Things to Do in Phang Nga

Phang Nga Bay is one of Southeast Asia's most photographed seascapes — a maze of sheer limestone karsts rising straight out of emerald-green water, dotted with hidden caves, secret lagoons, and villages built on stilts. It sits just north of Phuket, which makes it one of the region's great day trips, though it richly deserves a slower visit of its own.

The bay's most famous resident is James Bond Island (Khao Phing Kan), the slender rock made globally famous by 'The Man with the Golden Gun.' Most tours pair it with a sea-kayak paddle into the mangrove caves and hidden 'hongs' — collapsed cave rooms open to the sky — around Koh Panak and Koh Hong, and a stop at Koh Panyee, a Muslim fishing village floating above the water with its own over-water restaurants and even a football pitch.

Further out lie the Similan Islands, a protected national park regarded as one of Thailand's premier snorkeling and diving destinations, with granite boulders, powder-soft beaches, and reefs teeming with life. The park is open roughly mid-October to mid-May, so trips here are seasonal and best booked ahead.

Because Phang Nga's highlights are spread across the water, a guided speedboat or long-tail tour is the easiest way to experience them — with hotel pickup from Phuket or Krabi, lunch, kayaking, and a guide who knows the bay and the quiet corners the crowds miss.