Coral Island (Coral Island), Phuket Province, Thailand. Coral Island (Coral Island) Phuket excursions coral island

In Thailand, many tourists go for the exotic. And they are absolutely right. Here you can walk through the real tropical jungle, take a look at the animals and birds that are only found in the zoo in Russia, and soak up the white sand under the canopy of palm trees. Thanks to all this, tours to Phuket, to Coral Island Resort 3 * in particular, are in great demand now. This hotel is remarkable in that it is located on a small exotic island, and in the singular, which is very attractive in itself. Let's add to its merits the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff, unusually delicious food, rooms in modern comfortable bungalows, but many tourists who have been here call this place heavenly. But, unfortunately, it also has disadvantages that everyone who decides to buy a tour here needs to know about. Our article talks about this in detail.

Location

In the western part of Thailand, just 410 meters from the mainland lies a beautiful green island and at the same time the province of Phuket. Coral Island Resort 3 * - a hotel located on another island called Koh He, or in Russian Coral. Administratively, it is part of the aforementioned province, and it is remote from the largest island of the country by a strip of water only 9 km wide. Therefore, many tour operators offer trips to Thailand, to the Coral Island Resort 3 * in Phuket. At the same time, they omit the name Ko Hye. We will briefly talk about this wonderful corner so that tourists have an idea where they will have to rest.

This piece of land formed (hence the name) is very small. Theoretically, it can be bypassed in a day. However, in practice, this is difficult to do, since most of the island is covered with impenetrable tropical jungles, in which not the most harmless fauna lives. In some places, the forest comes right up to the water, but along the coast there are picturesque wide strips with fantastically white sand, on one of which our hotel is built. Thanks to this location, its guests will enjoy an unforgettable beach holiday and almost complete privacy.

How to get there

In relation to the Coral Island Resort 3 * hotel in Phuket (meaning the province), it is difficult to say how convenient it is located. Theoretically, getting to Coral Island is easy. From Russia you need to fly by plane to the airport of Phuket. The flight from Moscow takes from 7.5 hours. At the airport, tourists are waiting for transfers from travel agencies where they bought tickets. Buses run to the port of Phuket, located 32 km from the airport. According to tourists, this distance is overcome in 45-50 minutes. In the port, you need to take a boat, which delivers to the pier near the hotel in a quarter of an hour. Those who travel here, bypassing travel agencies, need to follow the same route - from the airport by taxi to the seaport, and then by boat to Coral Island.

However, in practice, things can look more complicated. The fact is that the boats leave for Koh He strictly by the hour, namely at 9-00 in the morning and at 15-00 in the afternoon. If the transfer has not managed to deliver its passengers to the port by this time, they will have to spend the night in Phuket for an additional fee.

Description of the hotel and its territory

Coral Island Resort 3 * was built and opened in 1990, but in 2014 a total reconstruction was carried out here. So now the hotel is shining with newness, and everything is working perfectly. Its territory covers 24 thousand square meters. It has six rows of 64 exotic-looking bungalows, a swimming pool, a restaurant with a very spacious outdoor veranda and a roof that is palm trees, a massage parlor, a small shop with a variety of beach products and volleyball courts. The first row of bungalows lined up almost at the water's edge. Here is the most expensive accommodation, but tourists who rested in Coral Island Resort 3 *, reviews of accommodation on the first line are not the most flattering. As minuses, constant noise from people staying on the beach and flooding of houses during strong tides are called.

On the second line, located just a few meters from the first, there are no such surprises. It is also very comfortable to live on the third one, and from the windows of the rooms you can admire the endless sea. From the bungalows on the remaining lines, only the territory and green spaces are visible, and the sixth line is located almost at the border of the jungle. It is noteworthy that in the hotel, despite such a close location to the forest, mini-gardens are equipped with the same tropical palm trees and oleanders. It is very pleasing to the eyes.

The reception is located in the central building of the hotel. Its employees speak their native Thai and English, only a few people speak Russian here. At the reception, you can use a safe, a left-luggage office, wash your personal belongings, sign up for a massage and pay for it, and resolve current issues. The hotel lobby is decorated in Thai style, everything is very beautiful and dignified. Wi-Fi is available 24 hours a day in the lobby, and a code is issued free of charge.

Rooms

About the bungalow of the Coral Island Resort 3 * hotel in Phuket, the reviews are generally good. The room categories are as follows:

• Superior Room with an area of ​​30 m 2 are located on the 4th, 5th and 6th lines. Their equipment includes a set of high-quality new furniture (a bed, a wardrobe with hangers and shelves, a table, a mirror, chairs), several lamps, a TV with 3 Russian channels, air conditioning, a safe with a digital lock, a refrigerator with a mini- bar. Prices for all products in it are indicated in the price list. A half-liter bottle of drinking water is issued daily free of charge. This is very important, as only bottled water is allowed on the island, which can be purchased at the hotel shop. The hygiene room is equipped with a shower, a sink with a large mirror, and a toilet bowl. Daily maids bring small bottles of shower gel and shampoo, as well as ear sticks and hand soap.

• Beach Deluxe Room. These numbers differ from the previous ones in the location on the 2nd and 3rd lines.
• Beach Front Delux are located on the 1st line. These rooms additionally include an electric kettle and tea and coffee sets.
• Family Room with an area of ​​40 m2. These numbers - two-room, are calculated on residing of four tourists. The layout includes two bedrooms with a door between them, a hygiene room and a small entrance hall.

Food

Types of meals at the hotel: BB - breakfasts are included in the room rate, HB - breakfasts and dinners are included, FB - breakfast, only lunch without snacks and dinner. Such services are provided in Coral Island Resort 3 * in Phuket. Reviews about the food in this hotel are wonderful. It is organized on the principle of "buffet". There is always a wide variety of dishes on the menu. For breakfast, the assortment is as follows: milk, cottage cheese, sweet and not yoghurts, muesli, cereals, scrambled eggs with various fillings, sausages, ham, meat, side dishes of pasta, potatoes, cooked vegetables, fresh sliced ​​vegetables, sauces, pastries, sweet desserts, fruits, tea, coffee.

Lunch options include Thai and Asian dishes. For dinner, soups of excellent taste, all kinds of meat dishes, fish delicacies, dishes of Russian, Thai, Italian cuisines are served. If you purchased a ticket without providing lunch and dinner, you can take them for extra money either at the hotel or in a cafe located on the beach. There are no All Inclusive tours available at this hotel. All drinks have to be bought here.

Services for children

Coral Island Resort 3 * in Phuket is happy with its young guests, but a wide service for them is not provided here. Parents can order a baby cot in the room. In the restaurant, among the abundance of products for kids, there is always something to choose from. On the territory of the hotel in the pool there is a children's section with a depth of up to 50 cm. That, perhaps, is all the services provided at the hotel for kids. The important thing is that there is no doctor on the island. If something suddenly happens to the child, you will have to sail to Phuket. Therefore, parents traveling with children to the Coral Island Resort should take with them from Russia medicines that, in their opinion, may be needed.

Leisure at the hotel and on the island

Not much entertainment for adults within the walls of Coral Island Resort 3 *. The photo shows its wonderful, although not very large pool. The depth in it is different - from 1.1 to 1.7 meters. It is convenient to relax here when the weather is not suitable at sea. Around the pool there are a sufficient number of sunbeds, a shower and a foot wash. Beach towels are provided free of charge. In addition to the pool, adult hotel guests can visit the massage parlor. Among the services provided here are foot, back, shoulder and aroma oil massages.

Those who are interested and just curious will be interested to see a small temple located on the territory of the hotel. There you can admire the golden figurines of gods, garlands of flowers, feel the atmosphere of the spiritual Thai world. For those who are in Thailand for the first time, Coral Island Resort 3 * is suitable only if there is no point of acquaintance with the country in the vacation plans. The fact is that all excursions, and there are a lot of them here, begin in Phuket, to which tourists must get on their own. Unfortunately, it often happens that the start of the tour does not coincide with the departure time of the boat. Even more problematic is the return to the hotel. If the tour ends later than 15-00, Coral Island Resort guests will have to spend the night in Phuket, as there is nothing to get to Coral Island.

Given all these circumstances, you need to be prepared in advance to entertain yourself mainly on Coral Island. Here, too, there is a lot of interesting things. Firstly, this is Banana Beach, to which a path leads through the real jungle. It is necessary to walk along it in shoes, as stinging insects and thorny plants can get under your feet. Banana Beach itself is not much different from what is located near the hotel, except that there are fewer Russians and more Chinese, who are brought here daily by sightseeing boats. Secondly, these are relic monitor lizards, which can be observed from a close distance. They are even specially fed so that they leave the wilds of the jungle and go out into open spaces. Third, it's live music. Concerts are held here in restaurants on the beach and in the hotel itself. According to the reviews of our tourists, the artists perform very well.

Sea and climate

The island of Koh He lies in the Andaman Sea in a tropical zone dominated by seasonal monsoons. It is always summer here, always warm and humid, but it rains in large quantities only from the second half of May to October. From November Phuket begins the high season, because the weather is sunny and almost cloudless, although high humidity remains. The temperature of sea water in this region is always high - up to 26-28 degrees Celsius. Therefore, you can swim in any season.

As noted above, on the coast itself, one might say, right on the beach, there are bungalows at the Coral Island Resort 3 * hotel in Phuket. The photo captured only a small piece of this fabulous corner. According to the reviews of absolutely all the guests, the beach here is magnificent. Its cover is coarse, very light, almost white sand. Entering the water is ideal for kids - shallow, the depth is far, there are no stones or sharp corals. In the water, the place where it is allowed to swim is fenced with buoys, and in order to avoid any unpleasant situations, lifeguards are on duty on the beach.

Here you can simply sunbathe, enjoying the whisper of the waves and the rustle of palm branches, or you can spend your leisure time more actively, for example, riding a banana or catamaran, snorkeling or scuba diving to watch the inhabitants of coral reefs, play volleyball. There are also several cafes on the beach where you can have a bite to eat and listen to music.

Important: being on the seashore, even in the shade or in cloudy weather, it is imperative to lubricate exposed areas of the body with protective agents, otherwise you can get burned.

Additional Information

Not all categories of vacationers are suitable for Coral Island Resort 3 * in Phuket. Thailand is an unusually original and interesting country, arriving in which, I want to see so many things. However, from Coral Island, although it is located very close to the coast, it is difficult, and in bad weather it is impossible to get to the mainland. Therefore, it is difficult to get on excursions from here. In addition, to avoid misunderstandings, hotel guests are offered to leave the hotel the day before their plane flight, cross to Phuket and spend the night in another hotel there. In such cases, they don’t take money for a room, but still for many tourists this becomes an unpleasant surprise.

The second feature of recreation on the Coral Island is also its isolation. It affects the assortment and prices of goods in the store and restaurants. According to tourists, everything here costs twice as much as in the same Phuket. Despite these nuances, many people prefer to stay in this hotel, and more than once. Regular customers are given a bottle of champagne and fruit on the day of arrival. Compliments are also provided for newlyweds and birthdays.

If you are too lazy to read the entire article, then I will immediately spoil its main idea. Coral is a very so-so island, and if you want paradise within half an hour of Phuket, then it’s better to choose or. Swim a little further, but the rest will be better in all respects. Well, for those who want details, I advise you to read the review in its entirety.

By the way, subscribe on the my Instagram. There I quickly post the best photos and stories from my travels. 🙂

Coral Island on the map of Thailand

As I already wrote, Coral is the island closest to Phuket, where tourists are brought en masse from excursion tours. In a straight line from Phuket to Coral is only 5 kilometers. Travel time by speedboat is about 5-10 minutes. When compared with some Similans or Phi Phi, the difference is simply colossal. But the pleasure of visiting is inversely proportional. 🙂

How to get to Coral Island from Phuket

• Buy an excursion. This is the simplest and most obvious option suitable for most vacationers. Read more about it below.
• Set off on your own. You can just get to or in Rawai and ask the local boatmen how much it will cost to arrange a private transfer. This option is more suitable for those who travel to Coral for a few days, planning to stay at the Coral Island Resort. An overview of the hotel, by the way, look below.

Excursions to Coral Island from Phuket: prices and description

An excursion to Coral is the easiest way to visit this island and get the most out of it without bothering with organizational issues. After all, the tour already includes transfer, meals, guide escort and other goodies. I advise you to buy excursions through a couple of services that I myself used for several months of my life in Phuket: (it's the cheapest here!) And (a lot of cool individual excursions in Phuket). Any excursion on these sites can be booked online.

TOP 3 excursions to Coral Island from Phuket

• 1 place- hodgepodge. Tour-hit for those who want to visit all the best nearby Phuket islands in express mode in one day. Because hanging around all day on Coral, in my opinion, is completely pointless, then if you take an excursion here, then this one, where you have time to see other islands, is much more interesting than Coral itself. The cost of this tour is from ~1100 baht per person.
• 2nd place- classic program. If you still want to spend the whole day on a coral island, then this tour is perfect. You will have almost 6 hours of free time, during which you will have time to swim and walk around the island if you wish. If you take the "VIP program", then you will not be dropped off at Long Beach, where there are crowds of Chinese, but at Banana Beach - more secluded. This trip will cost you 1200 baht for standard option and 2000 baht for VIP.
• 3rd place- 2 day tour. For those who live by the principle of "walk, walk like that." 🙂 There is a hotel of the same name on the island, where it is proposed to stay for the night in case of a two-day trip. In general, most tourists leave Coral around 16:00, and after the place is empty and the atmosphere here becomes completely different, much more peaceful - it’s a sin not to stay. 🙂 This tour costs from 1900 baht per person but meals are not included.

Excursion to Coral Island from Phuket - Travel or Die review

So, I went on an excursion to Coral shortly before the New Year 2018. I bought the tour through a Thai friend who offered quite good price, baht is 300 lower than that of the same Alfa Travel, but it turned out that this is a truncated program. :)) Instead of heading back at 16:00, we set off at 14:00. Fuck such savings, to be honest. 🙂

1. Departure to Coral Island takes place from . Upon reaching the office of the tour operator, you will be greeted with juices / waters, coffee / tea and a light snack.

2. When tourists from all over Phuket finally gather in a bunch, you will have a short briefing from an English-speaking guide, after which you will go to the pier, where you will be loaded into a speedboat.

3. It takes 5-10 minutes to the island, so you won’t be able to get enough sleep, like on other excursions. 🙂 On the right in the photo you can see another rather curious island - which I also managed to visit.

4. Landing on the island takes place from the north side, where there are two large beaches. The first can be conditionally called "Chinese Beach", and the second has the uncomplicated name "Banana Beach".

5. Depending on your operator, you can be unloaded on the first and second beaches. We were not very lucky - we got a very densely populated "Chinese Beach". Although people of other nationalities can also be found here, there are disproportionately more Chinese here.

6. They are literally imported in batches. 🙂 I focus on this not so much because I personally feel some kind of dislike, but more because for many compatriots this is of great importance.

7. This is how the Chinese can be quite cute 🙂

9. And funny.

10. As for the beach itself, it did not make much of an impression on me. In addition, until noon the weather was very cloudy and it generally looked dreary, and when it cleared up, it got even better, but against the same background, it was not impressive.

11. The prettiest part of the beach is the eastern one, next to the Coral Island Resort. There are many times fewer people here, because. all the Chinese are clustered in the central part, and generally cleaner.

12. The beach cover is a rather pleasant white-gray sand.

13. Each tour company has its own area along the beach where you can drop your things and sit down.

14. But if you want to rest on sunbeds, you will have to rent them for a separate plan - 200 baht. And it’s not a fact yet that these sunbeds will look at least somewhat sexy. 🙂

15. There are a lot of people, there is garbage. No, not among people, but under your feet.

16. But in general, the beach is cleaned.

17. Surprisingly, there is car traffic on such a small island)

18. Cute views.

Banana Beach on Coral

If suddenly you were evicted on the "Chinese" beach, then I strongly advise you to go to the neighboring Banana Beach. In my opinion, it is noticeably more interesting and there are not so many people there.

19. To get to Banana Beach you need to find a path through the jungle. I personally failed to do this the first time, due to congenital inattention 🙂 But in general, this is not difficult to do. Follow the coast to the east, past the bungalows of the Coral Island Resort until you hit the jungle. The path you are looking for should appear in front of you a little higher up the slope of the hill separating the beaches. If you look at the photo, then a little to the right of the tourists standing on the stones.

20. The path between the beaches is about 400 meters and well-trodden, but it is better to wear more or less comfortable shoes.

21. Because Since this is a natural jungle, you can easily meet unpleasant representatives of the tropical fauna.

22. But the path is worth it! 10 minutes through the jungle and your attention will appear best beach islands. It immediately draws the attention of a much smaller number of people.

23. The beach is quite small - less than 200 meters, but pretty good.

24. The truth is a little confusing sewer pipe that goes far into the water :))

26. Pontoon pier, for those arriving on the island.

27. From the air.

28. View from Banana Beach towards the main beach.

29. These are sun loungers.

30. In the eastern part of Banana Beach, you can discover a photogenic pile of stones.

31. True, it is permanently occupied by fat woodlice for photo shoots, which are teeming here. Jumping on those moving rocks is a little nasty.

Lunch on Coral Island

33. During an excursion to Coral, lunch time will inevitably come. And I can’t say that lunch on Coral is somehow different for better or worse from lunches on other excursions. All the same standard set of Thai dishes, the only thing about which we can say that they are simple, but edible and even tasty.

34. A girl with provencal on her face at the distribution of chickens.

35. For dessert, standard pineapples / watermelons.

36. My lunch.

Trekking on Coral Island

37. If you lie on the beach all day and snorkel, it doesn’t seem to you interesting idea and the soul requires exploration, then, to my great surprise, it is here, albeit in very modest quantities. It is worth walking to the farthest part of Banana Beach, as you will see that the path goes uphill to the right.

38. Where will this path take you? There will be several key points. One of them is an observation deck with not the most expressive, but still some kind of views.

40. Moving further along the path, you can get to the easternmost point of the island. Here you have to go down a rather steep slope, but ropes are stretched between the trees for insurance, so this event is quite safe.

41. View from the easternmost point 🙂

42. All skepticism about the value of contemplating these views on the face of your humble servant 🙂

43. The last interesting point can be found if you go back a little along the path, but go at the fork not to the beach, but along the slope along the southern coast of the island. There you will find another semi-extreme descent, overcoming which a small incident happened to me. Moving at a leisurely pace and holding on to the ropes, I suddenly heard the crackling of branches on the right side of the slope. Judging by the growing sound, something was rapidly moving in my direction, and it seemed that this something was just rolling head over heels, sweeping away everything in its path. To be honest, walking through the jungle alone is a bit creepy, and at such moments, the bricks ask to come out. And yet, something suggested that I could not meet anything larger and more dangerous than a monitor lizard on this island, so I just stood and waited for this unknown creature to appear before me. What was my surprise when, a few seconds later, a huge black mountain goat jumped out of the thicket onto the slope and stared at me in the same bewilderment as I stared at him! Probably for half a minute we looked into each other's eyes without moving, after which I decided that it was better to retire slowly so that the goat could go on about his business. In general, keep in mind. 🙂

44. After the goat disappeared from sight, I continued the descent at the end of which I was greeted by a deserted and rocky, not exactly a beach, but rather just a piece of land with an unclear purpose. 🙂

46. ​​Having examined everything that time allowed me, I went back to Banana Beach. Encountered a couple of toucans along the way.

Entertainment on Coral Island

47. Of course, first of all, the island has plenty of various water activities. Here and snorkeling and diving, which provides a local dive center.

48. And banana riding.

49. And parasailing.

IMPORTANT! I note that you can take an excursion with water activities already included, it will be cheaper - see the section about excursions to Coral Island above.

50. Of the non-water types of entertainment, the island has a popular Zipline attraction.

51. This is a series of areas in the jungle, between which you need to move while hanging on the insurance.

Hotel Coral Island Resort: overview, prices, booking

For those who want to stay in this place longer, it is possible to book the only hotel on the island - Coral Island Resort. I advise you to book on Agoda, in Thailand there are consistently the lowest prices.

In general, there are quite mixed reviews about the hotel itself on the network. Someone categorically does not like it, someone thinks that the shabby hotel does not interfere with enjoying a secluded holiday - after 16 all the tourists leave and you can enjoy peace and quiet. Let's take a walk around the territory and find out how everything works here.

52. You can be in his place. 🙂 In general, bungalows stand both directly on the first line and in the depths of the forest.

53. There are both separate bungalows and double buildings.

54. Hotel card.

55. Beach in front of the hotel. As I wrote above, this is the best part of the island's main beach. There are many times less people here than in the central part.

57. Path between bungalows.

58. Hotel restaurant. Judging by the reviews - expensive. 🙁

In general, purely visually from the outside, the hotel looks quite good, but many tourists complain that the interiors inside are far from the first freshness and renovation is crying for the hotel.

Coral Island Review and Review by Travel or Die

So, at the end of the review, I will summarize a little. In my opinion, Coral Island is not the most interesting island. Yes, there is clean water, an abundance of fish (so they say), but that's all. Lots of people, not the most outstanding nature. The beach by Thai standards is quite ordinary, nothing supernatural. If you want to stay here for the night, then there is only one hotel on the island, there is no choice, unlike the one where there are very cheap bungalows right on the beach, as well as chic 5 * hotels.

In short, I don’t want to frankly dissuade you from visiting Coral Island, because. many tourists quite like it, but to me, having visited most of the islands surrounding Phuket, it seemed to be one of the most unpretentious. 🙂

Estimation of Coral Island: 7/10.

Coral Island in the photo

Shared Album.

Coral Island - very beautiful place. Being there will bring a lot of positive emotions and impressions. Many tourists who have been to this island recommend visiting it. Corals are not the place where you can spend your entire vacation. This is a great option for a day trip in an amazing and interesting place. Therefore, many travel companies offer various kinds of excursions to Coral Island. They can be one day or two days.

Excursion to Coral Island from Phuket - How to get there

The coral island is located at a distance of 9 km, so it will not be difficult to get to it. When you buy a tour, you pay for transfer, so you don't have to think about how to get to this place. You will be picked up from your hotel around 9 am and taken to chalong pier. At 9.30 the boat leaves for Coral Island, which can be reached in 15-20 minutes.

What to take with you: Please bring your swimsuit, sunscreen, sunglasses, hat and towels. You should also take a camera or camcorder, because there you can do nice pictures and video. It will not be superfluous to buy a map, because the place is still not familiar. If you want to visit Banana Beach, then you need to take comfortable shoes, as the road to it lies through the jungle.

Characteristics of Coral Island

First of all, you should know that the name of the island fully justifies itself, since a coral reef is located a few meters from the coast. A lot of colorful fish live around it: needle fish, parrot fish, swallow fish, pipe fish, sea ​​urchins, sea cucumbers, moray eels, sea turtles. The fish are not shy: they are used to the fact that tourists often throw food, so they can be fed with bread or a bun.

The island has two clean and tidy beaches with fine sand: Long Beach and Banana Beach. Sun loungers are available for rent on the beach. If you buy a tour, they will be given to you for free. Excursion transport usually arrives at the first beach, but you have to get to the second one on your own. It will not take much time - about 15 minutes, but the road to it is laid through the thickets.

There is a massage parlor in the eastern part of Long Beach, where I offer a wide variety of types of massage: from foot massage to the well-known. Experienced masseurs and masseuses, whom you choose yourself, will help you relax.

Coral Island is perfect place for an excursion with children, since it does not take the whole day and you do not need to be constantly on the move. The child will not get tired and will be satisfied. After arriving on the island, you yourself distribute your time and choose your activities.

The island has a good Coral Island Resort With high level comfort and friendly staff. There is also a swimming pool where you can take a few lessons. At the expense of entertainment, so you can go kayaking, fly on a parachute tied to a boat, go parasailing. On the coral island, they are cheaper than in Phuket.

The cost of the excursion to Coral Island

Excursion price for an adult- near 1000 baht, for a child- near 800 baht. Prices vary slightly depending on the tour company. The price of the tour includes:

• transfer (round trip);
• insurance;
• snorkeling masks;
• food and drinks.

The price of a two-day excursion will cost about 2500 baht. In addition to the above, the price includes overnight stay and breakfast at the Coral Island Resort. In August, prices are much cheaper, as many vacations are over, so if you have time and desire, you can have a great time there.

Coral island on the map near Phuket:

Photo and video of Coral Island

A photo: Below you can see photos taken on this island. They are so bright and interesting that you will not miss the opportunity to visit there.

Excursion to the coral island is to spend time alone with nature and with yourself, enjoy the colorful landscapes of the coral island near Phuket. This island is not that big and can easily be walked around on foot, its dimensions are approximately 500 meters wide and 2500 meters long from the most extreme points of the island.

Same way coral island has a few more names that will be clear to each of the guides if you call it, for example, “Coral Island” or “ko He”. Excursions to the coral island are quite popular among tourists; this piece of land is not far from the world-famous Phuket island. And so, in order to have at least some idea about this excursion, let's take a closer look at all the details, from how to get to the coral island and ending with entertainment.

How to get there?

As mentioned earlier, Coral Island is not far from Phuket, if we talk about the distance, it is approximately five kilometers if you go to it from Rawai Pier, and about 10 km from Chalong Pier. This island can be reached in a variety of ways, but there are still a few of the most popular.

The most popular way is, of course, to order on it excursion, this service costs about 1000 baht, if we consider it in US dollars, then about 31 dollars. For this small price, an excursion to Coral Island includes a round-trip transfer from the hotel, lunch and, of course, the trip to this magnificent island itself. Unlike this journey, it passes through several islands of the Andaman Sea.

If you are used to relying only on yourself, and want to visit this island on your own, as if "savage", then local residents you can rent a boat with the captain of this vessel. Such a pleasure will cost 1,500 baht, which is much more profitable than excursions, because they will charge 1,000 from each for excursions, and here you can go only 1,500 with the whole family or a large friendly company.

Well, the third of the most popular ways to get to the coral island is a speedboat. Speedboat is a speed boat for excursions, in the same way you can get to. The fare on such transport to the desired island is 500 baht per person. But it is also possible to reduce the fare, for this you need to bargain with the so-called local cab drivers, because there are many such boats on the pier, but not so many tourists. Most still prefer the first option.

Since the island itself is not large, there are not many beaches to be found here, in truth, there are only two of them. The first largest beach on the island is called Long Beach, its length is about 800 meters, and the second Banana Beach is about 200 meters. But of course, as on any island, you can always find a secluded corner to plunge into the water, so that no one looks at you.

Long Beach- as it was written a little higher, the largest beach on the coral island, but that's not all on it, as it should be, there are always a lot of people. Of the available entertainment on this beach, as well as on most other beaches of all Phuket resorts, there is the opportunity to ride a "banana" in the sea, or fly by parachute behind a boat, as well as go snorkeling. That's probably all that this beach has to offer.

Banana Beach it is almost four times smaller than Long Beach, so there are fewer people here and not as noisy as on the first one. There is also the opportunity to go snorkeling, and here it will be much more pleasant to do it, since the water is not so muddy. Also, from the features of this beach, it can be noted that the sea is not so deep.

If you are a fan of watching marine life. then better place probably not to think of, on the right side of the beach there is a coral reef, not at such a great depth, where there is a wide variety of fish inhabiting this reef.

On each of the two beaches of Coral Island:

• clean toilets and showers with fresh water
• a cafe where visiting groups of tourists are fed lunch and you can buy some food. There is also a hotel restaurant on Long Beach
• shops where you can buy bathing accessories and other little things
• massage
• diving centers
• rent a snorkel mask for 100 baht
• sunbeds - 200 baht per piece, chairs - 100 baht per piece

Hotel on the island

As for housing on the coral island, there are not many of them, or rather, if you say, there is only one hotel - Coral Island Resort. Since most ship tourists come on excursions, you can almost always find a free room in this hotel to stay here for the night or for a couple of three nights. Prices to say here are not strong and cheap, for one night you will be charged from 2000 baht.

This hotel is located near the largest beach of Long Beach. No matter how the hotel is not a hotel familiar to European concepts. Here all the rooms are made in the form of a bungalow. But progress does not stand still and each of these bungalows has air conditioning. Also, all the bungalows are located near the beach, so you should not worry about how to get from them to the much-desired vacation on the beach.

If you are bored of lying on the snow-white beaches of a coral island, then you can occupy yourself with whatever kind of outdoor activity. Of all the types of entertainment that this island can provide, it is banana riding, parasailing behind a boat, this has already been mentioned above. And there is also the opportunity to rent a hydro scooter or a snorkel and fins and dive into the depths of sea waters and watch the inhabitants of the deep sea.

The administration of the Coral Island Resort also offers its services in the field of entertainment and organizes a four-day diving course. True, this course is held in English, and four days is not the kind of entertainment that should be chosen by those tourists who just came here on an excursion. Well, the most important entertainment for sightseeing tourists is, of course, enjoying nature, because it is only for the very beauty of nature that it is worth ordering an excursion to a coral island.

WHAT IS INCLUDED

• transfers,
• dinner,
• insurance,
• russian guide,
• masks and tubes for snorkeling.

USEFUL INFORMATION

Program:

• 8:00-9:00 - transfer from the hotel to Chalong pier;
• 9:15-9:30 - departure from the pier and arrival to Coral Island (Koh Hey);
• 9:45-12:00 - Relax on the white sand beach, walk and swim. And also at your service: diving, riding on a banana and parachuting;
• 12:00-13:00 - lunch at a local restaurant;
• 13:00-15:00 - rest on the beach;
• 15:00 - Return to Chalong Pier. Transfer to the hotel.

Coral Island (Coral Island), surprisingly beautiful island, with snow-white fine sand and luxurious tropical vegetation, is located a few kilometers south of Phuket.

The dimensions of Coral Island are 500 x 2500 m, from the nearest point of Phuket, Coral Island is 5 km away, and from Chalong Pier - 10 km.

Coral Island can rightfully be called a real tropical paradise.

The sand on the island is perfectly white, the sea near the island is clean, calm and moderately shallow, the lush vegetation covering the island pleases the eye, and just a few meters from the island there are coral reefs around which countless flocks of brightly colored tropical fish circle.

As you might guess, Coral Island - a good place for snorkelling, and it is worth noting that unlike Phuket itself, with its apparently unimpressive snorkeling, snorkeling off the coast of Coral Island is already good by the highest standards.

In addition to snorkeling, Coral Island is also great for the lazy beach holiday. And in the event that you suddenly get tired of lying on the snow-white and surprisingly clean sand, you can rent a jet ski on the island, or explore its surroundings by climbing on a parachute hooked to a high-speed motor boat.

It must be said that, unlike Phuket, which is overloaded with hotels and other buildings beyond any measure, Coral Island is almost not affected by development. There is only one small hotel on the island, and from other buildings there are only a few bars and a tiny beach restaurant. As a result, nature on Coral Island has been preserved in such a magnificent state that the island is still inhabited by hornbills, large exotic birds that do not like the neighborhood of people and have not been found on Phuket for a long time.

P.S. On the English language Coral Island's name is spelled Coral Island. In Thai - as Koh Hae, less often - as Koh He, Koh Hay or Koh Hey. Such a variety of transliterations, which occurs when trying to write Thai words in Latin script, is quite common for local place names.

How to get to Coral Island. Excursions and independent trips.

Below are two maps of Phuket, which indicate the location, including Coral Island.

Click on the preview to get a high resolution image of the map you need.

There are at least 3 ways to get to Coral Island.

First, you can buy a tour. Such excursions are sold everywhere on the island of Phuket and cost about 1000 baht per person. This money, in addition to the actual trip to the island, also includes lunch and a transfer from the hotel to the pier and back. Secondly, you can hire a local wooden boat (longtail boat). You can do this at Chalong Pier, the characteristic cost is 1500 baht for the whole boat. In this case, you will have to get to Chalong Pier on your own, and, on your own, take care of your food on Coral Island.

And finally, thirdly, you can hire a speedboat*. You can also do this at Chalong Pier, the prices for this pleasure vary widely, and usually boat owners ask for an amount in the range of 6000 - 9000 baht. If you decide to take a boat at Chalong Pier, pay attention to how many of these boats are idle there. It is necessary to bargain with their owners until you are blue in the face, and it is quite realistic, and even necessary, to knock out a discount of several tens of percent from them.

* Even in its most modest version, a speedboat (speedboat) is a fairly large vessel, designed for at least 10 people. So, if you are on vacation with a large company, a speedboat ride can be not only exciting, but also relatively cheap entertainment.

Photos of beaches and panoramas of Coral Island

Beaches and hotels of Coral Island. Hotel Coral Island Resort.

Coral Island has two quality beaches, Long Beach, 800 meters long, and Banana Beach, 200 meters long.

Both beaches are located on the north side of Coral Island, and are protected by hills from the southwest winds prevailing in the Phuket area. It is thanks to this location that the sea opposite these beaches is always calm and there is not even a slight wave in it.

Of the two beaches on Coral Island, Long Beach is noticeably more popular with both local and international vacationers. Almost all excursions arriving on Coral Island land on this beach, you can rent a jet ski or go parasailing on this beach, and the only hotel on the island is located on this beach. The second beach, Banana Beach, is less frequently visited by tourists, and in the event that you hire a boat yourself, you will have the choice of staying on a quieter and calm beach Banana Beach, or land on the noisier and busier nearby beach. However, even if you land on Long Beach, nothing will stop you from walking over the hill separating the two beaches, comparing the merits of both beaches, and choosing the one that you like best.

As mentioned above, there is only one hotel on Coral Island, the Coral Island Resort, and it is located on the eastern edge of Long Beach. This hotel offers its guests accommodation in classic Thai cottages, uncharacteristic for Phuket, but very popular on other Thai islands, including the islands, the island and more southern islands, all the way to the island. Accommodation at the Coral Island Resort costs from 2700 baht per day, and this is not cheap even against the backdrop of the high prices of Phuket. However, the beautiful Thai islands, which include Coral Island, are not cheap, and nothing can be done about it.

Worth visiting neighboring islands

To the south and east of Phuket there are several more small islands, worth it to pay close attention to them. First of all, these are the islands of Racha Yai and Khai, short description which are given below.

(Raya Yai), known for its magnificent coral beaches and excellent snorkeling in the coastal waters, is located south of Phuket. Racha Yai is located 8 kilometers east of Phuket. The size of Khai Island is small, and is 50 x 250 meters. Despite its modest size, Khai Island is quite an interesting place.