T.I.C.D.: Mu Ko Phuket (Part II: Ko Racha & other outlying islands)
The 'other islands' of the Phuket Archipelago, condensed.
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T.I.C.D. ticker: So far, we’ve covered 745 islands and 200 notable coastal areas in 40 sections, including this one. (To view all previously published sections, see the welcome page or the working Table of Contents.)
Resuming Phuket province…
Phuket province / archipelago has at least 42 islands in total, including outlying islands that have been satisfying day trippers and a handful of overnighters ever since the area first caught on as a tourist destination.
Though a few exclusive beach clubs and resorts stand alongside day-tripper crowds in places, most of Phuket’s outlying islands deliver the kind of languid “leave the world behind” vibe that the main island largely lacks. This is doubly true if you slow down and spend a few nights on one or more of the outlying islands with accommodation, perhaps weaving several into an island-hopping trip that might utilize one or more longtails and perhaps a larger or faster boat at times.
At the far S end of the archipelago and deserving a special mention for their scuba diving and stellar beaches, the twin isles of Ko Racha (or ‘Raya’) occupy one of the more distant locales of all Thai islands — roughly 30-50 km S of Ko Phuket and 100 km from the nearest mainland coast. Though Ko Racha Yai attracts many day visitors, it reverts to isolated-paradise status in time for sunset.
All of Phuket’s outlying isles are family friendly, but also far less developed than the main island. I believe that Ko Racha Yai is the only outlying island in Phuket province that now has an ATM available.
Also note that while several islands of Ao Phang Nga to the E are easily accessible from Phuket, such as Ko Khai, Ko Lawa and Ko Phanak, these are part of Phang Nga province and covered separately in the Ao Phang Nga sections.
Islands below are arranged roughly from N to S, and all are found off Ko Phuket’s E and S coasts. (The smaller and more obscure islands located off Ko Phuket’s W and N coasts are covered in the previous section.)