Phang Nga Bay & Khao Lak
PHANG NGA
Phang Nga saves the best for last.
Bay, islands and Khao Lak
THE BAY IS ONLY THE START.
Phang Nga is the province most people drive through on the way to somewhere else. The bay is famous for its limestone towers and James Bond Island. Further north are the long beaches of Khao Lak, and out at sea the Similan and Surin Islands.
We have worked this coast for many years and know its quieter side: a pier run by the fishermen themselves, a village built on stilts, a Muslim community that dyes cloth with mangrove bark. Every programme here is one we have designed ourselves.
THE PHANG NGA EDIT
Khao Lak & the Similan Islands
Long, quiet beaches and hotels made for slowing down, with the Similan Islands a boat ride offshore. The national park opens for only part of the year, so we plan the trip around the season.
Phang Nga Bay by Longtail
We leave from the community pier at Baan Hin Rom in a longtail run by local fishermen, not a speedboat. James Bond Island first, then Koh Panyee, a village on stilts with a floating football pitch. Stay a night in the hills above the bay and you wake to sunrise over the karsts.
Tha Din Daeng, the Hidden Coast
A small Muslim community on the mangrove coast, settled since before the Second World War. Natural dye from mangrove bark, tin panning the old way, a kayak through the mangroves, then a longtail to Khao Na Yak for a picnic on the beach. November to April only.
Inside the sea caves the water goes still and the light comes in. We choose the tide so you are there for it.
— Phuket Venture
