Nowhere – not the Caribbean or the Mediterranean – can begin to compare with Phuket as a yachting wonderland.
Let’s start with the hundreds of pristine tropical islands within easy reach of Royal Phuket Marina. They include the 40+ mysterious limestone karsts of Phang Nga Bay, the startling world-class white sands and sparkling blue seas of Krabi’s 200-or-more islands and islets, and the magnificent scattered islands surrounding Phuket’s shoreline and further south towards Malaysia. You could cruise these waters for a lifetime and never get bored. Indeed, many of the island’s expatriates arrived in these waters on a round-the-world cruise and were so captivated by the breathtaking beauty that they went no further and made Phuket their home.
Phuket enjoys a mild tropical climate with two seasons and, unlike most other destinations, boating here is an all-year-round pleasure – although one season is drier than the other. This climate action actually washes the waters around Phuket every year, leaving them scrubbed clean. And it’s not only the water; Phuket’s air quality (AQI) is amongst the best in the world, regularly ‘in the green’ in single digits.
Compared with other Asian yachting destinations, Phuket is blessed with the best infrastructure: fast Wi-Fi and 4G coverage, with 5G scheduled for Q1 2021, top international schools and hospitals, international-standard villas and condominiums, plentiful first-rate shopping malls, cinemas, a great choice of restaurants and a flourishing international expat community with its vibrant social life. It’s worth noting, too, that before the impact of Covid 19, Phuket was super-connected, with direct flights to 83 different cities. Those times will be back.
Then there’s safety. As one of the safest places to be in 2020 and beyond, Thailand topped the WHO list for containing Covid-19. Far from the country’s crowded population centers, Phuket – with its dreamland of islands, beaches and first-world infrastructure – is a natural refuge from pandemic worries and madness.
Working from home, while avoiding crowded cities, is the current reality; global businesses predict remote working, which has become the preferred model during the pandemic, is here to stay. Phuket is uniquely placed to offer the perfect balance for life in 2021 and beyond. And, if you’re not yet into boating, where better to discover it than the world’s foremost boating paradise?
For anyone seduced into a move to Phuket, Royal Phuket Marina offers the island’s only villas with a private berth for your yacht up to 35 meters. RPM also leads the field in sustainable energy as the only marina in Thailand to generate 60% of the power used in the marina from solar panels, with 100% planned for 2021.