At the heart of the region
Adding to its own natural beauty and appeal, Khao Lak lies at the heart of Phang-Nga province, making it an ideal base from which to explore and enjoy the surrounding region in all directions. Within easy striking distance are…
The Surin & Similan Islands
Approximately 40km to the West across the Andaman Sea, Phang-Nga provides parks of a different kind.The Surin and Similan Islands (including Koh Tachai, the ‘Maldives of Thailand’) and the ocean around them are renowned for their spectacular underwater marine life (including whale sharks and giant manta rays) and beautiful beaches – attracting divers and snorkeling enthusiasts from around the world.
Phuket Island
Khao Lak’s more crowded and famous southernly neighbour is famed for its beach lifestyle, shopping and the racy nightlife of Patong Beach. Several Khao Lak tour operators run
daily trips to Phuket (1.5 to 2 hrs each way by minibus) for shopping and/or nightlife excursions – including visits to the entertaining ‘Simon Cabaret’ ladyboy show and to ‘Phuket FantaSea’, billed as ‘The Ultimate Cultural Theme Park’.
Koh Kho Khao
To the North, just a 30-minute drive and 10-minute ferry ride away from Khao Lak, is the magnificent island of Koh Kho Khao.
Khao Sok
To the northeast is Khao Sok National Park, the oldest evergreen rainforest in the world and home to the man-made Ratchaprapha Lake & Dam, once the largest civil engineering project in Thailand.
The karsts here – formed by the flooding of the valley to construct the dam – rise above the lake’s surface to more than three times the height of those in Phang-Nga Bay.
Phang-Nga Bay
Just over an hour to the South is the magnificent Ao Phang-Nga National Park, a huge bay and geological wonder filled with islets, sunken caverns and startling limestone rock formations – karsts – rising sheer out of the sea, (the most famous of these, but by no means the most memorable, being ‘James Bond Island’).
