Phang Nga Bay, Thailand: Best Things To Do and How To Get There – IL internationalliving.com

A dramatic landscape of colossal limestone karsts juts abruptly skyward out of the calm, emerald-green Andaman Sea. Secluded bays with sandy beaches rim steep overgrown islets, and sheer jungle-draped cliffs and caves enclose hidden tranquil lagoons. This is the distinctive natural phenomenon of Phang Nga Bay, one of Thailand’s top tourist destinations and one of South-East Asia’s most stunning seascapes.

Phang Nga Bay is in the northern part of the Malacca Strait between the island of Phuket and the provinces of Phang Nga and Krabi on the mainland of southern Thailand. It covers an area of 249 square miles and a large part is protected by the Ao Phang Nga National Park in Phang Nga province.

In an archipelago of over 40 mostly uninhabited islands, the two populated islands of Ko Yao Yai (Big Long Island) and Ko Yao Noi (Small Long Island) are the largest. Ko is also spelled Koh and means island in Thai.

During the mainly dry November to April high season, the iconic Phang Nga Bay attracts throngs of Thai and international visitors. A myriad of sightseeing tours by traditional wooden longtail boat, speedboat, sailing yacht, and sea kayak outnumber the small fishing vessels plying the shallow bay waters. Then, from May to October during the wet tropical monsoon of the low season, the activity subsides.