Six nights split between Phuket and Krabi with the islands done by early boat, Phang Nga Bay before the flotillas arrive, and afternoons left honestly free.
The standard Phuket package makes the same mistake every single day: it puts you on the 9:30 boat. By 9:30 every boat in southern Thailand is heading for the same four islands, and you spend your holiday photographing other people’s tour groups. The islands have not changed; the timing has. Get to Phang Nga Bay by eight and you have James Bond Island and the limestone karsts rising out of still green water with a handful of longtail boats for company. By eleven it is a car park.
So we run the boats early and give the afternoons back. Three nights in Phuket, three in Krabi, which is the quieter, prettier half most packages skip because it adds a transfer. One early speedboat day each: Phang Nga Bay from Phuket, the Krabi islands from Ao Nang. The rest is pool, beach, massage and night markets, with our escort on hand for restaurant advice and the small negotiations that make Thailand easy. Thailand is visa-free for Indian passport holders at the time of writing, which removes the last excuse.
This suits almost everyone, which is rare for us to say: couples, friends travelling together, families with school-age children. November to April is the honest season; the Andaman Sea in monsoon is a different and wetter proposition.
Seven days, start to finish. The route, then the rhythm of it.
Arrive Phuket, transfer to the hotel, evening walk to dinner. No boat, no schedule, recover from the flight.
Early speedboat into Phang Nga Bay, James Bond Island and a canoe through the sea caves before the crowds, back by early afternoon, evening at leisure.
Free morning by the pool or beach, afternoon visit to the Big Buddha and Old Phuket Town’s shophouse streets, night market for dinner on your own.
Transfer to Krabi (about 3 hours by road), afternoon on Ao Nang beach, sunset at the Nong Thale lagoon viewpoint.
Early four-islands speedboat trip: Phra Nang Cave Beach, Chicken Island, Tup and Poda, snorkelling included, picnic lunch on the sand.
Free day in Krabi. Optional Railay Beach longtail trip or the Tiger Cave Temple for the energetic. Farewell dinner by the water.
Transfer to Krabi airport and fly home.
The facts most itineraries leave out. We print them because they are what decides whether this trip suits you.
Well-located four-star resorts we have used for years: in Phuket, close enough to walk to dinner but away from the Bangla Road noise; in Ao Nang, near the beachfront with the karst cliffs in view from breakfast. Pools you will actually use, because the afternoons are yours.
Couples, friends travelling together and families with children old enough to enjoy a boat day. The early starts are the price of empty islands, and we are upfront about that: two mornings begin at seven. Not for travellers who want Bangkok-style nightlife; Krabi in particular goes quiet by eleven, which is exactly why we like it.
Journeys that suit the same travellers.
Seven nights across Istanbul and Cappadocia: Hagia Sophia and the Bosphorus done at the right hours, and two dawn chances at the balloons, because one is a gamble.
Seven nights from the pyramids of Giza to a proper four-night Nile cruise, Aswan to Luxor, sailing the river the way Egypt has always been meant to be seen.
Three nights built around one thing: a managed, unhurried darshan at Tirumala, with Srikalahasti and Chandragiri Fort filling the days without crowding them.