The phinisi is the traditional sailing vessel of the Bugis people of South Sulawesi, constructed from iron wood and teak and designed for extended voyaging across the seas of South East Asia. Cambodia’s island coast is a natural destination for these vessels, sitting within the broader circuit of the Gulf of Thailand, the Andaman Sea, and the Indonesian archipelago that the phinisi has worked for centuries. Chartering a phinisi in Cambodia means sharing the journey with a vessel that belongs entirely to this part of the world, crewed by sailors who have grown up aboard traditional craft and know the local sea conditions intimately. Phinisi charter rates in South East Asia range from around 20,000 to over 200,000 euros per week for the finest examples, with provisioning adding roughly 30 percent for food, fuel, and local fees. The dry season from November to April is the ideal period, with the northeast monsoon creating consistent sailing winds across the Gulf of Thailand. Itineraries depart from Sihanoukville and head southwest into the Koh Sdach Archipelago, where 64 quiet islands offer unhurried anchoring and a simple, discovery-focused pace. Koh Rong’s broad bays provide shelter and white sand beaches. Koh Rong Sanloem’s Saracen Bay has calm water and a sandy bottom suitable for swimming from the vessel at anchor. Further afield, the outer islands of Koh Tang and Koh Prins sit 150 to 185 kilometres offshore, rarely visited and offering some of the clearest water in the western Gulf of Thailand. A phinisi reaches them under sail.
