Thailand is much more than Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Pattaya and all those other touristy islands people love to flock to. In fact Thailand has 77 provinces in total, each offering something amazing to see, explore and experience, which is exactly why we have made a point to start exploring them one at a time. In December last year, we took a road trip to Chiang Mai, followed by shorter trips through Chonburi and Chanthaburi in 2016. To keep the streak going, during the long weekend in May, we decided to head west from Bangkok to a popular Thai destination called Prachuap Khiri Khan.
Prachuap Khiri Khan is a beautiful and quaint province about 250 kms from Bangkok and contains the narrowest part of Thailand where it is just 11 km (6.8 mi) from the coast of the Gulf of Thailand to the border with Myanmar. The landscape of this area features stunning low mountains, national parks, pristine beaches, islands and coastal areas.
It turned out, it was one of our best trips ever. Here’s how it fared.
Day 1: long drive, beaches and monkey temple
So began our long, almost 4.5 hour journey to Prachuap Khiri Khan. Now most people drive up to Hua Hin but we went further down to our first stop – Kui Buri. It’s known for some magnificent national parks, cultural heritage and a quiet town.
We went directly to our hotel – Kui Buri hotel and resort, where we quickly checked-in, freshened up and left to explore nearby places. Having heard about Ao Manao (Lime Bay) and how it is very popular with locals and tourists, we decided to check it out. It was about an hour drive there (40 km south) from our hotel.
Ao Manao is a beautiful bay with small islands all around it. The beaches were extremely clean and everything was well kept. It made sense since it is within Wing 5 of a Thai Air Force base.
We drove around the coastal roads, admiring the stunning views of white sandy beaches against the clear blue water aligned with a different shade of blue sky. It was paradise! How is this place not promoted enough in brochures and travel sites, we wondered?
Further up, the beach was lined with umbrellas, beach chairs, shacked restaurants and shops. We parked on the side of the road and had a delicious Thai meal by the ocean – grilled squid, fried rice, spicy prawns and a bowl of bean thread noodle with shrimps. Yum!
To burn off all that food, a walk along the beach was exactly what we needed.
A few meters down, we noticed in the distance, a group of young monks running towards the sea. As we got closer, they were splashing about and seemed to be having an amazing time. They were probably thrilled to beat the heat in the water, albeit that too was quite warm. I quickly took out my camera and shot a few snaps.
It was one of the most exciting and beautiful sights we had seen. The locals probably thought we were crazy because they were just minding their own business, not at all impressed.
Another thing that Ao Manao is known for is an impressive viewpoint from a mountain, Khao Lum Muak, which requires a 30-40 minute hike. We had to ask around a bit to find it and when we did, much to our disappointment, we were told by the army officers that it was closed. I think they have timings for it and you have to register early.
It was a total bummer since I am really into this kind of stuff and that viewpoint was a must-see, at least from all those Instagram posts that were tormenting me.
As we were leaving to go back to the hotel, in the distance I saw a temple on top of a hill. I quickly parked my car nearby to take a look.
To our horror and surprise, there were monkeys. Everywhere! On the foothills, on the stairways and even on the road. Now I don’t necessarily have a fear of monkeys, although, Kanika might, but I do fear them biting me and passing on some disease.
But my will to go up there was stronger than my fear. Everyone was doing it so why can’t I? I had already missed out on the other viewpoint and wasn’t going to let some monkeys deny me some adventure. So off I went and began climbing the stairs.
100s of monkeys were now in my way. It was a funny sight because I would wait at the side rails till more people would make their way up. I would then walk along or behind them as if they would save me from these monkeys. Yet I was still in fear of one of them snatching my phone, so I tried to limit the number of pictures I took and would instantly hide it in my pocket anytime one got anywhere close.
I couldn’t help notice how similar these monkeys are to human beings. Well of course, we are distant relatives and primates after all but seriously, it was uncanny. Some lay all gangster-like overlooking the city while some sat back chilling and eating. It was very interesting to see.
I was really glad I went up to the temple though, as the view up here was beyond amazing. I came at the right time too as the sun was beginning to set, casting a golden hue and sense of serenity across the city. Again, I thought, what an underrated destination in Thailand this is.
The rest of the evening and night was quite uneventful as we headed back to the hotel for dinner and a well-deserved sleep.
Day 2: exploring Kui Buri with a local
After having a good nights’ rest, we got up early and had breakfast at the hotel. Nothing great but it had the basics so it was fine. We’ve had better for less.
At 8.30 am sharp, our local guide, Khun Pai came to pick us up and showed us around Kui Buri district of the province. We went hiking up to a cave, drove through national parks, searched for wild elephants, and visited a temple.
You can read more about this day in detail – discovering Kui Buri with TakeMeTour.
At night we drove down to Ao Manao district again to see the ‘nightlife’. Since this is a sleepy town, everything was shutting by 10 pm with a few local bars open till midnight. We had dinner at a seafood restaurant after walking through a night market along the coast. We hung out for a bit and left the city by 11.30 pm.
Day 3: seafood lunch by the beach, failed kayaking and chilling at an oldies beach bar
The next day, up early again. Shayan went for a quick breakfast while I packed our stuff as we were heading down further south in the province to Bang Saphan district. It was a 1.5 hour drive and we wanted to make the most of our stay there so by 8.30 am we were off.
We reached about 10.30 – 11.00 and made our way to the next hotel – Coral Hotel. It wasn’t yet check-in time so we thought we should book some excursions or explore the city a bit. Just as we were about to leave, the manager came out and said we could check-in.
The hotel was mostly occupied by elder French travelers, possibly in their 60s or 70s. It made sense since the the owner of the hotel was French and all their communication and marketing was also done in French. The style of the resort was a blend of French and Thai designs. A very quaint and comfortable place, indeed.
After checking in and cooling off, we asked the receptionist where we could go for a good meal and a nice beach view. He mentioned Ban Krut (Baan Grood) is a good spot. We had actually seen signs for it on our way here so we backtracked to it, taking us about 20-30 minutes to get there but it was certainly worth the trip.
Great seafood and a beautiful, quiet beach with a handful of people – all Thais. No tourist in sight.
Small local restaurants were lined up all along the beach so we were free to pick and choose.
After filling up our stomach, heart and soul, we drove around town for a bit. There was nothing much to see or do so we went back to our hotel, where we learned that they rented out kayaks for a really good price so we decided to go kayaking.
The sea looked a bit rough and we asked them if it was OK to go out there and they said, “sure, it would just be a bit difficult but it is fine”.
We should have heeded that semi-warning because we got banged up quite a bit in the sea as we even got flipped over once or twice from the crashing waves. We barely even made it out to sea before we called it quits. Funnily enough, we did end up spending an hour with the kayak, but that was mostly because of dragging it in and out of the sea.
Beaten and bruised, we finally went to our hotel pool to relax and have a few drinks. We earned it!
Night creeped as the sun slowly faded away. It was time to have dinner, not only because it was dark but our stomachs demanded it. The hotel restaurant did not entice us so we went to a nearby beach bar and restaurant called ‘Why Not Bar‘, where we enjoyed some 70-90s music, a few drinks and a meal.
Day 4: Snorkeling at Talu island
On our last day here, we got up early to go for an excursion to a nearby island called Koh Talu. It was strange we left this for last because it required the most time and energy and we had a long drive ahead of us back to Bangkok but our whole trip to this province revolved around hitting this island at some point.
Now there is a lot of outdated information on some of the websites we went on so we learned things the hard way.
Note that many sites will tell you that a trip to the island is 350-400 Baht and while that is half true, that price is only for snorkeling with a tour company around the island. You NEVER actually set foot on the island since it is a private one. We learned this just as we were in the tour company’s pickup truck. It was by chance we asked him if there any ATMs or currency exchange on the island to which the operator replied “oh no! And we don’t go on the island”.
WHAT????
We quickly got off and headed back to our hotel. We had heard about another tour agency that was charging 1300 Baht/person and we had no idea why. So we decided to go to them. Turned out that they are the official partner with Talu island resort that is on the island.
We were hesitant to pay that much but we came all the way so might as well, right?
Turned out, the value was actually great because we got to snorkel in 3-4 different beautiful spots and then have an amazing Thai buffet lunch on the island resort.
After that we were free to roam around the white sandy beaches and snorkel/kayak/swim in the pristine aqua blue waters – all to ourselves. Literally there were about 20 people on this island.
Basically, we paid an all-inclusive and exclusive package that was totally worth it! Next time we visit this island, we would opt for staying a night or two as they have amazing all-inclusive packages with lots of excursion activities. We recommend all of you to do the same as well.
For those of you convinced to go to this charming province that is Prachuap Khiri Khan, here is a helpful map indicating some of the places we visited.
Wow, it looks like you had a great road trip. I have only been to Thailand once, and didn’t venture too far as it was just a holiday really – I needed a good rest after my father died. We did venture to Hua Hin but not much further. I really must go back one day.
These all look like some awesome places to visit in Thailand! We did spend some time in Chiang Mai and used Bangkok as a travel hub, but we enjoyed island hopping the most! We tried to find some islands that weren’t as touristy or popular and they ended up being our favorite! We will have to check out these awesome recommendations on our next trip! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome. Glad it helped! Yea, Bangkok is a perfect place to start and then start hitting nearby provinces and then venture off to the further ones. There is certainly a lot too see and experience. In places like Khiri Khan, you see a more authentic lifestyle that is less influenced by the west and modern culture.
Finally a post not praising the standard locations in Thailand! Photos are stunning and would not hesitate to visit!
Thank you! We hope you do visit places like this.
Oh my gosh I LOVE that picture of the monks!!!! How cool! And hubby and I are moving to Thailand in October so this was actually really helpful; we didn’t previously have plans to check out Khiri Khan but it’s now been put on the list!!!!
We are so glad to hear that! That is the whole point of our blog and visiting places like this. We want to see more of unseen or less seen Thailand and other parts of the world. Hope you go here and definitely visit Koh Talu and stay a night there.
This is indeed an epic road trip with some mind blowing locales along the way. Your post also gives a glimpse of Thailand which not many of us are aware. Thanks for sharing this different perspective of Thailand.
You are welcome. Glad you liked it and hope it makes you want to visit Prachuap or similar places in your travels.
I’ve always had a special spot in my heart for Thailand having lived their on a cultural immersion gap year learning the language and living with locals. My host families took me all around the country to provinces most tourists wouldn’t dare venture in. Good on you for trying to go off the tourist circuit. It goes to show there is so much more than what we think there is! The photo with all the monks bathing in the beach really touched me. I wish I was there to experience it for myself!
Wow, that is amazing. How much did you learn in that year? I’ve never done an immersion visit, partly because I really don’t like staying at people’s houses, even distant families. I feel I am intruding and also can’t do things the way I want to. Call it whatever you want but I’d rather come over for dinner and get to know them in any way but just can’t stay at stranger’s house. I even have difficulty adjusting in hotels. I like having my own home to come to.
But that doesn’t take away from us trying to learn about cultures, life of a local and finding off the tourist places.
And yes, the monks swimming was surreal. One of our favorite captures.