Thailand

Phang Nga Bay is the place most people have in mind when they think of yachting in Thailand: 42 limestone karst islands rising straight out of 400 square kilometres of shallow water, half an hour by tender from Phuket. One of those islands, Khao Phing Kan, was used in the 1974 Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun and has been called James Bond Island ever since. The slim limestone pinnacle next to it, Ko Ta Pu, is the cone you have seen in every photograph; tour boats are now restricted from approaching it because the soft limestone is eroding under the wash.

Thailand has two cruising coasts that work in opposite seasons. The Andaman side, which includes Phuket, Phang Nga Bay, the Phi Phi islands and Krabi, is best from November to April when the south-westerly monsoon ends. The Gulf of Thailand side, with Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, runs from May to October. Most western yacht charters concentrate on the Andaman side, where the dramatic limestone scenery and the established luxury infrastructure (Yacht Haven Marina, Ao Po Grand Marina) make for an easier first Asian charter.

The Andaman charter season is November to April, with December to February the busiest stretch and March a particular favourite for the warm sea and reduced humidity. Most charters pick up in Phuket. A week is the minimum for the Phang Nga Bay loop, and ten days adds the Similan and Surin Islands further north for the diving.