Area photo★★★★★Khuk Khak Beach
JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa
Beachfront luxury with multiple pools and spa
Rates from฿8,500 / nightCompare rates
Hotels along the coast
Six properties from Bang Sak in the north to Nang Thong in the south. The beach you pick matters more than the hotel — see which beach to stay on before you compare rooms.
Area photo★★★★★
Area photo★★★★★Area photo★★★★★Bang Sak Beach
Le Méridien Khao Lak Resort & Spa
Family-friendly with quiet beach
Rates from฿3,400 / nightCompare rates
Pakarang Beach
Apsara Beachfront Resort & Villa
Traditional Thai design, great value
Rates from฿4,100 / nightCompare rates
Nang Thong Beach
Khaolak Laguna Resort
Central location, excellent pools
Rates from฿2,800 / nightCompare rates
What runs, and when
Year-round
Diving from Khao Lak
The Khao Lak dive season follows the national parks: roughly 15 October to 15 May. Liveaboards from Thap Lamu to the Similans, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock.
Read the guide →Year-roundElephant sanctuaries near Khao Lak
How to tell an observation-only elephant sanctuary from a riding camp with a new sign, what to ask before booking near Khao Lak, and why this is a year-round option when the marine parks are shut.
Read the guide →Year-roundKhao Sok & Cheow Lan Lake
Khao Sok stays open when the marine parks close. How the lake day trip works, the two entrances, raft-house stays, and why the wet season is the green season.
Read the guide →Closed for the seasonThe Similan Islands
When the Similan Islands are open, how the speedboat day trip from Thap Lamu pier works, and what it costs. Closure dates update automatically each season.
Read the guide →Closed for the seasonThe Surin Islands
The quieter marine park: how the Surin Islands trip from Kuraburi pier works, when the park is open, and how it compares with the Similans.
Read the guide →No airport, no pier — a road first
- Nearest airport
- Phuket (HKT)
- Roughly 70–80 km south. There is no airport at Khao Lak itself.
- Ferry port
- None
- Island trips leave from Phuket or Krabi. Khao Lak has no pier of its own.
- Marine parks
- Closed 15 May – 15 Oct
- Similan and Surin shut for the monsoon; Khao Sok, the beaches and the hotels run year-round.
Distances and closures are stable; fares move. Treat any price on this site as indicative and check with the operator.
Two seasons, not one
The marine parks are shut from roughly 15 May to 15 October, so there are no Similan or Surin trips in that window. Khao Sok, the beaches, the transfers and the hotels run as normal, the coast is close to empty, and rates are the lowest of the year. Christmas through New Year is the busiest week by a wide margin. The month-by-month version is in best time to visit.
Before you book
Where is Khao Lak?
Khao Lak is on the Andaman coast of Phang Nga province in southern Thailand, roughly 70–80 km north of Phuket International Airport — about an hour to an hour and a half by road. It is not a single town but around 25 km of separate beaches, and it has no airport and no ferry pier of its own.
Is Khao Lak worth visiting?
It depends on why you are coming, and the answer splits by season. For the Similan and Surin islands the window is mid-October to mid-May, and outside it the marine parks are shut. For Khao Sok, Cheow Lan Lake, a quiet beach and a good hotel at low-season rates, the monsoon months are a reasonable choice. It is a deliberately quieter, more family-oriented alternative to Phuket.
Is Khao Lak safe?
The sea is the real risk rather than crime. Red flags go up along this coast during the monsoon because of rip currents, and people drown here every year — if a flag is flying, the sea is not a judgement call. The beaches also shelve more steeply in places than they look, which matters if you are swimming with small children.
Does Khao Lak have nightlife?
Not in the Patong sense, and deliberately so — Khao Lak was rebuilt after 2004 as a quieter, more family-oriented alternative to Phuket. The beach bars are busy at six and empty at nine. Nang Thong has the greatest concentration of restaurants and bars and Bang Niang has a night market several evenings a week; for a strip of clubs, Patong is about 90 minutes south.