Khao Lak

Khao Lak is a string of beaches and small settlements along about twenty kilometres of the Phang Nga coast, quieter and lower-rise than Phuket, backed by forest and the Khao Lak-Lam Ru National Park. It is the main base for liveaboard and day trips to the Similan Islands, which is much of its economy. The other fact about Khao Lak is the tsunami: on 26 December 2004 the Indian Ocean wave struck this coast harder than anywhere else in Thailand, killing several thousand people here, and a police patrol boat carried two kilometres inland stands where it came to rest as a memorial, with a tsunami museum and warning towers along the coast. Reconstruction was thorough and most of what stands is post-2004. The Similan park closes annually from mid-May to mid-October, which effectively sets Khao Lak's season, and much of the town closes with it.

What you actually see

• The beaches - about twenty kilometres of quiet, low-rise coast.
• The Similan departures - day boats and liveaboards from Thap Lamu pier.
• The tsunami memorial - the police boat carried two kilometres inland in 2004.
• The national parks - Khao Lak-Lam Ru forest behind the coast.

When to go

November to April; the Similan Islands close from mid-May to mid-October and much of Khao Lak closes with them. Book liveaboards well ahead in the season.

Honest expectations

Strongly seasonal - a low-season visit finds much shut and no Similan trips. Rip currents on the open beaches in the monsoon. The 2004 memorials are treated seriously locally, and several thousand people died here.

Nearby

The Similan Islands are offshore; Takua Pa and Little Amazon are north.