Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [543]
Snorkelling is good at several points around Ko Miang, especially in the main channel; you can hire snorkel gear from the park (per day 100B). Day-tour operators usually visit three or four different snorkelling sites. Loads of diving operators and travel agencies in Khao Lak can hook up with snorkelling-only trips (day trips around 2500B to 3000B).
WILDLIFE & WALKS
The forest around the park headquarters on Ko Miang has a couple of walking trails and some great wildlife. The fabulous Nicobar pigeon, with its wild mane of grey-green feathers, is common here. Endemic to the islands of the Andaman Sea, it’s one of some 39 bird species in the park. Hairy-legged land crabs and fruit bats are relatively easily seen in the forest, as are flying squirrels.
Small Beach Track, with information panels, leads 400m to a tiny, pretty snorkelling bay. Detouring from it, the Viewpoint Trail – 500m or so of steep scrambling – has panoramic vistas from the top. A 500m walk to Sunset Point takes you through forest to a smooth granite platform facing – obviously – west.
On Ko Similan there’s a 2.5km forest hike to a viewpoint, and a shorter, steep scramble off the main beach to the top of Sail Rock.
Sleeping & Eating
Accommodation in the park is available for all budgets, although none of it is spectacular. Book online at www.dnp.go.th or with the mainland national park office (0 7659 5045) south of Khao Lak.
On Ko Miang there are sea-view bungalows (r 2000B; ) with balconies, two dark five-room wood-and-bamboo longhouses (r 1000B) with fans, and crowded on-site tents (2-person 570B). There’s electricity from 6pm to 6am.
On-site tents are also available on Ko Similan.
A restaurant (dishes 100B) near park headquarters serves simple Thai food.
Getting There & Away
There’s no public transport to the park, and if you book accommodation through the national park you’ll have to find your own way there. Agencies in Khao Lak ( Click here) and Phuket ( Click here) book day/overnight tours (from around 2500/3500B) and dive trips (three-day live-aboards from around 15,000B) – this is about how much you would pay if you tried to get to the islands on your own steam. You can try to link up with a dive trip and pay for the excursion sans diving equipment, but operators will only cooperate if their boats are relatively empty.
PHANG-NGA TOWN & AO PHANG-NGA
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In Phang-Nga, it’s extremely easy to tell the difference between a tourist and a local – tourists are looking up. Jaw-dropping limestone rock towers stretch towards the afternoon clouds, leaving visitors almost as awestruck as when they see a local going about their business completely unfazed by the region’s ethereal gifts. It’s hard not to stop dead in one’s tracks and gaze at these crags for hours – the blend of soda-white sand and jagged stone is intoxicating.
A cameo in The Man with the Golden Gun has lured loads of James Bond fanatics and spy wannabes out to this serene realm, which has prompted the government to step in and protect the land under a national park mandate. The area is lacking in quality accommodation, so it may be best to visit on a day trip – there are heaps of tours out of Phuket ( Click here) and Khao Lak; ask at any of the local travel agencies. Most trips are advertised on chalkboards and posters as ‘trips to James Bond Island’. Tours start at around 550B depending on season