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.
