Khao Lak Beach shares its name with the entire resort area but only ranks third in popularity after the more visited and developed Bang Niang and Nang Thong. To the north, Khao Lak Beach is separated from Nang Thong by a high cliff, so you can’t walk along the shoreline from the neighbouring northern beach. The main beach infrastructure and most hotels are located in its northern section.
Beach Overview
Out of all the Khao Lak beaches, this area appealed to me the least. First off, the roads are a mix of tarmac and gravel, which is inconvenient and looks rather shabby. Everything around seemed less attractive visually than Bang Niang and Nang Thong. Secondly, the area is tiny – there’s not much to explore, literally just the road from the main highway to the beach and a couple of side streets.
The beach stretches about 1.2 miles (2 kilometres) in total. This area can roughly be divided into two parts: northern and southern. The northern section houses all the hotels and beach facilities, whilst the southern part has practically nothing – just palm trees and fields, plus the Poseidon hotel near the shore and three little cafés.
Further south there’s a rocky outcrop, beyond which you can glimpse an even wilder beach where there are absolutely no people, and you can actually walk there along the shoreline.
People usually stay in the northern part and stroll down to the southern section along the beach. Yes, you can get there by car or motorbike, but you’d need to go via the main road and it’s quite a detour.
Swimming
The entry into the water is rather steep – the shore drops away at a noticeable angle, so the depth reaches chest-high for an adult almost immediately. During low tide season the sea recedes a bit, but after walking 30-70 feet (10-20 metres) through shallow water you can already swim properly. Waves do occur, as everywhere along the Andaman Sea coast, during summer.
Sunbeds and Shade
Casuarina trees grow along the beach, with palm trees and other vegetation scattered here and there. But these aren’t right by the water – there’s quite a wide strip of sand, and often between the sand and trees there’s another band of ground-covering vegetation: creeping vines and grass.
Early morning, from sunrise, the casuarinas cast shadows towards the sea, making morning the most comfortable time with natural shade.
Around midday the shadows almost completely disappear and from then on the sun beats down directly, setting into the sea at sunset. But towards evening and sunset the sun isn’t harsh – it’s actually rather pleasant.
There’s also shade from umbrellas set up on the beach by cafés, hotels and small entrepreneurs making a living renting out sunbeds with umbrellas to tourists. Hotels often place their deck chairs under the casuarina trees, nabbing the best shaded spots this way.
Beach Photos
Amenities
Small shops, cafés and the like can be found in the northern part of the beach, along the street leading to the sea. In this same area there’s an elephant village where tourists can ride one of these symbolic Thai animals. The southern continuation of Khao Lak Beach is a lovely spot.
Particularly around the large rocks. No wonder many people walk here along the beach from the north. Clean sea, rocks, there’s bound to be snorkelling, and there aren’t many people about. North of the rocks and before reaching Poseidon Bungalows there are three beachside cafés with parking nearby.
Accommodation
The Khao Lak area is small – essentially one street that’s also the beach road. A couple of side streets branch off from it and that’s about it. Yet this small patch manages to fit hotels, resorts, cafés, massage places and everything else a tourist needs.
In this area you’ll find one affordable hotel (even by current Russian standards) that’s actually five-star, plus a simpler one located closer to the Petchkasem Road:
Beyond this, the beach strip continues south, but there’s virtually no infrastructure there except for the secluded Poseidon Bungalows 2, just short of which there are several beach cafés.
How to Find the Beach
At the very north of the beach there’s essentially one street leading to the sea. If you’re driving along the highway from Phuket, it’s hard to miss – it’ll be right before the start of the hill climb, beyond which lies Nang Thong Beach.
At the very south of the beach sits Poseidon Bungalows hotel – following signs to it you can drive from the highway to the parking area by the cafés. There’s one main road there. The Poseidon Bungalows hotel itself stands at some distance from the beach, but there’s a path leading from it down to the beach.
To reach the wild beach (even further south), you need to clamber over the rocky outcrop that sits right by the sea on the beach. The wild beach is completely empty – not a soul. From the rocky outcrop you can spot barbed wire and red buoys in the distance along the shore. According to the map, there’s a military base there.
This means the beach is either completely closed to visitors, or you’d need to enter through the military base if they allow it (this exists in Hua Hin and Pattaya, for example). Plus there’s a river flowing into the sea there. The wild beach stretches south for several more miles (several more kilometres) to a headland, after which Lam Kaen town begins and the Thap Lamu pier, from where boats go to the Similans.
