Busy Ao Nang Beach in Krabi

The little Village of Ao Nang in Thailand is sometimes seen as a gateway to other destination like Railay or the Islands of Phi Phi. For those staying around for a few days there is a beach to be enjoyed.
 

Ao Nang Beach is just a few steps across the road that separates the golden sand from the village with it`s shops and hotels. This is one of the more busier beaches we have been too in Thailand. There is a constant bustle of long tail boats ferrying tourist to resorts along the coast or  passengers on day-trips to the nearby islands.



The south end of the beach is much quieter with the road having turned inland. Here the edge of the beach is lined with the occasional place to eat or have that relaxing massage. Noppharat Thara beach is to the north and much longer if you prefer a bit of a walk.

We thought the Ao Nang Beach and town a little bit to busy for our liking. We just never got that feeling of being alone and remote. But if want a little bit of excitement or shopping close by then it would be ideal.



What the beach did offer was fantastic sunsets and views. Just sitting at the edge of the beach and inhaling the changing colors of the skies is something not to be missed. As long as you do not mind a 100 other people quietly sharing your experience and some with much much larger cameras.



The views out the sea are quite amazing, with the limestone outcrops rising out of the clear blue water Ao Nang does have something relaxing about it even with the bustle going on around you. 

We enjoyed Ao Nang and the beach with the little time we spent there. The style of life here was completely pleasurable and fitted right in with us. Thailand offers us a lot and unfortunately for Ao Nang we enjoyed other places much more. Saying that I would still recommend it to anybody.

Spectacular Kamala Beach

Kamala Beach is situated in its own little quiet bay on the west coast of Phuket Island, Thailand. It is far enough away from the main tourist traps of the more popular beaches but still close enough for night of excitement in Phuket town.



This was the last beach before our flight out of Phuket, so we wanted something close to the airport but still quiet enough for our relaxing holiday pace. There was a hint of tourist development here with a few noticeable massage tents dotted on the south end of the beach. On the whole it was quite and clear of anything that would remind us of a package holiday.

 

While the beach is quite short there was plenty space for us to get our feet on the sand. It was actually a bit too hot on our toes and we walked along the path at the side of the beach for a short time.



The waves crashing on the beach were amazing and even better once in that cool clear tropical water. This was in the low season which is generally monsoon time. Unfortunately for it the skies did open for a while and the rains poured quite heavily. As we sat sheltering in a cafe on the beach side we spotted a few people still enjoying the waters.



High season may see Kamala Beach with more tourists and activities but if you are like us and want for a bit more of that deserted island feel then low season will be up your street.

Thailand has many beaches to offer, the only problem is there are all great. It is hard to choose but Kamala Beach is going to have a return visit from us. If only life was so much longer we could spend more time enjoying the pleasures of the country.

The Beach at Nai Yang, Thailand

Nai Yang Beach turned out to be quite a surprise on our trip to Thailand. The location is just south of Phuket international airport. That was the main reason we decide to stay here before heading off to other locations.



We had not seen a Thailand beach for many months and we eager to get our feet on the sand. Really any beach would have done. So it came as quite a pleasant shock seeing long stretch of sand.



Situated in Sirinat National Park, which means construction is kept to am minimum and anything built has strict regulations.



While we were there in the low season most of the beach was free from signs of tourism. There were just a few sun-beds at the busier part of town.  Maybe in the high season month the place become more tourist but I hope not.

The north end of the beach seemed the most pristine. There seemed to be nothing there apart from the trees and the sea with the golden sand in-between.



During the evening we has our meal on the beach, luckily the weather was favorable as it was supposed to be monsoon season.

This is definitely our style of beach, very quiet and not any sign of tourist traps anyplace. The hotels, restaurants a a few shops were all close together, just at the edge of the beach, but it never felt crowded in the little village.

Luxury at Print Kamala Resort

Our last hotel for this trip was the Print Kamala in Phuket. This was another little gem of a find for a good cheap price.



We picked another forest style hut here which was a short walk from reception. Past the pool and through an increasing greenery that surrounded the resort to our room. The hut was very spacious and appeared to be well maintained.



The room had a large area for sitting out and enjoying the scenery which included an exotic little jungle  pond. We were spoiled again and only had a few days to enjoy it all.




Near the entrance to the resort was an very large pool complete with bar. We never sampled the drinks but we had a nice refreshing cool off in the pool.



The resort is not on the beach but it`s just a few steps across the road to the golden sand. For our stay in September it was the green season and the hotel seemed very quiet. It was a relaxing few days days at the end of our holiday.
If we had to complain it would have been a dripping air-conditioner which, with once call to reception, was quickly fixed. That is really the best I can do at finding fault here. On the whole we were well taken care off by the staff.

There are more luxurious rooms available at the Print Kamala and I believe some even have their own private dipping pool. For us we were more than happy with our little forest hut.

It is worth remembering that we come to Thailand for the long sandy beaches and the tasty food. If your going to spend lots of time in a hotel or resort then your missing out on what Thailand has offer.

Alone in Royal Lanta Resort and Spa

This would be our second trip to the island and Royal Lanta came out on top here. We have to thank my Other Half for this, I don't know how she found it. Needless to say it was quite a gem.



The rooms or huts were supposedly designed on traditional Thai houses and were extremely roomy. Laying back on the bed and looking past the large fan above our heads we could see forever. That is to say the roof space was big, I`m sure another floor could have been fitted up there.






The bathroom had and indoor and outdoor but enclosed shower. We never indulged in the outdoor shower but I guess being exposed to the elements will be attractive for guests.



Outside we had some decking that allowed us to sit and take in the atmosphere. Altogether I think there might be around 50 rooms here, all spaced out in the gardens. And very tropical gardens they are too. Lots of foliage and trees making it feel very much like your living in a tropical jungle.

The resort had two pools and unfortunately we never took the plunge in either of them. One was near the entrance and the other was nearer the beach. The latter one would have been ideal for use but renovations were in progress.


We were not too sad about that as the Royal Lanta opened up on to the beach. The Green netting in the last photograph is just for storm protection during the low season. Going in the other direction is was just short walk up to the road where lots of great Thai food could be had.

Our four night here were in September and we had expected Lanta to be bit quiet. It turned out much quieter than we had expected. Very few people were seen on the beach and we had noticed the extreme quietness in the resort. As we passed the hotel reception we asked and found out we were the only guests.
It's very hard to accept that this beautiful island and the fabulous resort has so few visitors while we were there.

The resort is more luxurious that we would have needed to enjoy a holiday but it was an amazingly cheap price for us. Would we stay here, definitely.

Cosy Ao Nang Sunset Hotel for 4 Nights

Ao Nang and another four nights to spend enjoying the delights of Thailand. We had a search and really found no resorts exactly on the beach so I can't blame Ao Nang Sunset for that.



The hotel room had a bit of jungle feel with tree effect furniture along with a nice enough balcony for having a relaxing rest. Ours overlooked enough "jungle" that we could see the animals of the forest jumping around in the trees.



A bit of a shocker was the pool. It was small and crammed in too much of a small space leaving not much room for anything else. Really much too small to enjoy any sort of swim. That was the only slight grumble we had if we had to have a moan.



The location was in a slightly quieter part of town and not really far from anything. A short walk down the road which was bustling with shops and restaurants to the beach and longtail ferries.

Ao Nang Sunset was a satisfactory hotel and like all the resorts we stayed in this trip we got a good price here. It`s not a place we would rule out if we came back to Ao Nang.



Out of the five resorts this trip one of them has to be at the bottom of the list. Unfortunately this is the one to be it, more of a least best than the worst. Don't let that put you off staying here, it was still a great few days. Ao Nang was just maybe what were were not looking for.

Suwan Palm Resort at Khao Lak

This resort would be our home for a relaxing four nights.  The location is about 10 or 15 minutes walk from the town of Khao Lak. The hotel open up right on the beach and it is quite a fantastic beach.


 

We had a room on the top floor with a balcony that had a nearly wonderful sea view. There is a small garden between the beach and hotel which has a few large trees. This is quite common in Thailand with many areas keeping hotels and resorts below the height of trees.



The room was spacious with a few sparse bits of furniture thrown in. It was clean and appeared to be in reasonable state of repair. I could add quiet here but again there were not many guests visible. Maybe two more couples were noticed during breakfast.



It is quite a small resort with wings forming a courtyard with quite bit bit of foliage. It does give it a bit of that tropical forest feeling along with a reasonably sized pool. We had this all to ourselves so it was big enough for a bit of cooling off.

Unfortunately the low season sees a lot of resorts and associated restaurants closing up due to lack of customers. We did see a small supermarket and pizza shop along with a travel agent around the resort but they were all shut up. These are nice to be near but the town is not far away.

Being on the beach makes up for all that and believe me that is what you should come here for. We were extremely happy staying here and it is one we would consider going back too.

Staying at Nai Yang Beach Resort

Probably like many other travellers we chose the Nai Yang Beach Resort for it's convenient location near the airport. The journey here was short and took around 10 minutes. We arrived around midnight so we never really had much of a look at the place till the next morning.



Daylight revealed that the resort is covers quite large area but for our green season trip it was very quiet. The room was basic but clean and really had everything you'd need for a few days staying here.


Just outside our window we had a pool mostly to ourselves which was one of three on the resort. It was just a few steps in the morning and you were having a nice refreshing swim.


Breakfast was not included for our stay, we have now idea how typical "hotellish" it would have been. Luckily the resorts location is on the little road that runs through Nai Yang and there were plenty places to grab something to eat.



We used the resort mainly as just a place to sleep for our few days here. The beach which was just across the road was too much of an attraction for us. If we fly in to Phuket Airport late or after a long flight we would use this resort again. It has a great feature of just being extremely well located.

Goodbye Kamala Goodbye Holiday Day 17

Our final and last day had arrived. We would be leaving Phuket and Thailand behind in a few hours time and jetting off back to concrete, skyscraper and pollution.

First port of call was the hotel restaurant for breakfast. There were a few other holidaymakers staying and the resort put on a good selection of food. But on the whole it was typically a international flavour. That is just something to expect from hotels I guess.



Not enough time left to take in a swim in the pool or a last look at the beach. Just packing bags and looking under the bed for anything we might have left behind.


Kamala Beach did not seem to provide any easy transport to the airport while we were there. We could have easily hopped on a bus and headed down to Phuket town and catch an airport bus from there. I`d guess during the high reason more routes would open up. So our last journey would be by Taxi. Yea we were splashing out.

The drivers were conveniently lazing out side the resort waiting for some trade. It was a hefty price we though, THB 600 to go to the airport. During the last few days we had made a few little enquiries about transport and the price always came back same. Maybe we could have haggled and tried to get a price a few THB 100 cheaper, but it was the end of the holiday and why stress.

Taking a couple of bottles of water from the 7-11 close by we jumped in our quite luxurious taxi and headed north. We passed quite a few built up areas that might be worthy of a visit next time but most of the trip was in silence. both of us were secretly crying inside realising it was time to go home.



The taxi ride was quick, I guess less than an hour, and we were dropped off at Phuket International Airport. We had a few THB left rattling in our pockets and that was exchanged for a couple meals of a sandwich at Subway.



It was the end of a good holiday. My camera was full of memories that would just give a little bit of a reminder of the places we had visited. We usually just jet in to a resort and stay for the whole trip. This time we took in 5 locations and it somehow worked. The travel times were quite short but did take away a little bit of extra time on the beach. On the positive side we found some fantastic locations to visit next time.

Nai Yang and Kamala in Phuket had changed my mind about this island. Both were quiet and had good stretches of clean sandy beaches. Khao Lak was just beach after beach. If we had to have one bad choice it would be Ao Nang in Krabi. The town felt quite a bit more of busy tourist location but it was still a great visit and we would probably go back. Koh Lanta, this trip was much shorter and quieter than our last. I think we should have pencilled in a few more days on Lanta but there is always next time.



The green season trip was extremely cheap with the resorts costing up to 1/3 of the price during the high season. No matter what season it is the beaches never close. We had a few rainy monsoon days but nothing to spoil our trip. The sun was never far away.

All that is left to do is look at our photographs and think of our next trip. Visiting a few resorts seemed to work and for that we needed 16 days. Maybe a quick long weekend might not be far away before we have the time for another holiday.

Sunshine and Monsoon Kamala Beach Day 16

Our last full day on holiday but not time to look back yet. The sun was up and there was a beach we needed to enjoy. First port of call was the inclusive breakfast in the resort. I supposed typical hotel international breakfast but they did have a good range of foods on offer.

Armed with bottles of water and hats we headed across the road to the sea and it looked twice as beautiful as yesterday. The waves were rolling in and crashing on the slope of the beach with hardly anybody there to enjoy it all.



It was a good morning a few clouds but plenty of sunshine. We took to the north of the beach again, passing the sun loungers and massage tents. Here is was just really us, the trees, the sand and the waves.



After a good couple of hours splashing around and having a bit of youthful fun there was a noticeable darkness in the clouds and a stronger wind starting to blow.



We thought about it for a while and reluctantly decided to move back down the beach.



Not quite fast enough, we got caught in a heavy monsoon downpour and managed to find some shelter in a restaurant located on the beach. The tables began to fill up with other holidaymakers seeking refuge from the storm.



For us it was convenient,  a bit of food and a couple of beers while we waited for the rains to stop. It was a long wait, it just seemed to get heavier and heavier. It took a couple of hours and a couple more beers before we thought of chancing our luck.



The rains did ease slightly or so we thought. Hurrying in the direction of the hotel, not more than a couple of hundred meters we got completely soaked. All part of the fun I guess, at least it was not freezing.

Sadly that was our day, we did manage a few hours on the beach but the rains kept up from venturing out for the rest of the day except for an evening meal close by.


We manages lots of monsoon free days it was just a shame we had just a few days to spend in Kamala.  Tomorrow would be traveling back to Phuket Airport and home.

First Look at Kamala Beach Day 15

We checked in at the Print Kamala Resort and had been allocated a garden hut. The room was big with a decking out front to sit and relax. All this was raised above the ground and set in a tropical forest complete with pond.  It was quite an exotic and relaxing setting.

The resort is not directly on the beach but it’s just a short walk to the sand. For us we decided to have a look around town and get some food. We should have done a bit more home work here as we set off the wrong direction away from town. Food was, um, pizza and chicken sate with a cool beer.

Having our hunger satisfied we jumped down on to the beach and took in the views. Kamala Beach sits in a little bay and  it would be an easy late afternoon walk up the sand.



The southern end just near out resort seemed to be the busiest part of  the beach, not that there were many people around. The sand was nice and soft as we headed north.



Tuned out it was a bit too soft to walk on properly. Luckily a track parallels the beach and we walked a bit more firmly. Quite a few massage tents and beach restaurants. Some were tempting but having just eaten it was not for us. That was until a pancake seller on his motorcycle came alone the path – not something we could resist. A few minutes later and a freshly cooked banana pancake was in our hands.

The north end of the bay was quiet, nothing near as touristy looking as the southern end. The waves looked challenging as they broke on the slope of the shore.

Sadly, time was not on our side and darkness was beginning to fall. We sometimes forget how early and quickly it arrives. Saying that we headed back to the resort and took to the hotel pool. I know there were other people staying here but we had the pool alone.



For the evening we just took a restaurant just outside of the hotel. I have to admit we were a little bit lost here and not much time to explore but it was a nice place one flight up that allowed us to dine while looking down at the road.

Ton Yum soup and a Green Curry. Both were very tasty and enjoyable but not ranking up with the best. Could we be getting a little bit too fussy with our Thai Cuisine.

The night was pleasingly warm and we sat for a while watching and finishing out beer. We could hear the occasional sound of thunder in the distance.

End of the evening was set sitting at the edge of the beach watching an amazing lightning show far out in the ocean. Too far to hear any nose but the constant bolts of electricity were illuminating up the sky. There were a few locals sitting near but it looked like there were more interesting in their mobile phones.





The lightning is not something the camera could pick up easily and doesn’t really show how fantastic it looked.

End of a nice day, a little bit long in the travelling and not much time to explore. Kamala Beach was not a disappointment  but with just two nights here it`s not enough time.