JAYS CHALLENGES: A Day Cleaning The 5 Star Marine Boat
We are pleased to introduce a new series of videos to our YouTube channel called Jays Challenges. Jay has been having way too much fun fishing, snorkeling, swimming with sharks and more so it’s time he does some of the hard work around the office.
Shaun asked Jay to complete his first challenge in this video which is to scrub 3 of the 5 Star Marine fleet and prepare them for upcoming tours.
As always with Jay, he took a little nap, stopped for some tea, and had a shower on the pier. All this and more in today’s video:
Phuket Sandbox Adventures: Phi Phi Islands, Reef Sharks And Monkeys – All In One Day!
After 20+ months of recovery time, the Phi Phi Islands has restored back to what it was 15+ years ago. In fact, I would say that it is looking better than I have ever seen it in the entire time I have been here in Phuket Island Hopping.
That’s why Jay and I feel so lucky to be taking you on tour with us to this beautiful destination. Add to that, this week had his family on board and FINALLY saw a SHARK.
Watch it all here:
Thailand Pass, Phuket Sandbox, Test And Go – We’re Confused Are You?
ANNOUNCEMENT – Thailand Pass Rules Update Frequently, The Information In The Below Post Is Now Out Of Date For Latest News Please Visit: https://5starmarinephuket.com/phuket-sandbox-rules-and-updates/
We’ve been receiving a lot of messages lately with confused travelers asking us to clarify the current rules on entry into Thailand and more than that, what they can do once they are here in Phuket.
- Can you go Island Hopping in the Phuket Sandbox?
- Do you need to stay the full 7 days of the Phuket Sandbox is the same hotel?
- Is the Sandbox even relevant anymore considering that Test and Go restarts on February 1st?
These are all good questions and some of them are a little more difficult to answer than others. So let’s start firstly with how you enter Phuket / Thailand. On the 1st February, 2022 forward Thailand is reopening on the Test and Go scheme.
This is an entry scheme into Thailand that allows you to fly to any international airport in Thailand. Once landed in you will show your Test and Go paperwork and then you will spend 1 night in a specific type of hotel. In most cases that is a SHA Plus Approved hotel.
The reason for the 1 night is you are waiting on the result of your on-arrival RT-PCR test. Once that test result is provided and is negative you are free to move around Thailand, there are no restrictions.
You will be required to take a second RT-PCR test on Day 5 of your stay, and on that night, you also need to stay in a SHA Plus Approved hotel waiting for your result.
Once that test is clear, you are then also free again to move around Thailand as you like.
Now there are other entry schemes into Thailand like the Sandbox, Sandbox Extension, and also Alternate Quarantine but in our opinion, all of these schemes are irrelevant RIGHT NOW as the Test and Go scheme is reopened.
Instead of confusing you with these schemes, we will just recommend you apply and enter on the Test and Go scheme.
This means that when you are in Thailand and specifically Phuket you can go on ANY tour that you like. You can go to Phi Phi Islands and see the amazing Maya Bay, you can go to Phang Nga Bay and see the stunning James Bond Island.
In fact, more than 11 destinations are open to you, you can see some of them in this video here.
We hope this helps clarify the current situation here in Phuket and if you have any questions feel free to contact us.
Phuket Sandbox – What Can You Do? Where Can You Go? Is Island Hopping Even Allowed?
ANNOUNCEMENT – Thailand Pass Rules Update Frequently, The Information In The Below Post Is Now Out Of Date For Latest News Please Visit: https://5starmarinephuket.com/phuket-sandbox-rules-and-updates/
With Phuket and Thailand changing the rules for entry into the Country in January there has been a lot of questions from travelers around what they can and can’t do, where they can visit by boat, and what island hopping tours are allowed.
Shaun took some time to film a video complete with a map of Phuket and its surrounding islands to give you an idea of where you can go. The good news is that islands like James Bond Island, Phi Phi Island, and even Hong Krabi are allowed to visit areas.
Find out more in the video below:
Thailand Pass Adventures – What To Do In Phuket If You Can’t Go Island Hopping By Boat!
Join Jay as he takes you on a kid-friendly tour around Phuket’s attractions that are not snorkeling, island hopping. Visit the Phuket Aquarium, Monkey Hill and so much more in this video.
See more here:
Thailand Pass Adventures – Welcome To The 5 Star Marine Office
Join Jay and Shaun (or is it really Shaun) as they tour the 5 Star Marine offices and show you a little behind the scenes of what happens while you are out on tour.
For things to run smoothly on the water the hard-working admin team and management team are always cleaning, preparing, and organizing from the office. In fact, the teamwork such long hours keeping up the 5 Star Marine standards that often a little midday nap is required.
See the full details here:
BREAKING NEWS – Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi Sandbox Open – Test And Go Closed
ANNOUNCEMENT – Thailand Pass Rules Update Frequently, The Information In The Below Post Is Now Out Of Date For Latest News Please Visit: https://5starmarinephuket.com/phuket-sandbox-rules-and-updates/
Apologies for all the updates lately but as we stay on top of the changing nature of entry into Thailand we feel it is important to keep our customers updated. On Friday the CCSA held a meeting to discuss new measures and restrictions as it relates to Thailand in response to the rising case numbers caused by the latest variant.
Get the latest news here:
Thailand Pass – Test And Go CLOSED – Phuket Sandbox Open – THE LATEST NEWS!
ANNOUNCEMENT – Thailand Pass Rules Update Frequently, The Information In The Below Post Is Now Out Of Date For Latest News Please Visit: https://5starmarinephuket.com/phuket-sandbox-rules-and-updates/
With the latest outbreak of Covid starting to affect travel internationally Thailand has made changes to the entry requirements into Thailand. One of the major changes is that the Test and Go system for entry is now suspended indefinitely.
Right now the only way to enter Thailand without 14 days Quarantine is via the Phuket Sandbox program. To find out all the details join Jay and Shaun as they discuss the latest news:
And That’s A Wrap
We are excited to remain open for the entire Christmas and New Year period, and are looking forward to welcoming you on board for a tailor-made and festive private speedboat tour with us during this time!
Reflecting on the last 12 months, we would like to say a heartfelt THANK YOU for the level of support we received from all of our wonderfully loyal, local customers, who have helped us during the past 20 months. Without you, we would not still be operating as we are today, and for that our company, team, captains, and tour guides are immensely grateful.
As a company, we managed to take time to regroup and focus on reprioritizing our efforts, and this meant rolling up our sleeves and getting busy. We keep continuing to support the vulnerable communities and the people around us via our charity efforts, with 5 Star Marine involved in all packing and delivery efforts of essential food relief parcels and bags. We focused on the upside wherever we could see or create one. We wanted to look at where we could add value to our community and what we should be doing during this time.
Living Waters Phuket Foundation was born from this desire to help and continue to support our community; it was set up to build brighter futures for communities in need and provides financial grants for projects around relief areas including sustainable food security, education requirements, renewable energy, and environmental issues. We are excited to report that already in only 6 weeks, 4 major funded projects have been completed and many, many more have applied for funding and are undergoing our impartial review process for approval.
Find out more on the website You can also watch our YouTube video on some of our latest grants:
We were thrilled to see many new destinations open back up for our day tours, and now offer over 11 stunning destinations including the Similan Islands, Phi Phi, Racha, Phang Nga Bay, Coral Island, Krabi tours, Mai Ton Dolphin Spotting plus many more tailor-made options to ensure you had the perfect day out. We saw a rise in popularity of our dual tour to Phi Phi and James Bond Island which literally has something for everyone; plus, we are awaiting the much-anticipated opening of Maya Bay on 1st January 2022.
You can watch more on Maya Bay and Shaun’s personal thoughts here:
Our YouTube channel has gone from strength to strength and we appreciate all the love and support we are getting. If you haven’t done so already, please subscribe and follow here:
5 Star Marine was lucky to welcome so much interest and publicity from bloggers and news reporters – we are grateful for the coverage and interest in our community efforts. Chris Parker, (from Retired Working For You), joined to see our food packing and delivery efforts first hand to see exactly what goes on behind the scenes of each vital life bag.
We also gained and appreciate hugely the support of local and international media, including but not limited to:
During the last year, we also had a chance to more than double the size of our fleet; we now have 15 Private VIP Speedboats and a VIP Luxury Cruiser which is a proud extension to our current speedboat fleet and offers a truly unique experience on the water. In addition, to accommodate our growing fleet size, the domestic market support, and prepare for the return of international tourists, we moved piers and into a new office at Boat Lagoon, Phuket. We love our new glass-fronted office which has been a more welcoming environment for all our loyal VIP customers.
So, to wrap it up – it has been a year of highs and lows, of challenges and new opportunities. We are thankful, grateful, and happy to be where we are and we will continue to help those in the community who need it most; and will always be grateful to our loyal customers for making 2021 the year it was for us.
Thank you,
Shaun and the entire 5 Star Marine Team
ANNOUNCEMENT – Thailand Pass Rules Update Frequently, The Information In The Below Post Is Now Out Of Date For Latest News Please Visit: https://5starmarinephuket.com/phuket-sandbox-rules-and-updates/
Join Jay and Shaun as they discuss the gradual return of tourism to Phuket, how we can tell tourism is returning, and check out one of Jay’s favorite Som Tum Restaurants in Phuket.
Oh and for those who are interested Shaun talks about some of the challenges facing the unemployed as tourism returns.