Phuket to Ao Nang speedboat trip

TD member Spin asked me on another thread to post pics of my trip yesterday on the speedboat that goes from Phuket to Ao Nang.

I haven't posted photos before, so I hope they post OK - (TD, it was hard going to find your thread explaining how to post pics in a thread - you should sticky it at the top of your forum home page)

Background:

Yesterday morning I was in Ao Nang at my hostel, and had to return a car to my other hotel in north Phuket. So I drove the car at 9am around Phang Nga bay,arriving at my Phuket hotel at 11am, but then choose to make the return leg to Ao Nang by speedboat directly across the bay.

A taxi from Phuket Airport to Ao Nang costs about 1,800 baht, whilst the speedboat costs 950 baht. I actually got the price at 850 baht, since the boat company pays 100 baht commission to hotels whose guests book the speedboat.

The speedboat leaves at 3pm from Bang Rong pier in north Phuket, about 20 minutes drive from the airport. This boat goes via Koh Yao Yai and Noi. There are also various slow boats that ply between Bang rong and Koh Yao.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...l_100_2920.JPG

The speedboat company is called Green Planet. The boat holds about 30 people, although when I took the trip there were only about 15 people travelling to Koh Yao. most of them were elderly Muslims, with a couple of western tourists.

Although the boat looked very new, there was no sign of any life-jackets, although I'm sure they were available. I actually wore my own life-jacket during the trip, not because I am a wimp who cannot swim, but because the unexpected can happen even on a calm day, and I prefer to casually swim away to safety whilst the other passengers are fighting for their life-jackets.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...l_100_2924.JPG

After leaving Bang Rong, we headed out to open sea and soon were moving along at a fast pace. The first port of call was the small jetty at Koh Yao Yai, which we reached after about 30 minutes. A few people got off at this relatively untouristy island, but most stayed on board for the short trip across to Koh Yao Noi

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...l_100_2931.JPG

There were more people waiting at koh Yao Noi to greet friends who were arriving by our speedboat. Only a couple of tourists got on board for the trip to Ao Nang, and I think there were only about 6 passengers for this last part of the journey.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...l_100_2934.JPG

As we pulled away from Koh Yao Noi, we passed the long spit of land on Yao Yai that stretches out into the sea towards Yao Noi. It was a beautiful sight on a hot day, and hard to believe that such a quiet place lay only a few km from Phuket and Ao Nang.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...l_100_2938.JPG

The final leg over to Ao Nang, and the speedboat docked at the pier near to Nopparat beach. I took a 100 baht motorcycle taxi through Ao Nang and was back at my hostel by 4.15pm.

Thoughts - well what a fun trip! The price seemed OK considering the short time to cross over the bay, and especially since the taxi fare was double! I think in the low (LOW) season that this speedboat maybe does not operate, or operates according to how rough the sea is - in which case, please take your vomit bags.

Simon

PS - just uploaded this post and FCK! I see the photo links ok but no automatic display of the photos! TD, where did I screw up?

^No worries. Some excellent Honda engine shots.

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Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton

Some excellent Honda engine shots.

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Davis ......................................

behave :)

Yes ,Honda is a great engine , Thank you for the pics , it's been a long time since i seen one , missed them sooooooooo much ,:rofl:

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Some excellent Honda engine shots.

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Probably fakes - bought on Patong Beach Road

does honda give a 100 baht commission also :D

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does honda give a 100 baht commission also

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Actually, to get the ticket commission, I had to pretend to be a dumb tourist and not understand Thai. My hotel driver asked about commission and they gave him the 100 baht after I wandered away to the boat :)

Since this 100 baht was significantly more than the daily wage he receives, I allowed him to keep it so that he could buy some food this month for his wife and 10 kids.

I know FA about boat engines, but these beasts looked (and were) pretty powerful. When the skipper accelerated around a turn, all the elderly Muslim women almost went flying off the back of the boat (or is that stern?)

I almost choked with laughter on my bacon buttie


Simon

Ok, this has the making of a nice thread, perhaps we get to see the actual boat tomorrow...and some close ups of the beaches and stuff.:smileylaughing:

I love to see 675 Honda HP on the back, I took ferry once, cheap me.
My wife would never notice that their was 3 engines in picture, love it
motor head , Have Honda S-2000 engine (4 cyl) 240hp in a Datsun 510
about as fast as boat haha farmer

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Originally Posted by Simon43

My hotel driver asked about commission and they gave him the 100 baht after I wandered away to the boat Since this 100 baht was significantly more than the daily wage he receives,

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tight barstardo

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Originally Posted by Spin

perhaps we get to see the actual boat tomorrow.

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would be nice

Thanks for pics, they are fine.

So, you recommend perhaps to book directly at the boat company and not thru the hotel ? One can book on the net, I have noted. Just to save 100b seems a small reason, but maybe the hotel puts you up with the boat outfit that pays them highest commision rather than the best boat company for you ?
http://www.phiphiferry.com/choice.php
Does anybody ahve experience doing so ?
Thx

Bob63 - the comment about the hotel was because I own the hotel - so I knew that a commission is paid. But you will not save any money by booking direct. all these tour businesses have a fixed price for the customer, but will pay a 'kick back' to whoever puts the customer in touch with the tour agent.

This system of kick backs is basically how the tourism business works in Thailand. This is why many hotels are not interested to promote the 'best' tour for it's customers - they are only interested to promote the tour that gives the biggest kick back

Simon

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Originally Posted by Simon43

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Some excellent Honda engine shots.

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Probably fakes - bought on Patong Beach Road

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Couldn't be, you got where you were going, yes? If they were from Patong Beach, they would have coughed and died after 10 minutes at sea... Then JJ would be hounding you for damages... :)

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Originally Posted by Simon43

Bob63 - the comment about the hotel was because I own the hotel - so I knew that a commission is paid. But you will not save any money by booking direct. all these tour businesses have a fixed price for the customer, but will pay a 'kick back' to whoever puts the customer in touch with the tour agent.

This system of kick backs is basically how the tourism business works in Thailand. This is why many hotels are not interested to promote the 'best' tour for it's customers - they are only interested to promote the tour that gives the biggest kick back

Simon

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Aha, thankyou.
I misunderstood, I thought you somehow got the commision back because you argued you knew about the practice and so got a discount.
Well, I guess it comes down to if you trust the hotel owner regarding the tours he recommends.

You could post some pics of your hotel then, please :bananaman:

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Originally Posted by Simon43

I own the hotel

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naa, not really :)

Amazing Shots!

Neat, or on the rocks?

I tend to stay off the rocks while boating but have run aground more than a few times.

What would you expect from.................

...........the fish.

This thread was worth salvaging. Skull duggery on the high seas. You can say made you look now. I was trawled hook line and sinker. ..


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