Travel » Thailand Coast

Sailing is well-established in Thailand. The key centres are two well-developed tourist destinations, Pattaya and Phuket the latter of which is now arguably the major cruis­ing centre in Asia. It’s easy to see why: spectacular coastal scenery, dozens of idyllic tropi­cal islands, and blue skies and sunshine all year round. The island enjoys good, steady winds in the northeast monsoon. There are reasonable south wester lies in the summer, although these often bring brief showers of rain.

Although overshadowed by Phuket, Pattaya is another possibility. It enjoys steady winds throughout the year, and is easily accessible from Bang­kok, but the sailing environ­ment in the Gulf of Thailand can’t really match the scenic grandeur around Phuket.

Thailand is not just for lei­sure cruising. Phuket in par­ticular has an active local rac­ing scene, and annually plays host to the popular King’s Cup Regatta. Pattaya too, has a suc­cessful history of staging din­ghy and multihull events, in­cluding the popular Royal Varuna Cup in December.
In short, Thailand offers a unique combination of beau­tiful settings, good prices and a wide variety of top-grade operators and facilities.