Counties (Districts)

Khura Buri | Ko Yao | Phang-nga Town | Takua Pa | Takua Thung | Thai Muang

Khao Phingkan

• Khao Phingkan Khao Phingkan
• Ko Hong Ko Hong
• Ko Panyi Ko Panyi
• Ko Tapu Ko Tapu
• Phang Nga Bay Phang Nga Bay
• Ancient paintings on cave wall in Phang Nga National Park Ancient paintings on cave wall in Phang Nga National Park
•  

Phung Chang Cave (Elephant Belly Cave) is located within the precinct of Wat Praphat Prachimkhet, which is behind the Provincial Hall.

Inside the cave there are stalagmites and stalactites and a brook flowing all year round.

Rusisawan and Luk Suea Caves
These two connecting caves are in Phra Si Nakarin Park on Phetkasem Highway obliquely opposite to the Provincial Court. Rusisawan Cave is in front of Luk Seua Cave. There are stalagmites and stalactites and meandering streams.

Sa Nang Manora Forest Park is located in Nop Pring Subdistrict. To go to the park, you have to follow Phang-nga - Krabi Route (Highway No.4) about 3 hours, then turn right at the intersection next to the power station.

The park is 3 km. down this road. It is a pleasant forest with various kinds of plants and a lovely fall cascading from a hill forming several pools suitable for swimming.

Ao Phang-nga National Park
Ao Phang-nga or Phang-nga Bay is one of the most frequently visited marine national parks of Thailand. With an area of 40,000 sq.km., it comprises more than 40 islands, large and small, located to the northeast of Phuket. It is almost like an inland lake with its east, north and west sealed off by land and its south partly enclosed, too.

Phang Nga Bay

The sea is rather shallow with an average depth of a few metres only. The park is therefore a safe place to visit throughout the year. The waves never reach one meter high even in the monsoon months from May to October, though a visit from November to April is still preferable because then the sky is clear, the sea is calm and the trip will not be interrupted by rain.

The national park is widely known among foreign tourists for its unique seascape. The group of islets has become known as Guilin-on-Sea. According to geologists, the area was once above the sea.

A tour of the bay is inevitably made by boat. Visitors may travel by a motor boat seating several dozen people, a boat with a long shafted outboard motor or "long-tail boat" as locally known, which seats some 10 people, or a canoe which can be ridden by no more than three passengers and which provides a great opportunity for tourists to explore the islets closely and even go through small openings of the islets. 

Attractions around the Bay

Tham Lot is a limestone grotto sculptured by weather and the sea water. The cave is large enough to allow two or three boats going through side by side. There are also stalactites hanging down from the roof, but not as beautiful as those found in a mountain cave, probably because their formation has been constantly interfered by forces of nature. Tourists popularly canoe to explore nature here.

Khao Phingkan and Ko Tapu which are near each other, some 10 km. from Tham Lot. Khao Phingkan means (two) hills leaning against each other. In fact, the two islets (hills) forming Khao Phingkan are connected by a tiny beach. But one of them is split in two, with one leaning against the other.

Standing alone in the sea some 200 metres from Khao Phingkan is the tiny Ko Tapu, or Nail Islet. Looking like a spike driven into the sea, it is perhaps the most photographed object in the whole marine park. It has become a symbol of the park, especially since the Hollywood production - The Man with the Golden Gun, starring James Bond, was partly shot here.

Ko Panyi is a popular place for a seafood lunch. It presents a very special sight with all restaurants and some 500 houses built on stilts over the sea. In fact, they constitute a centuries-old Muslim fishing village, complete with a mosque and a school.

Khao Khian or Writing Hill is where a shallow cave contains coloured drawings of people, crocodiles, dolphins and sharks estimated to be about 3,000 years old.

Ko Hong is a jewel on Phang-nga Bay due to its beautiful sea views and several caves on sea accessible only by canoe. The west of the island features high cliffs and lagoon while the east comprises a bay and a curved white sand beach.

Ko Phanak By canoeing through its small opening on sea at low tide, visitors will enter a wonderful hidden world of its emerald lagoon. Here is a favourite spot for tourists and a new star in Phang-nga Bay.

Ko Khai consists of 2 virgin islands, located in the south of the bay which is easily accessible from Phuket, taking only 35 minutes. The sand is white and powdery and the sea is pure and crystal, ideal for people who love tranquility, swimming and sunbathing. 

How to Get to Ao Phang-nga

The entrance to Ao Phang-nga National Park is 87 km. from Phuket and about 9 km. from the town of Phang-nga. From either town just take Highway No. 4 heading southward to Khok Kloi District until arriving at Km. 8 then turn left to Highway No. 4144 and the park office is a few kilometres away. 

Boat Trips

Boats can be hired to tour around Ao Phang-nga at the Customs Checkpoint Pier or Surakul Pier in Takua Thung District. Or you can contact your tour agent in Phang-nga town who organize half-day, full-day and overnight tours. Normally the tour includes a seafood lunch or dinner at Ko Panyi. Most travel agencies in Phuket also arrange these same tours, at higher prices, of course.

Khao Phingkan

• Khao Phingkan Khao Phingkan
• Koh Panyi Koh Panyi
• Phang Nga Bay Phang Nga Bay
• Phang Nga Bay Phang Nga Bay
• Similan Island Similan Island
• Surin Island Surin Island
•  

Phang-nga is located just to the north of Phuket on the western coast of the peninsular part of southern Thailand, with an area of 4,171 sq.km. Its long sandy coast (220 km.) and large numbers of limestone islands (161) and mountains make it one of the most scenic provinces of Thailand, and that is why it boasts as many as six national parks, including three on the sea.

Phang-nga's attractions are divided according to the counties they belong to. If you want to find some specific places, see the lists on the right.

Counties (Districts)            

• Khura Buri          
• Ko Yao            
• Phang-nga Town            
• Takua Pa            
• Takua Thung            
• Thai Muang            

Most attractions in Phang-nga are major excursion destinations from Phuket. The following are among the best known.      

• Ao Phang-nga (Phang-nga Bay)     
  • Khao Phingkan   
  • Ko Tapu (James Bond Island)
  • Ko Panyi
• Khao Lak
• Similan Islands
• Surin Islands

Now Phang-nga is popular for eco-tourism. There are many tour operators organizing a large variety of activities in this area, such as sea canoeing, rafting, elephant trekking, jungle trekking, diving, etc. You are recommended to contact tour operators for such a tour.

Note : The names of some attractions may appear in more than one place but with the same data.

For your personal safety and protection by law, please use the services of travel agencies holding a TAT license only.