Koh Phra Thong is a large, flat island just off the coast of Khura Buri (Kuraburi) in Phang Nga province, with open grassland that visitors compare to a savannah, long empty beaches and a few fishing villages. It is a protected Ramsar wetland, not a national park, so there is no park fee; you reach it by longtail boat from piers near Khura Buri, arranged through your accommodation.
This is one of the quietest places on Thailand's Andaman coast. There are no big resorts, no town and few roads, and the island's appeal is exactly that: walking or cycling across open country, birdwatching, and having a beach to yourself. If you want restaurants, nightlife or easy boat connections, choose somewhere else.
Our overview of the quieter Andaman islands compares Phra Thong with the other small islands of this coast. This page is about the island itself and how to get there.
Koh Phra Thong at a glance (November 2026)
- Where
- Khura Buri district, Phang Nga, about 2 km off the west coast (Ramsar)
- Status
- Ramsar wetland site no. 2153 with Ko Ra, designated 12 August 2013; no gazetted national park
- Park fee
- None, because it is not a national park
- People
- About 1,064 inhabitants, mostly fishermen (Ramsar, 2013)
- Getting there
- Longtail from piers near Khura Buri, arranged with your accommodation
- Best season
- The dry season, roughly November to April
A protected wetland, not a national park
Many websites call Koh Phra Thong a national park and tell you to pay a park fee. We found no Department of National Parks (DNP) source that lists a gazetted park here. The Ramsar Convention's record for the site, from 2013, says it has no national legal designation, and other conservation sources describe it as a national park proposed in 2001 that was never created. So there is no park fee to pay on Phra Thong, and the DNP's national park rules do not apply on the island itself.
What it does have is international recognition. Ko Phra Thong and its neighbor Ko Ra form Ramsar site no. 2153, the "Ko Ra-Ko Phra Thong Archipelago", designated on Monday 12 August 2013 and covering 19,648 hectares of land and sea. Administratively, Ko Phra Thong is a subdistrict (tambon) of Khura Buri district, the same subdistrict that contains Mu Ko Surin National Park far offshore.
The name means "golden Buddha", and Travelfish (August 2026) retells the local legend of a gold Buddha image buried somewhere on the island long ago.
The savannah, the forests and the birds
The island's landscape is what makes it unusual. The Ramsar record describes a mosaic of grassland, peat swamp forest, freshwater pools, evergreen forest and mangroves, with about 700 hectares of seagrass beds around the coast that serve as a nursery for 268 species of coastal fish. The open grassland, with its scattered trees, is what visitors call the savannah. Keep expectations modest: it is flat, sandy country with birds and lizards, not a wildlife safari.
For birdwatchers, the island has a special place. Ramsar calls Ko Phra Thong the last site in Thailand known to support a significant breeding population of the lesser adjutant, a large stork. The same record lists the Sunda pangolin, sambar deer and the dugong among its mammals. Collection of lesser adjutant nestlings for food and unsustainable tourism development are named among the main threats, so keep your distance from nesting birds and stay on existing paths.
Long beaches and nesting turtles
The island's beaches are long and open, with very few people on them. According to Ramsar, the archipelago is nesting and foraging habitat for four threatened species of sea turtle: green, olive ridley, hawksbill and leatherback.
We could not find a published nesting season or a set of official visitor rules for Phra Thong's beaches. The sensible rules are the ones used for nesting turtles everywhere: no lights or flash photography on the beach at night, keep well back from a turtle that comes ashore, never touch eggs or hatchlings, and tell your accommodation if you see tracks or a nest. Do not light fires or leave rubbish on the sand.
Nesting turtles on Koh Phra Thong need a dark beach. Use a red or dimmed torch to walk back from dinner, keep it pointed at the ground and switch it off if you see a turtle. Lights disturb nesting females and draw hatchlings away from the sea.
Phra Thong is not in a marine national park, so the DNP's ban on certain sunscreen ingredients does not legally apply on its beaches. The reef and seagrass are just as fragile, though, and the ban does apply if you go on to the Surin Islands. Our page on the sunscreen ban in Thai marine parks lists the ingredients to avoid.
Villages, the Moken and the 2004 tsunami
About 1,064 people lived in the archipelago when Ramsar recorded the site, most of them fishermen. Visit the villages as you would any rural village: dress modestly away from the beach and ask before photographing people.
The Moken, the sea-going people of this coast, are best known from their village in the Surin Islands, which lie in the same subdistrict. Our guide to the Surin Islands explains how to visit their village at Ao Bon respectfully.
The Phang Nga coast, of which Phra Thong is part, was hit harder than anywhere else in Thailand by the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004; our Khao Lak guide describes the memorials on the mainland.
Where to stay: a handful of places
Accommodation on Koh Phra Thong is limited to a small number of bungalow resorts and simple guesthouses, mostly along the northern beaches. Book before you travel, because almost every place to stay also arranges the boat and the pickup at the island pier. There are no convenience shops along the long stretches between villages, according to Travelfish, so carry water when you explore.
If you would rather stay with a local family, ask on the mainland about community stays; our guide to homestays in Thailand explains how registered homestays work and what is usually included.
The boat from Khura Buri
Koh Phra Thong has no scheduled ferry that you can book online. Travelfish names two departure points near Khura Buri: Saphan Pla pier, just past the Surin National Park pier north of town, and a boat launch at Bang Det in the mangroves. In practice, the easiest way is to book your accommodation first and ask it to arrange the longtail and the pickup. Private longtail hire is possible from the piers, but agree the price before you board.
Our page on riding long-tail boats in Thailand covers life jackets, fair prices and what to do if the sea looks rough. Between May and October the southwest monsoon brings wind and swell to this coast, and crossings can be cancelled; leave a spare day before any flight.
Getting to Khura Buri. The town lies north of Takua Pa and Khao Lak. The evening VIP coach from Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal to Phang Nga town runs via Kuraburi; our guide to getting from Bangkok to Khao Lak has the October 2026 fares and the alternatives by air and train. From the north, the town of Ranong is the other gateway to this stretch of coast.
When to go
Come in the dry season, roughly November to April, when the sea is calm and the boats run without problems. The monsoon months bring heavy rain to the whole Andaman coast, so check that your accommodation is open before you plan a trip then. Our guide to the best time for the Thai islands compares the Andaman and Gulf seasons month by month.
If you like Phra Thong's emptiness but want a little more choice of places to stay, Koh Yao Yai in Phang Nga Bay is the easier quiet island to reach from Phuket.
Frequently asked questions
Is Koh Phra Thong a national park?
No. We found no DNP record of a gazetted national park on Koh Phra Thong, and the Ramsar Convention's 2013 record says the site has no national legal designation. It was proposed as a park in 2001. It is a Ramsar wetland, and there is no park fee.
How do you get to Koh Phra Thong?
By longtail boat from piers near Khura Buri, such as Saphan Pla pier north of town or Bang Det in the mangroves. There is no bookable public ferry, so ask your accommodation on the island to arrange the boat and the pickup before you travel.
Can you see turtles on Koh Phra Thong?
Possibly. The Ramsar record lists the archipelago as nesting and foraging habitat for green, olive ridley, hawksbill and leatherback turtles. We could not find a published nesting season, so treat any sighting as luck, and keep the beach dark at night.
Is there a savannah on Koh Phra Thong?
There is open grassland with scattered trees, which visitors call a savannah. The Ramsar record describes it as part of a mosaic of grassland, peat swamp, freshwater pools and forest. Expect birds, deer if you are lucky, and wide empty space, not big game.
Sources
- Ramsar Sites Information Service – Ko Ra-Ko Phra Thong Archipelago (site no. 2153) (checked November 2026)
- Department of National Parks – Mu Ko Surin National Park, Ko Phra Thong subdistrict, 15 July 2026 (Thai) (checked November 2026)
- Travelfish – Ko Phra Thong introduction (August 2026) (checked November 2026)
- Travelfish – How to get to Ko Phra Thong (checked November 2026)