Phuket & the Andaman Sea
Limestone karsts rise sheer from glass-flat water across the bay that gave James Bond his island lair — Phuket's marinas hold the only 100-metre superyacht berths on the Andaman coast.
Phang Nga Bay holds forty-two limestone islands rising sheer from flat green water across 400 square kilometres — one of them a Bond villain's lair since 1974. Phuket, at the bay's mouth, has become the Andaman's yachting capital: two marinas with 100-metre superyacht berths, a Michelin star at Trisara, and a fleet that ranges south to Phi Phi's cliffs and west to the Similan Islands' open-water diving grounds. The season is short and dependable — dry, gentle northeast winds from November to April, before the bay empties out for the monsoon. Distances are forgiving: Racha's reefs sit forty-five minutes from the marina, the karsts of Phang Nga a morning's run.
“Aman started here — the original Amanpuri opened on this coast in 1988.”
The gallery
Signature anchorages
The Andaman's yachting capital: 400 square kilometres of limestone karst in Phang Nga Bay, the region's only 100-metre superyacht berths, and reef-and-cliff anchorages within a morning's run of the marina.
- Ao Po Bay & Yacht HavenThe home port — two full-service marinas share this sheltered bay on Phuket's northeast coast, Ao Po Grand Marina and Phuket Yacht Haven both taking 100-metre LOA with round-the-clock deep-water access; the fleet's start and end point.
- Ko Khao Phing Kan (James Bond Island)The Bond lair — the limestone tower Ko Tapu, inside calm, enclosed Phang Nga Bay, famous since The Man with the Golden Gun (1974); anchor off and tender in before the nine o'clock longtails.
- Ko Hong lagoon, Phang Nga BayThe hidden room — a lagoon walled by limestone cliffs, reached only by canoe through a tidal sea-cave; time it for slack water and go early for the hong alone.
- Maya Bay, Ko Phi Phi LehThe Beach's cove — three sheer cliff faces around turquoise water, visitor numbers now capped and the bay closed one day a week to rest the reef; go by tender outside opening hours.
- Ko Racha YaiThe reliable reef — forty-five minutes south of Chalong, calm and clear with good holding; hard coral gardens from five to twenty-five metres, Phuket's closest proper dive day.
- Railay & Ao Nang, KrabiThe climbers' peninsula — sheer karst walls cut Railay off from any road; anchor off in settled weather and tender to the beach bars beneath the Thaiwand Wall.
- Similan IslandsThe marquee run — open-water anchorage roughly 65 nautical miles and one night's sail northwest; national park, open mid-October to mid-May only, among the clearest water in the Andaman.
The scene
Kata Rocks Superyacht Rendezvous
Invitation-only and hosted from the superyacht-styled clifftop resort at Kata; now past its tenth edition, three days of fleet showcases, brand activations and networking for yachts over 24 metres, based in or visiting Phuket for the week.
Phuket King's Cup Regatta
Founded in 1987 for the King's 60th birthday and now Asia's premier race week; the 2026 edition runs 5–12 December out of Kata and Ao Chalong, still drawing fleets from across the region.
Thailand International Boat Show
A four-day luxury lifestyle show at Phuket Yacht Haven Marina — over 100 exhibitors and 6,000-plus visitors for its 2026 edition, 15–18 January, spanning yachts, brokers and the wider marine trade.
The Man with the Golden Gun
Roger Moore's Bond brought a global audience to Ko Tapu, the limestone spike in Phang Nga Bay now known simply as James Bond Island — still the bay's single most recognisable silhouette.
Songkran
Thailand's New Year closes the charter season in mid-April with three days of citywide water-throwing, temple visits and street parties — a boisterous, very local counterpoint to the quiet cruising months before it.
Table & stay ashore
PRU at Trisara
Phuket's only Michelin star, plus a Michelin Green Star for its farm-to-table sourcing; an open theatre kitchen and ocean views built around ingredients grown or raised within the Trisara estate.
Baan Rim Pa
Clifftop over Kalim Bay with a grand piano and nightly pianist; Royal Thai cuisine — dishes once cooked only for the Grand Palace — served across two and a half levels of sea view.
Black Ginger
Reached only by boat across a lily pond at The Slate resort; modern Thai food in a dining room built to evoke Phuket's tin-mining past.
Trisara
Thirty-nine pool-villa pavilions on Phuket's northwest coast, private beach and two Michelin-recognised restaurants; the only Thailand resort on Condé Nast Traveler's Gold List 2025.
Amanpuri
The original Aman, opened in 1988 on a former coconut plantation at Pansea Beach; forty pavilions and villas that set the template — teak, long sightlines, service kept almost invisible — for every Aman since.
A week, sketched
Day 1 · Ao Po, Phuket
Embark at Ao Po Grand Marina or Phuket Yacht Haven, provision, and make a short shakedown run into the southern reaches of Phang Nga Bay before dark.
Day 2 · Phang Nga Bay
A full day among the karsts: Ko Khao Phing Kan (James Bond Island) at first light, the stilt village of Ko Panyi for lunch, then Ko Hong's hidden lagoon by canoe.
Day 3 · Ko Yao Noi & Ko Yao Yai
Cross to the quieter twin islands splitting the bay in two; a slower pace, mangrove-backed anchorages, and dinner at anchor away from the main tourist run.
Day 4 · Railay & Ao Nang
Anchor off Railay's sheer karst walls for beach bars and rock climbers, then round to Ao Nang for mainland provisioning and a change of scene.
Day 5 · Ko Phi Phi
Tender into Maya Bay before the day boats arrive, then swing round to Ao Nui or Loh Samah for a quieter overnight anchorage on Phi Phi Leh's east side.
Day 6 · Ko Racha Yai
A reef day at Phuket's most reliable dive site, forty-five minutes of calm, clear water with coral gardens from five to twenty-five metres.
Day 7 · Return to Phuket
A final night at anchor off Nai Harn or Kata, below the clifftop villas at Kata Rocks, before disembarking back at Ao Po or Chalong.
Pair with
Plan this water
Phuket & the Andaman Sea
Limestone karsts, a Bond-film island and the Andaman's only 100-metre superyacht berths — Phuket's charter season runs calm and dry from November to April.