Hidden Khao Lak: Escaping the Package Resorts

During a ten-day road trip from Bangkok to Phang Nga and back, we figured we’d take a break from Ranong hostels and Surin Island bungalows with a stay at a big-name resort.  I had points to burn, and it was close to a surf school where Isobel was taking a class.

Big mistake. 

I can’t blame the hotel, it executed the resort formula perfectly: endless pools, buffet restaurants, and goofy activities for the kids.  But it felt generic and soulless.  We don’t travel to visit “Joe’s Coconut Shack,” which looks like what you’d get if IKEA sold tiki bars.

It doesn’t have to be this way.  There is so much more to the Khao Lak coast if you just know where to look.  Between the package tourist purgatories of Phuket and Khao Lak are deserted beaches and hidden coves—some are easy to miss.  One, in particular, has become an all-time family favorite. 

Quiet, untouristed paradises are only 45 minutes north of Phuket International Airport. Just drive towards Thai Mueang. Here are a few of our top spots.

We turned off Highway 4 onto a quiet country lane that was clearly less important than the rice paddies, fishponds, and palm groves the road twisted and turned to avoid.  After passing through brackish inlets and estuaries, some warmed by hot springs, we emerged from a stand of Casuarina pines onto a stunning white sand beach stretching to the horizon in both directions.

It was a holiday weekend, and already locals were gathering under the trees with picnic baskets or food bought from a row of nearby stalls.  It was still early afternoon, however, and you won’t find many Thais swimming under a sun as hot as that.  The water was completely empty.

This is Bor Dan Beach, and remarkably, it is only a 45-minute drive north of Phuket International Airport. 

The beach here is steeper and narrower than the broad resort strands of Khao Lak or Phuket.  That, and the marshy ground behind the beach, might explain how Bor Dan has managed to hold its charm.  The surf here is wilder too—bigger waves that surge in at odd angles and rush back out to sea in great flows.  It’s not a place where you’d turn your back on the kids, but we happily bobbed for hours even amid wind-driven swells that grew through the afternoon.  I expect the mornings, when the breeze is usually lighter and the water is as flat as a pane of old glass, are even safer.

The hardest decision you’ll face at Bor Dan Beach is when to turn your back on the sunset and head to dinner at Yod Suriya Seafood, because let’s be clear: you shouldn’t try to eat anywhere else.

The restaurant sits just a couple of kilometers down the coast, on the far side of an inlet with no view of the sea.  That’s what first sparked my interest: a seafood restaurant off the beach with no view that has hundreds of near-perfect reviews? 

I’m glad I trusted my instinct.  It’s a small place, decorated with an array of fishing paraphernalia: floats, hooks, and a dozen or so boomerang-shaped things we guessed were the tailfins of large fish.  The menu has the usual fresh seafood dishes, and a chalkboard lists off-menu catches, like tuna sashimi.

We had a delightful meal.  Tamarind-glazed shrimp so fresh they fell out of their shells at the touch of a fork, grilled fish that somehow kept delivering more flaky white meat from under its crisp skin. 

Best of all, Kat decided today would be the day she learned how to pick crabs.  As the rest of us ate, she teased every sweet white flake of meat from a steamed blue crab.  The curried whole crab, cooked in the most delicate eggy sauce, was exquisite.   

As we ate, we chatted a bit with the family patriarch, who told us his grandfather had fished this stretch of the Andaman Sea since moving north from Malaysia many decades ago.  Malaysia’s loss.

As the coast curves north from Bor Dan, there are a series of wonderful, quiet beaches to explore.  We had lunch at George Pizza (which also serves seafood for the adults) near Ohana Beach, one of several soft-sand beaches in the area.  The kids swung in the shade of massive sea-almond trees while we waited for the worst of the afternoon heat to pass.  From the shade, the Andaman Sea looked incredibly tempting, but our goal was a secret cove further north.

Khao Lampi-Hat Thai Mueang National Park occupies a long spit of land that shelters the tangled mangrove estuaries around Thap Lamu. The park’s most spectacular corner lies at the very tip of the peninsula.  The question is: how on earth do you get there?

Park headquarters are only a thirty-minute drive from Bor Dan Beach, or about an hour if you’re coming from Phuket International Airport.  The trouble is the hidden cove of Khao Na Yak is still a long seven kilometers away.  You can take a four-wheel-drive track that runs through deep sand—no way our heavy, two-wheel-drive Kia was going to handle that.  Or you can walk the entire distance along an exposed beach—no way our light, two-legged toddler was going to handle that either.

The third option is to drive all the way around the estuary and take a boat.  We went for option three.

The Khao Lampi estuary is home to several small villages and one of these, Ban Tha Din Daeng, has set up a community tourist agency offering kayak tours of the mangroves.  We’d read they could also ferry tourists across the inlet to the national park.  

Reaching the village from the coast requires driving around the entire estuary, about a half-hour commitment.  We hadn’t made any advance arrangements, so it was a complete gamble.  The stakes seemed even higher as we left behind Hat Thai Mueang, another quietly perfect beach. 

I began to think we’d made a mistake as we followed narrow lanes barely wide enough for the car.  This did not feel like the road to a tourist attraction. 

When the road ran out, we parked in the dirt near where the carpet of mangroves separated to reveal a small inlet.  

The still water reflected a perfect reverse image of the few boats tied to the pier.  In the shade of a pavilion, old men sat laughing together.  The woman running the coffee stand walked over to us, wiping her hands on her apron.  For 1,400 baht (about $35), she told us, we could hire a boat and a guide until dusk.  This sounded great and we agreed immediately.  She looked us over one more time, smiled, and dropped the price by 200 baht.

It’s a short trip through the narrow channels and across the water to the national park.  The boat dropped us at a rickety pier on the inner side of the peninsula, leaving us with a walk of about a kilometer overland to reach the open sea.  

The path passes through Thung Samet Khao, a sandy grassland dotted with paperbark trees.  Walking among their twisted trunks and beneath their canopies of narrow leaves, it felt like wandering through an olive grove.  It’s not a landscape you’d associate with Thailand; the only equivalent is the savannah on Koh Phra Thong. 

As the hard-packed dirt road approaches the shore, it turns into fine sand.  The palm fronds placed along the bottom of the deep ruts suggested the challenges other drivers had met.  If we’d tried this in the Kia, it would likely still be there today.

Casuarina pines and pandans run along a short ridge between the road and the sea.  We stepped over the ridge and saw a brilliant blue sea, beginning to turn to silver in the late afternoon light.  The white sand beach continued as far south as the eye could see.  To the north, the cliffs of Khao Na Yak, which translates to “Giant Face Mountain,” loomed over the beach. 

An easy scramble and we were soon on top of a six- or seven-meter stone shelf, looking down at last on our destination.  The headlands open to form a natural amphitheatre.  Waves wash through a gap in the cliffs, whether they’ve formed a perfect little beach tucked inside the cove. 

We swam for an hour or so, bobbing in the sea as it passed through the cliff walls.  It’s a large swell, but the crash of the waves echoing against the cliffs made it feel even more powerful.  The crisp blues of the late afternoon sky stood in sharp contrast against the jungle that crept over the edges of the escarpment. 

Our guide had followed behind and now sat in the shade of the cliff keeping an eye on us.  It’s not hard to imagine a big surge pulling swimmers out into the open sea.  We gave him no cause for alarm, though, and kept to the shallower water close to shore.

When we’d swum our fill, we climbed back over the rocks. We paused for a moment at the beach.  It’s almost impossible to believe this lies between the chaos of Phuket and the crowds of Khao Lak.  It might as well be a desert island, with not even footprints other than our own to mark the passing of other travelers.

The savannah was almost completely in shade and the late afternoon breeze felt almost cold as we walked back across the peninsula towards the boat.  We might have been in the Mediterranean.  Three years of traveling in Thailand and we’re still discovering new worlds.

Plan Your Trip to Bor Dan & Khao Na Yak

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Getting There

Bor Dan and the southern reaches of Khao Lampi-Hat Thai Mueang National Park are remarkably accessible, yet they feel worlds away from the main tourist trail.

To Bor Dan Beach: Fly into Phuket International Airport and drive north on Highway 4. The trip takes approximately 45 minutes. Look for the small local turnoffs toward the coast once you pass the town of Thai Mueang.

To Khao Na Yak: This “hidden” cove requires a bit more effort. Drive to Ban Tha Din Daeng (about 30 minutes north of Bor Dan). From the village pier, hire a longtail boat to ferry you across the estuary (approx. 10 minutes) to the National Park pier. From there, it is a flat 1-kilometer walk through the savannah to the beach.

Where to Stay

While Bor Dan is a perfect day-trip destination from Phuket or Khao Lak, staying nearby allows you to catch those “glass-calm” morning waters. If you have the equipment, there are camping options at Bor Dan and elsewhere along the coast.

Makai NAP A stylish, modern hideaway located right in Thai Mueang. It’s a perfect base for exploring Bor Dan, featuring a great on-site cafe and occasional outdoor movie nights in the garden.

Kalima Resort and Villas Khao Lak is a resort, yes, but it’s affordable and offers a more secluded, “hidden gem” feel than the central Khao Lak hubs, with easy access to the Thai Mueang coast.

When to Visit

Like the rest of Phang Nga, the weather here dictates the experience.

Dry Season (November – April): The gold standard. The water is at its calmest—especially in the mornings—and the “savannah” walk to Khao Na Yak is dry and easy to navigate.

Shoulder Season (May & October): You’ll find even fewer people, but the surf at Bor Dan becomes significantly wilder. Be prepared for the “wind-driven swells” mentioned in our post.

Rainy Season (June – September): The boat crossing from Ban Tha Din Daeng can be choppy, and the 4WD tracks in the National Park often become impassable. We recommend visiting during the drier months to see the coast at its best.

What to Do

This stretch of coast is for travelers who find “resort activities” a bit too loud.

Beaches  The coast is lined with long, empty stretches of white sand. Swimming conditions vary greatly with the season, but the sense of space is constant.

Khao Na Yak Snorkeling: When the water is calm, the rocky headlands around the “Giant Face Mountain” cove offer clear water and small reef fish.

Thung Samet Khao Hike: The walk through the paperbark “savannah” is a must for photographers. It’s a landscape that feels more like the Mediterranean or Africa than tropical Thailand.

Mangrove Kayaking: The Ban Tha Din Daeng Community offers guided kayak tours through the dense mangrove forests of the estuary.

Booking/Tours

Given its proximity to major tourist hubs, there are quite a few guided tours to Khao Na Yak (though I gather they are seldom used). If you’re uncomfortable finding the pier on your own, the below is a good option.

Khao Na Yak Sightseeing & Snorkeling Small Group

• Duration: 4 hours.
• Includes: Lunch and snacks, soft drinks, and snorkeling equipment.
• Vibe: Small group limited to eight participants.
• Flexibility: Reserve now, pay later. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the trip starts.
• Cost: From THB 2,000 per person.

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