Roadtrip Phang Nga – A wonderful day trip from Phuket into another world. Phuket is one of the tourism strongholds in Thailand. Even if there are many beautiful and still unknown corners on the island, you will never be really “off-the-path” on Phuket. Having spent many years on Phuket itself, we also appreciate the surrounding regions such as Phang Nga or Krabi. We were lucky enough to find a really great route along the coast of Phang Nga, which leads to unspoilt Thailand. Follow our road trip from Phuket to Phang Nga into another world with lonely sandy beaches and beautiful nature.

Preparation for the road trip from Phuket to Phang Nga

For us, the road trip to Phang Nga started in the popular tourist town of Patong. Of course, your trip could also start anywhere else on Phuket. The destination of the day trip is the Khao Lak Lam Ru National Park, which is picturesque on the coast of Khao Lak. In the case of this moto adventure, however, the journey is also the reward, as it passes beautiful, absolutely secluded sandy beaches and coasts in Phang Nga.

For the entire tour you should easily plan a whole day with sightseeing and breaks. Traffic in Thailand is quite slow, so you should take your time making stops to enjoy the beautiful scenery or even take a swim on one of the secluded beaches.

If you want to do a road trip for more than a day, you can also stay in an authentic bungalow on the cliffs in Lam Ru National Park or treat yourself to a night in a luxury resort in the nearby town of Khao Lak.

Important! Please pay close attention to the map. You have to turn at the right place to get on the beautiful route along the coast. If you drive according to navigation, you will use the country road to Khao Lak, which does not offer any scenic attractions.

Rent a scooter or car on Phuket

Even if you can theoretically take this trip by taxi from Phuket, a road trip is only really fun if you drive yourself. In general, we recommend a rental car or a motorbike for this long distance. If you feel more comfortable on scooters and prefer to drive an automatic, it is advisable to rent a maxi scooter with at least 300ccm. The long-distance Yamaha T-Max or Honda X-ADV models are even better.

Scooters of all brands and variations as well as the T-Max models from Yamaha are literally available on every corner in Phuket. Alternatively, you can also make online reservations via BikesBooking. You can rent a rental car easily and safely from international rental car companies, the airport in Phuket houses offices of all common rental companies such as Avis, Europcar and so on. But it’s best to compare the prices online in advance, on Rentalcars.com we have always been able to get the best price for the rental car via this price comparison website.

The journey is the reward – Driving from Phuket to Khao Lak Lam Ru National Park

As already mentioned several times, the tour starts in the tourist town of Patong. Already the first few kilometers along Patong Beach provide a magnificent view, which gets even better as soon as you go up the hills from Kalim Beach to Kamala. Already on the way from Patong to the Sarasin Bridge, which leads to the mainland, there are a number of viewpoints and wonderful beaches to discover.

If you don’t know them yet, you should definitely get up very early to be able to explore all the sights on the way until you leave Phuket. The total distance of 101 kilometers may not seem extremely long, but you should plan at least 2 hours WITHOUT STOPS. If you take breaks, explore the area or even go swimming, you can easily be on the road for 3-4 hours.

For those who already know Phuket, it is only interesting as soon as you leave Phuket behind over the Sarasin Bridge. After driving 3 kilometers on the mainland, turn left onto a small side road along the coast of Phang Nga, which provides access to miles of pristine sandy beaches and almost leads to Khao Lak. A first stop is near the fishing village of Khok Kloi, where a small trail leads to a beautiful, secluded and kilometer-long sandy beach.

If you want to have a beach in Thailand all to yourself, this is the place for you. So you probably only expect a few fishing boats and an old lady who is looking for shadow under the pine trees near the beach. People haven’t seen a foreigner that often in Phang Nga, so they gonna greet you in a friendly manner and with a typical Thai smile.

If you only left around noon, you should continue along the coastal road quite quickly after this stop in order to reach your destination before sunset. On the journey you can enjoy the beautiful nature to the left and right of the path. Just a few kilometers later, the next highlight awaits all adventurers. Natai Beach is also a wonderful beach and even has a small sign for a nice Instagram shot.

After another hour’s drive, the Khao Lak Lam Ru National Park is your next stop. Parking is possible on site, but beforehand, as in almost every national park in Thailand, an entrance fee has to be paid. The ticket costs 200 baht for foreigners, Thai citizens only pay 40 baht.

In the relatively small national park itself there is a viewpoint restaurant, parking lots, restrooms, a few bungalows and small villas for overnight stays and a small path along the coast down to the beach. The entire area is really beautiful and somehow the flora and fauna on site is less reminiscent of Thailand and more of the national parks on the coast of California.

The walk down to Khao Lak Beach, which offers clear water, great rock formations and a clean stretch of sand, is mandatory. In general, the entire area in the national park exudes peace and relaxation. A real insider tip in buzzling South Thailand!

After visiting the national park, you can possibly add a visit to nearby Khao Lak. There you can have a great coffee or dinner before heading back to Phuket.

If you want to get back faster to Phuket, you can opt for the route along the main road to the Sarasin Bridge. It’s not that impressive, but it’s efficient. Overall, we can recommend the road trip to everyone. Even people who have been to Phuket on vacation several times will get their money’s worth on this excursion. So embark on the adventure and dare the road trip to Phang Nga.

Have you ever explored the area around Phang Nga? Leave us a comment below!