John Gray's Hong by Starlight with Sea Cave Kayaking and Loy Krathong Floating


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From $106.59

575 reviews   (4.90)

Price varies by group size

Lowest Price Guarantee

Pricing Info: Per Person

Duration: 10 hours

Departs: thailand, thailand

TicketType: Mobile or paper ticket accepted

Free cancellation

Up to 24 hours in advance.

Overview

Enjoy an afternoon of sea cave exploring in Phang Nga Bay, including the limestone caves and hidden cliff-lined lagoons discovered by John Gray in 1989. Expect a great nature and wildlife adventure with an experienced guide and enjoy the best Thai seafood buffet during your holiday aboard the convenient escort boat. Finish your trip after dark by floating your own self-made flower “Kratong” in a spiritual and spectacular natural light show.


What's Included

Basic accident insurance

Caveman's SOTAR sea kayaks

Hotel round-trip transfer on the entire Phuket island including airport pick-up and drop-off service

Kayak equipment including a dry bag

Life jacket

Lunch, dinner, bottled water, herbal tea & seasonal fruits

National Park entrance fee

Professional and experienced English speaking guide

What's Not Included

Hotel pickup from remote locations in Phang Nga, or from private villas/rentals


Traveler Information

  • INFANT: Age: 2 - 6
  • CHILD: Age: 7 - 12
  • ADULT: Age: 13 - 99

Additional Info

  • Face masks required for travellers in public areas
  • Guides required to regularly wash hands
  • Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
  • Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
  • Proof of COVID-19 vaccination required for travelers
  • Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • The tour program is subject to change due to weather & sea conditions
  • Face masks required for travellers in public areas
  • Guides required to regularly wash hands
  • Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
  • Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
  • Proof of COVID-19 vaccination required for travelers
  • Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • The tour program is subject to change due to weather & sea conditions

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Experience may be cancelled due to Insufficient travelers
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

What To Expect

John Gray's Sea Canoe
This full-day kayak trip from Phuket starts at midday to avoid the crowds, with a convenient pickup service by luxury air-conditioned minivan from the entire Phuket Island. Don’t eat lunch, as you will be served a healthy and nutritious meal onboard the comfortable and modern twin-engine escort boat after leaving from Ao Po Pier. During the boat ride you will watch a raptor show and get a detailed briefing about the nature and geological site of Phang Nga Bay. Learn the basic do’s and don’ts of how to securely enter the caves and hongs.

Start the first kayaking session with your well-educated and experienced guide through limestone caves and lagoons in the dramatic setting at Panak Island. The hand-made kayaks are specially designed for your trip, and you can feel absolutely safe because there was never a capsize, a puncture or any accident. Your professional guide paddles you and your partner through 'Tidal Nape' sea caves inside Phang Nga Bay’s marine limestone karstic islands into 'hongs' (Thai for room). The hidden cliff-lined lagoons are populated with macaques, water monitors, kingfishers, mud-skippers, egrets, sea eagles and brahminy kites. Return to the escort boat and move on to the second island with two more caves and hongs to explore.

You will finish after dark by floating your own self-made flower “Krathong” in a spiritual and spectacular natural light show. Guests say that the evening Loi Kratong ceremony complete with fireflies and dinoflagellates (bio-luminescent plankton) is a 'spiritual experience'.

Eat a delicious seafood/vegan buffet on the trip back, you return to the pier two hours after sunset. Only the highest-quality ingredients are used to prepare the lunch and dinner, fresh from the local market. Seafood is net caught and chickens are free range. Brown, red, and black rice is served with homemade Massaman curry.

Itinerary:
• 10:30 - 12:00: Hotel pickup service in Phuket
• 12:00 - 13:00: Meet the crew at Ao Po Pier & get instructions
• 13:00 - 13:10: Departure by escort boat to Phang Nga Bay
• 13:10 - 14:10: Enjoy lunch on board the tour boat
• 14:15 - 16:15: Kayak into the cave at Koh Phanak
• 16:15 - 16:30: Continue to Hong Island
• 16:30 - 17:30: Sightseeing & kayaking at Koh Hong
• 17:30 - 18:15: Free time for relaxing at the beach or kayaking
• 18:15 - 18:45: Make your own Krathong & have dinner on the boat
• 18:45 - 19:15: Float the self-made Krathong in the cave of Phanak Island
• 19:15 - 19:30: See phosphorescent plankton
• 19:30 - 20:30: Head back to Phuket
• 20:30 - 21:00: Transfer to your hotel

10 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Ao Po Pier
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60 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Phang Nga Bay.
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60 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Ko Pa Nak
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2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Ice Cream Cave
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60 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Hongs of Phang Nga
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2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Koh Panak Cave
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1 hours • Admission Ticket Free

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• Admission Ticket Free


Reviews

Beautiful
lisafN8120SX, 20-09-2022
Great experience. Beautiful scenery and we were well fed with delicious meals and snacks. My guide Musa was amazing - as a solo traveller he made sure I was looked after and also kept asking for my camera so that I could be photographed in all of the best places (so nice to have some non-selfie pics LOL). It was a full day experience so there was no feeling of being rushed through any of the places. Would highly recommend
Excellent day trip
993katya, 18-09-2022
Highly recommend!! Everything was well organised and the canoeing, mangroves within the caves as well as experiencing the caves at night were all real highlights. It was a really fun day out.
Breathtaking Scenery-Must Do Tour
thehollywoodbol, 25-09-2022
Fantastic from start to finish. Incredible scenery and a lot of fun . They pick you up from hotel and you make three boat stops where you go with your guide in the kayak. Meals are very tasty and you get to see things you would never expect . Don’t miss this tour it is so worth it.
Fantastic experience you will not regret
E7049YBdonnal, 29-09-2022
This was one of the best tours I have done. The crew were all very friendly and organised, the food was amazing the caves magnificent highlight for us was the lanterns at the end. All crew were very safe and knowledgeable big thanks to our guide sun who went the extra mile to ensure it was a lovely memorable experience for us. I could not fault anything about this trip from pick up to drop off.
DO NOT MISS THIS!
lisah732, 29-09-2022
I highly recommend this day trip. My husband, daughter (who is 22) and I went on the excursion. The food is all cooked on board by two amazing ladies. It is authentic, fresh and delicious. The trip includes lunch and dinner. The kayaks hold 3 people, two guests and a guide. Because we were a group of three, Sun matched up my husband with one of the other guests. Names of guides were drawn by each group of two. We had Done and Min. These gentlemen were awesome! Knowledgeable, funny and able to answer any question we had. We quickly felt comfortable and relaxed with them.

Most of the caves we went into led to lagoons that are on the interior of the large stone islands. These were beautiful and so interesting! We saw monkeys, smallish monitor lizards and these little fish that could move themselves on the sandbars with fins that were more like arms. Before dinner, the guides turned the kayaks upside down and tied them together end to end. We took turns trying to run all the way to the end. Everyone cheered on the individuals attempting to make it to the end. It was so much fun and a great way to make everyone on the boat feel like a team.

There was plenty of staff on the boat to answer questions and they were always offering interesting tidbits of information. What you see on the kayak trips was amazing, but the staff on the boat was the icing on the cake. One of the comments I had seen in reviews for excursions was that with bigger boats, it would take longer to get everyone in and out of the kayaks. That was absolutely not my experience. Sun and the guides had the process perfected and it moved quickly. I had also heard that getting in and out of the kayaks was hard. I am a 58 year old woman who carries more weight than I should (thank you Covid). I was able to get in and out of the kayaks without a problem.

Our day with John Gray tours ended with the bioluminescent plankton. It was amazing. I can't think of a better way to spend a day. Make sure you bring baht to tip the guides and boat staff. They work hard and deserve it.




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