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Just a few boat minutes away from Thailand´s mainland Krabi you can find the wonderful Hong Island which is surrounded by even more little islands. Why this place has completely blown my mind off, I am going to tell you now a bit more in detail and in the end of this article you will find some useful tips especially for this tour.
We started our day trip at Klong Muang Beach, my happy place in Thailand, early in the morning by long tail boat. We were so excited for our day tour to Koh Lao La Ding, Paradise Island, Hong Island and its beautiful Lagoon, which was organised by Krabi Guide.
First stop @ stunning Koh Lao La Ding
At first, we headed off to Koh Lao La Ding, a small hidden island with an incredible nature. This must be heaven on earth, I thought while arriving there. We had the whole island just for us, except a few cats and crabs. I can´t remember the last time that I have felt sooo right being there than at this place.
The crystal clear water in front of the island with its different nuances of turquoise and emerald green makes this little island to one of my favourites now. The fact that this place isn´t as touristic as so many other locations here in Thailand, makes it really special to me. On a little path you can get into the jungle which I highly recommend you to do. It´s super fun and the nature is just epic. And you will have some Robinson Crusoe feeling included, that’s a sure thing! Furthermore, you can find a big wooden swing at the beach, which is so inviting to take the perfect holiday shot. I couldn´t stop taking pictures and videos there, because I wanted to share these incredible impressions with you!
Second stop @ Paradise Island
Paradise Island definitely lived up its name! Enjoying life to the fullest at a place called paradise, that you don’t even have to share with a lot of others is just magical! Definitely worth going there.
At low tide there is just a little sand strip to walk on that connects the two sides of the island with each other. Also a quite nice motive if you ask me. On this island are living for example a few monkeys, crabs and a lot of beautiful birds. But better be careful, if you want to leave your stuff at the beach while going for a swim. One monkey came for some food and got nearer and nearer to my bag. I had to run to the beach as fast as I could, because he was trying to open my backpack, where I had everything in: My camera, the new iPhone and my purse. But luckily, I was fast enough to save it in the very last second by chasing the monkey, who finally just stole some fruits in the end!
But it was actually a fun story and made not just us laugh, but also the other tourists who watched me running after the monkey.
Third stop @ Hong Island Lagoon
After visiting Paradise Island, we were driven to the Hong Island Lagoon, which led us feel like being in a movie! It´s just crazy how beautiful this little place on earth is. Surrounded by huge rocks, a bit of water reet and bushes, this lagoon is something really special. You can see a lot of nice birds and the water is just as high as your chest. So you can use the little stop over for a nice refreshment in the green sea water of this lagoon, also if you are not the best swimmer. At low tide there appears also a little sandbank, where you can walk on to shoot some great pics. Your camera will love this location believe me. At this place it really seems like the hashtag #nofilterneeded has its meaning from it. Combined with your long tail boat in the background for example this area is the perfect photo- and videography set and it´s so much fun to swim in there.
Fourth stop @ Hong Island
Because Koh Hong is part of the National Marine Park, you will need to pay a bit for the entrance to get on the island. But it´s not more than 10 euro and it´s absolutely worth paying it. Because this island is the biggest one of the named four islands, there will be a lot of more people than on the other three, but it offers a lot: You can find a nice restaurant there with delicious thai food to affordable prices, a kayak rental and a wonderful area to go snorkelling. I have never seen so many beautiful coloured fishes directly at the beach front than here. So don´t forget to take your snorkel with you (you can get it on your boat – it´s included in the price). If you love the underwater world like I do, you will love it there! And if you want to discover this place by feet you can follow the Tsunami evacuation route that leads you deep into the jungle. There you can see for example extremely big butterflies with wonderful coloured wings and a lot of lizards.
Useful tips for this trip
- First and most important tip: Please don´t forget your sun cream if you don’t want to look like a red crab the next day. Being the whole day on a boat, at the beach or in the sea is nothing you should do without cream, especially not with pale skin.
- From our guide we got the tip, better to go early in the morning to miss the other tourists. I have already visited this place now for the second time in February, which was a bit more busy than in December when I was there for the first time. Because we were the early birds and got up around 7 to start the day tour already at 8 am, we got the island almost just for us. So I highly recommend you to skip the party maybe the night before to wake up early for this insane trip! You won´t regret it!
- Another tip would also be to charge all your batteries (phone, power bank, camera etc.) before you visit these places. You will need the full power for sure. I got so inspired by this wonderful nature that I was forced to take pictures all the time!
- On top I can just tell you that our day with Krabi Guide was just amazing and I can highly recommend this tour operator, which offers you even a private boat tour to very affordable prices and the stuff is just amazing! We also got some free water and fresh pineapples during our daytrip. A private tour is much more chilled and you can tell the driver exactly how long you want to stay at the several islands, so you won´t be in a hurry or dependent on someone else. Much better for a relaxed beach day in paradise.
- And please take care of your stuff… the monkey mafia is everywhere!
So if you are looking for the ultimate once in a lifetime experience, this boat trip is definitely something you should not miss when you are around Krabi. Forget about touristic places like Koh Samui and Phuket and explore Thailand´s hidden paradise islands! There is so much more to discover than just Thailand´s mass tourism.
Big thanks also to Patrick Barl from “Flow in the world” for some of the pictures and the produced video.
