Top Places to Visit in Thailand: James Bond Island, Phuket, Patong, Phi Phi, Phang Nga

Thailand is notorious as a vacation destination for some unmentionables, but I found it has, hidden behind that glam face, a beautiful place, now called James Bond Island since Guy Hamilton visited it for shooting a sequence for "The Man with the Golden Gun".

The islands there are literally in your face. They do not gradually start building up. They are more like stone walls right in the middle of the Bengal Bay. Gradient of the island, land base 90 degrees. The caves inside those islands force you out of your comfy steamer boats while you row in on those small canoes and are in for a surprise when you realize that just sitting in the canoe is quite risky. You need to lie down because the caves are too low. You go inside the cave to enter the island and when you cross the cave, lo and behold. You are now in kind of a lake that has mango and palm trees growing from the shallow bed. These trees might be older than centuries, most spectacular place, to say the least.

Whether you visit the southern region of Thailand or Langkawi Islands of North Malaysia, these places are sheer divine. A trip out there is most rejuvenating experience anyone can ever have. For Phuket, you can just book tickets through travel and tour sites like Make My Trip, Yatra, etc. and also book the hotel through them. Regarding the packages for going around in Phuket, you can find a lot of travel agents in Phuket itself (Patong Beach). You just have to negotiate a lot with them to get best discount on sightseeing.

Top Places to Visit in Thailand with Sightseeing

• Phi Phi Island and Phang Nga Bay Tour (8 hours) - 2200 to 2400 baht book from outside tour operator. Display price is 2700 baht.
• James Bond Island, Canoeing. (8 hours) - 1200 to 1500 baht.
• Fantasea is popular for adventure cruising and nighttime cultural theme parks.
• Can hang around Patong beach, nice night market, can swim in sea.
• You can also choose to stay at courtyard by Marriott Kamala Beach Phuket Thailand (Deluxe Room, pool side view). Nice hotel but not many options for vegetarians but you will find one Indian (Royal India) restaurant at Kamala Beach. Okay food and not too expensive too (at least compared to hotel rates).
• For city tour, hire private taxi for full day sightseeing, go for day long excursions to Phi Phi Island, Fantasea, etc.

To go to James Bond Island, the agent will ask you for 1200 to 1500 baht per person but you need to negotiate for a lower price anywhere in between 800 to 1000 baht.

When you will be to these places, do not worry about travel agents, as there are plenty over there offering various day tour packages.

You just need to book one day in advance and bargain the right price with them. Just look after your ticket and hotel booking. Patong beach on Phuket Island has plenty of options for hotels and day tours.

Once you are there, you can even explore better places to visit. Stay near Patong beach, if possible, very near to the beach. Some of the hotels are Novotel and if you want cheaper ones, you can stay at chalets (value for money). So much for the rather notorious image that Thailand carries.

I believe that after going through the above information and photographs, you will have smile on your face. So what you are waiting for, just grab your Thailand package and visit top places in Thailand to have an experience of lifetime.