New speed-boat services from mainland Trang to its 3 popular islands

At present, tourists who want to travel from the Trang mainland, a coastal province of the Andaman Sea, to any of those islands need to hire a long-tail boat or a speed boat at high prices.

Satun Pakbara Speed Boat Club Co Ltd will offer regular speed-boat services between the mainland and the islands of Ngai, Kradan, and Muk, starting from November 1, the company’s managing director, Samart Charoenrit, said.

He said that his company had come up with the new service due to signs of an increase in tourist arrivals following the government’s policy to grant visa exemption to visitors from China and Kazakhstan.

“With a better outlook for the tourism industry, this new route is for tourists who come to the sea,” said Samart, who also doubles as president of the Satun Provincial Tourism Council.

The speed-boat route starts at Pak Meng Harbour in Trang’s Sikao district. The boat stops at Koh Ngai, Koh Kradan, and Koh Muk, respectively. On the way back, the boat leaves Koh Muk and stops at Koh Kradan and Koh Ngai before returning to the harbour.

The speed boat used in this new route can accommodate 35 passengers, according to Samart. He said there were no regular speed-boat services between the mainland Trang and its island destinations, as a result tourists had to hire boats at high prices.

According to Somchai Thaewkaew, a tourism operator in Trang, it costs 2,000-2,500 baht to hire a long-tail boat from the mainland to Koh Kradan, and 8,000-12,000 baht for a speed boat. A one-way trip on a normal tour boat costs 500 baht for each passenger, he said.

Somchai said the new speed-boat services would be available from next month and would save tourists a lot of money, particularly those who want to hop between those three popular islands of Trang.

Details of the new speed-boat services in Trang, including the fare price and the timetable, were not available on Friday.

In a related development, the service provider, Satun Pakbara Speed Boat Club, also will offer a new service using speed boats with a 50-passenger capacity from the popular tourist destination of Phuket to many islands in the Andaman Sea (including Trang’s three popular island destinations), as well as to Malaysia’s Langkawi Island, according to Samart.

The service will be available from October 20.

From Phuket, the speed boat stops at the islands of Phi Phi, Lanta, Ngai, Kradan, Muk, Bulon, and Lipe.

This route is expected to cater mostly to foreign tourists.