The Pearl of Andaman Sea
about Ang Thong National Park
For the ultimate pure nature experience, Ang Thong National Park offers a series of 40 small islands, with hidden lagoons and remote beaches.
About Phuket Island
"The Pearl of Thailand" or "The emerald upon the elephant's trunk" is the way to describe Phuket with respect to the rest of Thailand.
Phuket is the largest island of Thailand. It is connected by bridges to southern Thailand and surrounded by 32 smaller islands with a total area of 570 square kilometers. Approximately 1.75 million Rai of the area is forest land.
Situated on beaches that offer some of the most spectacular scenery in Thailand, from brilliant white sand beaches and coral islands to sheer limestone cliffs and forested inlets.
About 70 percent of Phuket is mountainous; a western range runs from north to south from which smaller branches derive. The highest peak is Mai Tha Sip Song, or Twelve Canes, at 529 meters, which lies within the boundaries of Tambon Patong, Kathu District. The remaining 30 percent of the island, mainly in the center and south, is formed by low plains.
Phuket town itself is notable for its Sino-Portuguese architecture. The main attractions in Phuket Town are the old Sino-Portuguese buildings, the elaborate Chinese and Thai temples, and the public markets. Most of the buildings in Phuket’s city center were constructed nearly a hundred years ago. These building show mixed Chinese and western influences in their architecture called Sino-Portuguese. The buildings are characteristically much longer than they are wide, and the entry ways have fancy latticework. Many lovely examples can be found on Dibuk Road. Phuket’s Town Hall, Provincial Court, and Nakorn Luang Bank are also good examples of this style of architecture. Phuket’s Town’s oldest public structure, Government House, is a wonderful example of architecture from earlier this century.
about Patong Beach
This is Phuket's central tourist and night time entertainment district.
The famous bay and 4 km. beach is know as a centre of entertainment with restaurants catering to every nationality. Live music can be found in most pubs and bars. Accommodations range from budget to five-star.
about Andaman Sea Islands
The Andaman coast is a different world compared to the rest of Thailand. Steady rainfall nourishes a huge variety of tropical fauna, with the lush canopy in some areas reaching as high as 80m. In many places, scenic rubber and coconut plantations have been carved out of the jungle by the locals.The Andaman coast is also adorned with awe-inspiring limestone cliffs. These sheer, multi-coloured monoliths, scarred with caves and crags, are also capped with thick vegetation.
Phuket is the main starting point for most visitors to Andaman Sea destinations. The popular trips to islands lying to the south and east of Phuket about 30 minutes to 2 hours away by motor boat, including
Ko Phi Phi’s ancient cave drawings, Phangnga’s exotic backdrop, which appeared in a James Bond film.
Krabi Province’s Phra Nang, often called the most beautiful beach in the Andaman.
Coral Island (Ko He) which offers a dive all year round and has very beautiful natural scenery;
Ko Racha, which have dives of up to 30 meters; Shark Point, a favorite sleeping spot of leopard sharks and stingrays;
Ko Dok Mai which offers an impressive wall dive and a series of cave dives; and Ko Phi Phi where you can see white tip sharks, stingrays and moray eels besides colorful reef fishes.
Khao Lak offers a coral reef a few hundred meters off the beach and a spectacular wreck of a sunken tin miner.
Further south, the remote, rarely traveled beaches of Lanta and the islands of Ko Tartutao National Park offer more amazing natural beauty.
Truly world class diving sites are located farther away including Ko Similan, Ko Surin, Ko Tarutao and Burma Banks. Despite their long distances, tours are organized by some agencies in Phuket regularly during the dry season. All the first three island groups are marine national parks which offer magnificent coral gardens. Burma Banks being the farthest and newest, is in the best condition as a diving site.