What people are saying about River Rovers

If you’re looking for a truly unique and personalized experience, look no further.  Gordon takes genuine pleasure in offering his guests something they can’t get anywhere else…basically, the chance to be a tourist, but not feel like one.  Gordon won’t take you where all the tourists are, he will take you to the real Thailand.  You can tell him where you want to go and what you want to do, and he will make it happen; or just put yourself in his hands and benefit from his exclusive knowledge of the area…either way, you wont be disappointed.  Gordon’s cordial and tranquil demeanor truly embodies the spirit of the Thai culture, serving to make any trip an enjoyable one.

Thanks for a great time, Gordon!  

~ Kevin Cox

Dear all,

Finally I will write you a letter about our experience on the River Rover boat.

Looking back I do not think I have ever been before so quietly so close to nature in a friendly way. Because you sleep and stay on the boat (for more days) you really get a bit away from the hectic of normal life. You return to a more natural rhythm of looking around you at the astounding beauty, sitting and waiting for a bird to appear or a dolphin to swim slowly alongside. It is all going at a very relaxing pace and so you get a opportunity to look really well and take an other swim to explore an other little niche. And in the mean time all the things you see are of a supernatural beauty. And every corner holds new treasures. While we had all the silence and privacy to go our way you see the full boats with tourists entering and leaving the whole bay every morning and realist they do not have the possibility to take a glimpse of what we experience. To see it in the quick tourist way is really incomparable, this is so much more authentic and real.

We were very well cared for by Uan, who cooks delicious and is very caring, just like Gordon. It is easy to stay together. She makes lovely meals and can connect with you to the Thai people, for example when we visited the Thai fishing village on sticks, in the evening when there were no tourists anymore. It felt like entering the fairy tale village where Nils Holgerson stranded. They go all the way to make the trip exiting or easygoing for us, just as we liked it.

Our children are 12, 14 and 17. They took things to go kite surfing but often there was no wind so our son only managed one day to do that. But we went snorkeling on the First day and went swimming many times. Gordon is very kind and entertaining and listens well to our wishes and desires. He had also planned to take us around the island and show us many other beautiful things and because he really knows the people an this way it would have been a very good treat. A shame we did not do it ( this time).

I loved being able to spot birds and fishes, the boys liked to do fishing, and we also sat reading in the sun and talking and just relaxing. I painted a bit, but if I had wanted to I could have done more. If you like to do photography there is certainly a challenge there and I would take lenses that look a long way. I was most impressed by the huge eagles a, the kingfisher in three kinds of colours!!! The evening and morning sun is astounding. It is a very good way to be away from the World for a few days.

And it is good to be together with the family so quiet.

There were also exiting things, once when we were on a beach we met a lizard so close by, we have been groping through a grotto that was pitch dark at some point. But if you do not like that you just do not go. I preferred to go into the water with my water shoes on, you never know is there is an other crab or seacucumber around, but probably that was very unnecessary.

If there is one thing that we had to adapt too is that is was also warm at nights and we sometimes had difficulty getting to sleep .

Before we went we slept one night in the Friendship beach resort which was also very well cared for.

I really would advise you to this in your holiday, because it a way to be away from normal life in a much more special way than just an other hotel. For me the best part of it was to feel so close to nature. And nature that is so exiting and special.

I wish you a very nice trip to Thailand and know it will be an unforgettable experience.

I wish you all the best

Lita van Enter

More people have good things to say about River Rovers

I am pleased to give you some feedback on our cruise with Captain Gordon.

Our group of 10 (5 adults + 5 children) spent the whole day Friday (Nov 2) on the Pitta with Captain Gordon and his crew.  He had explained to us that he specialises in river cruises but our party insisted on snorkelling so he proposed a customised cruise which included both snorkelling and a stretch of river cruise where we had the chance see our boat overtaken by a colony of monkeys which we feeded for a few minutes.  We also had lunch in a very typical Thai restaurant on the river.  Although the snorkelling was not the best   I have done (we could not cruise very far from Chalong Bay and the   water was not extremely clear), all-in-all we really enjoyed our day  on the boat and the laid back atmosphere.  Gordon and his team were  really nice to us and seemed to also enjoy themselves.  We ended-up  going back to the Chalong Bay harbor almost 1 hour later than   expected.  His boat being designed for river cruises and so quite   slow for chasing the best snorkelling spots, one should probably   stick to the river, the birdwatching and the monkeys but this was our choice. On the short river cruise portion, we saw fishermen   standing in the river with their nets, fishermen houses with   open-air WC! and the nice colours of the sunset over Phuket hills   and on the water of the bay (nice pictures taken).

I told him how we got his contact details and he was really happy   that
you referred him.

We look forward to go back to Phuket and will make sure to book with
you in advance next time.

All the best

Stephan

. . . And

Hello Captain Gordon!

I just receive your mail and pictures. Thank you very much!

We had a wonderful day and we enjoy our boat trip with you.

We will give you good publicity and hope you have a good continuation in Phuket!

Odette Plante

. . . And

Hi Gordan!
 
We are back in Switzerland and tomorrow back to work!
 
We did such a great trip, unbelieveble!
 
Sorry for mistakes cause i'm not so good with my english.
 
Hope will will keep contact together!
 
Have a nice day...rain ou sun today?
 
Odette