues of wild vegetation, dappled
with the contrasting greens of coconut palms and emerald paddy.
Yet even in this sleepy tropical paradise – dubbed Thailand’s
‘Coconut Island’ – an excursion into Chaweng Beach
will bring you to a tasteful melange of international and local
restaurants, supermarkets, shops and nightlife.
Once you’ve exhausted the relative civilisation of Ko Samui,
a wonderland of outlying islands awaits discovery.
Five miles away is Ko Pha-ngan, famed worldwide for its full moon
parties, but better described as a wonder of mountains, jungle and
waterfalls – features that have ensured Pha-ngan stays unspoiled
by ‘civilising’ concrete. Transport from one part of the
island to another is still by local ‘longtail boat’, yet
no bay is without its beachfront restaurant.
Sailing north 17 miles brings you to Ko Tao (Turtle Island), the
Gulf of Thailand’s diving capital. Enjoy the sparkling clear
waters, bounded by and a boulder-rock shoreline before moving on
to the Ang Thong Marine National Park, a natural extension of the
geological structure which formed Phang-nga Bay, and stretches across
the mainland to shape this string of over 40 islands.
The towering limestone karsts, the inland lakes and sink holes,
the caves and lagoons are all reminiscent of Phang-nga, but there
the similarity ends. This Marine National Park has just one inhabited
island and you could cruise for days without seeing another yacht
or even another person.
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