Asia · Beach and resort guide
A quieter beach base with larger resorts and access to excellent day trips.
Is it right for you?
A strong fit for
Families, couples and travellers who want less nightlife.
We would think twice for
Anyone who wants nightlife, shopping streets or a town to wander every evening, because Khao Lak is deliberately sleepy, and its evenings belong to the resorts and a handful of local restaurants.
What we would want you to know
Some hotels are isolated, so board basis matters.
Our research-led view
Khao Lak is usually the answer to a comparison: families and couples weighing Phuket's choice against something calmer. Our advice here is research-led rather than first-hand, and it looks hard at what matters when a resort is your whole evening: the pool layout, the walk to the beach and how far it is to the nearest restaurant.
We have not been here ourselves yet and will never pretend otherwise. This advice comes from the operator, mapping, hotel and transfer research we do for real enquiries.
Map and areas
The closest thing Khao Lak has to a centre, with a main road of restaurants, tailors and dive shops just back from the beach. It suits people who like to walk out to dinner, but the road is busy and hotels on its inland side lose the beach feel.
A gentle mix of resorts, local restaurants and the evening market, a little north of Nang Thong. The beach is wide and the pace slow, which makes it a favourite with families, and everything a week needs is within a short walk.
Further north the beaches lengthen and the large resorts spread out along empty sand towards Pakarang Cape. It is the calmest part of Khao Lak, with only a scattering of restaurants between hotels, so check what is within walking distance before you book.
The far north of the coast, where a handful of resorts share a long, lonely beach with a few local seafood places behind the sand. Superb for doing nothing, but isolated, so board basis and the hotel's shuttle matter more here than anywhere else in the area.
Weather and seasons
The Similan Islands set Khao Lak's rhythm: the national park opens in mid-October and closes in mid-May, and the dry months in between bring calm, clear water, with January rain averaging just 85mm and highs near 32°C. The monsoon hits this open coast hard. From May the surf builds, September brings about 558mm, and red flags fly for days at a time; some resorts close for part of the low season and the area turns very quiet. The sea is warm all year, close to 29°C in March, and late October gives good value as the islands reopen.
Worth timing a trip around
The Similan and Surin marine parks open for the dry season and close again for the monsoon. The first weeks are often quieter and cheaper, with calm water and fewer boats.
Khao Lak marks the anniversary of the 2004 tsunami with ceremonies and candlelit gatherings at the memorials, attended by survivors and families from around the world.
| Month | High | Low | Sea | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°C | 23°C | 28°C | 85 mm |
| February | 33°C | 23°C | 29°C | 47 mm |
| March | 34°C | 24°C | 29°C | 83 mm |
| April | 33°C | 25°C | 30°C | 198 mm |
| May | 32°C | 25°C | 30°C | 437 mm |
| June | 32°C | 25°C | 30°C | 399 mm |
| July | 31°C | 25°C | 29°C | 447 mm |
| August | 31°C | 25°C | 29°C | 534 mm |
| September | 31°C | 24°C | 29°C | 558 mm |
| October | 31°C | 24°C | 29°C | 423 mm |
| November | 32°C | 24°C | 29°C | 237 mm |
| December | 32°C | 23°C | 29°C | 108 mm |
Temperatures are 2015 to 2024 averages from NOAA records for Takua Pa, 3 km away at 4 m. Rainfall is from the GPCC rain-gauge analysis (Deutscher Wetterdienst) for 2010 to 2019 and shows the typical (median) month, so one freak storm does not skew it. Sea temperatures: NOAA OISST, 1991 to 2020.
Sand, shingle and swimming
Golden sand backed by trees and hotels, sloping gently into calm water in the dry season. Easy to reach from the main road, with a few beach bars for sunset and loungers run by the resorts.
Broad and soft, with plenty of room even in high season and long walks at low tide. In the monsoon the waves here are powerful, and the flags must be obeyed.
A long, open stretch where a walk passes little but resort gardens. Clear and calm from December to April, rough and deserted once the monsoon sets in.
A point where coral rubble and rock pools take over from the sand, popular for exploring at low tide and for sunset. Not a swimming beach, but a lovely evening walk.
A long, quiet sweep at the northern end of the coast, shaded by casuarinas, with a few local seafood places behind it. Calm in season and almost empty on weekdays.
Things to do
Granite boulders, white sand and remarkably clear water, reached by speedboat from Thap Lamu pier. Visitor numbers are capped, so book well ahead in high season, and bring reef-safe sun cream, as some sunscreen ingredients are banned in the marine parks.
A remoter marine park further north, home to a village of the Moken sea people and reefs close to the shore. The journey is long, so we suggest it for keen snorkellers rather than young children.
Ancient rainforest and limestone peaks inland, with Cheow Lan Lake at its heart. A day trip is possible, but a night in a floating raft house on the lake is far more rewarding. Pack for rain whatever the season.
Police boat 813, carried far inland by the 2004 tsunami, now stands as a memorial at Bang Niang, and the memorial park at Ban Nam Khem remembers the dead. A sombre visit that many guests choose to make.
A small coastal park south of Nang Thong, with forest trails down to the rocks and the sea. Go early for birdsong and cooler air, and wear shoes that can cope with roots and boulders.
A former tin-mining town inland with Sino-Portuguese shophouses, temples and a weekly evening walking street. It shows a side of southern Thai life that the resorts never do.
A sprawling evening market held several days a week, with Thai street food, fruit, clothes and souvenirs. Go hungry and graze; it is the cheapest good dinner on the coast.
A pinnacle near the Surin Islands, famous among divers for its soft corals, manta rays and the chance of a whale shark, reached on liveaboards or long day trips. For qualified divers only.
Food and drink
Stir-fried bitter stink beans with prawns and shrimp paste. Pungent, addictive and very southern; the beans are an acquired taste worth acquiring.
A fiery southern curry built on fermented fish innards, with pumpkin, bamboo shoots and aubergine. Not for the faint-hearted, and about as local as the cooking gets.
Whole fish steamed in a broth of lime juice, garlic and chilli, served bubbling over a burner. Best shared, with plenty of rice.
Chicken marinated in turmeric and garlic, fried crisp and scattered with fried garlic. A southern market favourite that children often love.
Money
Khao Lak's resorts deliver four and five-star comfort for less than the equivalent on Phuket's busy beaches, and because you will spend most evenings in the hotel, a better room and a well-run pool are money well spent. The extras to plan for are the Similan day trip and Khao Sok if you want the jungle. Half board often suits better than all inclusive, leaving room for the local restaurants.
Flights and transfers
Khao Lak has no airport of its own: you fly to Phuket, one stop from the UK, then drive about an hour up the coast. That hour is precisely what filters out the crowds and keeps the beaches long and calm.
Flights from UK airports
Route check September 2026. Some routes are seasonal and schedules change, so we confirm the live options when we quote.
Practical details
7 hours ahead of the UK in winter, 6 hours in summer
Thai baht (฿)
Thai
Type A, B, C and O, 220V; a universal adaptor is safest
On the left
Not safe to drink; resorts provide bottled or filtered water
Not expected; tips for boat crews, dive guides and resort staff are appreciated
Entry for British passport holders
Visa. Since 15 September 2026, visa-free entry covers tourist stays of up to 30 days, normally for two entries a year. You must complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card online within 3 days before you arrive.
Passport. Valid for at least 6 months after you arrive, with a blank page.
The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to the southern border provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat and part of Songkhla, and within 20km of the Cambodian border. The places we suggest on this page were outside those areas when we checked, and we check the advice again before every booking.
Summarised from the FCDO travel advice on gov.uk, checked 29 September 2026. Rules change: read the current entry requirements and the full travel advice before you go.
Questions we get asked
For many families, yes: the resorts are larger and better value, the beaches quieter and the evenings calmer. What you give up is choice, with no big shopping streets or nightlife and a longer airport transfer. If your children want variety every evening, Kata in Phuket may suit them better.
An hour or a little more by road, depending on traffic and which part of the coast you stay on, with the northern resorts further again. It is an easy, scenic drive, and that distance is exactly what keeps Khao Lak calm.
Only for travellers happy to spend their days by the resort pool. From May to October the sea is usually too rough to swim, the Similan Islands are closed and some hotels and restaurants shut. The trade-off is very low rates and lush, green scenery.
Usually not. Where the hotel is within walking distance of restaurants, as in Nang Thong and Bang Niang, half board or bed and breakfast gives more variety. For the isolated resorts further north, all inclusive or half board makes more sense, because every meal out means a taxi.
Yes, if they are confident in the water. The speedboat ride is long and can be bumpy, which is hard on toddlers and anyone prone to seasickness. Life jackets are provided, and the snorkelling is in shallow bays close to the boats.
Photographs
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