Koh Phra Thong: A Secret Getaway for Nature Lovers
Thailand has a lot of islands that attract millions of tourists from around the world every year. But the fact that so many other people are there is what spoils many destinations for those who are looking for an island getaway that is quiet and not overrun with hordes of other visitors.
One such island is Koh Phra Thong located in the Andaman Sea about 140 kilometres up the coast from Phuket in the northwestern part of Phang-Nga province. It’s Thailand’s fifth largest island but surprisingly many Thais haven’t heard of it. Many people who visit it for the first time liken it to what Thailand’s islands used to be like before mass tourism started taking them over.
The English translation of Koh Phra Thong is ‘Golden Buddha Island’ – a name that it gets from a legend that a priceless Buddha image was buried on the island many centuries ago and which has never been found. The island is so far off the tourist map that turtles can lay their eggs on its western beaches in January and February undisturbed by curious onlookers.
Coconut palms and mangroves along the eastern coast. Image: © Philipp Meier
Koh Phra Thong is an island that will not only appeal to those looking to get away from the crowds, but also to those looking for a destination where they can get back to nature. Although the eastern part of this 130 sq km island is predominantly mangrove forest, down its western coast there is a long and usually deserted golden yellow beach, partly shaded by she oaks, from which you can enjoy ocean swimming in the dry season and glorious sunsets all year round.
For those who enjoy kayaking, the sheltered sea channels and tributaries through the mangrove forests offer many opportunities for kayakers of all skill levels to explore the waterways of the island. For those not into kayaking, there are several local longtail boat owners that provide guided tours.
The interior of Koh Phra Thong is unlike most other Thai islands comprising a vast savannah of grass fields that change colour with the seasons. During the wet season the fields are a vibrant green, but from November onwards they take on a pinkish tinge until the colour displays peak around March when the savannah metamorphoses to a golden hue until the next season’s rains return.
The interior golden savannah of the island in April. Image: © Somsak Suwanput
Across large tracts of the savannah there are gnarled cajeput trees growing on pure white sand which becomes exposed by vehicle tracks winding their way between the trees with their distinctive paperbark trunks. These are a similar species of melaleuca to those called tea trees in other countries and are a source of a medicinal oil that is a natural antibiotic and antiviral.
The island doesn’t have the unique wildlife of its near neighbour, Koh Ra, to the north (which is home to some of the largest Burmese pythons ever recorded) but it does have sambar deer and many monitor lizards and other small reptiles. It is said that there are fewer snakes on Koh Phra Thong than other islands, although one resident told me there were non-venomous black snakes in the mangroves. On rocky headlands, you can watch hornbills and eagles soaring on the warm air currents whilst listening to the raw power of nature as waves pound the rocks below.
Although Koh Phra Thong is quiet by Phuket or Samui standards, during the evening you will have to tolerate the sound of diesel generators that have to be run for a few hours to provide power. But during the day you’ll rarely hear them because most of the local men are out in their longtail boats fishing at sea, whilst the women are digging on the beach for sand crabs or gathering mushrooms from around the cajeput trees. It’s a simple existence for these residents.
Tracks exposing white sand wind through the cajeput trees. Image: © Tawat Chaiwanasri
Early in the morning you’ll awake to the soft “oop-oop-oop” sound of the call of the Greater Coucal bird, and throughout the day you’ll hear many other types of bird calls to remind you that you are in a place where the sounds of nature dominate, and not the sounds of karaoke as is so often the case on other islands in Thailand.
The lack of tourist facilities on the island outside of what is available inside the half dozen or so resorts on the west coast means there are no ATMS where you can draw cash, and credit card connections might not always work, so you’ll need to bring enough cash to cover those expenses that haven’t been prepaid.
The resorts on the west coast range from rustic beach cabins such as those at the Rattan Resort at $30 a night, up to more upmarket accommodation at the BABA Ecolodge where accommodation is a pricier $120 a night.
The arrival pier at Ta Payoey on Koh Phra Thong. Image: © Philipp Meier
The only way to get to Koh Phra Thong is by boat from Khuraburi on the mainland. You can either join a longtail boat with other passengers (they usually carry up to eight) and share the cost (around 2,000 baht per boat) or charter a private speedboat which costs around 7,000 baht. The longtail boats take about an hour to reach the arrival pier in the sleepy fishing village of Ta Payoey on the eastern side of the island, whereas the speedboats take less than half an hour.
The pier at Khuraburi from where the boats leave is less than three hours’ drive on a good road from Phuket International Airport via Khao Lak, so although you’ll feel like you’re a world away from civilisation when you reach Koh Phra Thong, the journey time is not that great given the relative isolation that you will achieve from the masses of tourists sunning on the beaches a bit further south.
Note that most of the resorts on Koh Phra Thong are only open from November to April because few outsiders travel to the island in the rainy season. That might appeal to those for whom the almost total absence of tourists is a drawcard but be aware that during those months only basic homestay-type accommodation is available, and you’ll be living off-grid for much of the time.
Header image: © Philipp Meier
