Things to do in Khao Lak
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Wicked Diving
An exceptionally well-run and environmentally conscious outfit that runs diving and snorkelling overnight trips offering a range of live-aboard options including Whale Sharks & Mantas, Turtle & Reefs and Sharks & Rays conservation trips, run in conjunction with Ecocean. It does all the PADI courses, too.
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Viking Steakhouse
Offering a fine line in pizzas, pastas and Nordic meat feasts, this is a longstanding favourite. The cosy, open-fronted interior features all sorts of welcome trimmings.
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Sea Dragon Dive Center
Specialises in live-aboards and is one of the few centres to reliably offer trips year-round. It has an impeccable reputation.
Diving or snorkelling day-excursions to the Similan and Surin islands are immensely popular, but if you can, opt for a live-aboard. Since the islands are around 60km away from the mainland (about three hours by boat), you'll have a more relaxing trip as well as be able to experience the islands sans day-tripper crowds if you stay the night or longer. Although geared towards divers, all dive shops cater to snorkellers who can hop on selected dive excursions or live-aboards for a discount of around 40%.
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Similan Diving Safaris
The speciality here is the high-quality four-day live-aboard (18,800B all-inclusive) that regularly attracts return customers. Knowledgeable staff and amazing food sweeten the deal. As far as live-aboards are concerned, this is probably the best bang for your baht. Day trips are also available.
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'Post Tsunami Experience' Tour
The worthwhile 'Post Tsunami Experience' Tour leaves from Nang Tong Supermarket in central Khao Lak and includes an authentic Thai lunch. Proceeds and anything you buy along the way help support local economies. Also stop by the centre for drop-in Thai cooking or language classes at 15:00 every Wednesday, and check the schedule for occasional craft and dancing classes.
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Khao Lak/Lam Ru National Park
The area immediately south of Hat Khao Lak has been incorporated into the vast 125-sq-km Khao Lak/Lam Ru National Park, a collage of sea cliffs, 1000m-high hills, beaches, estuaries, forested valleys and mangroves. Wildlife includes hornbills, drongos, tapirs, gibbons, monkeys and Asiatic black bears. The visitors centre, just off Hwy 4 between the Km 56 and Km 57 markers, has a very nice open-air restaurant on a shady slope overlooking the sea. From the restaurant you can take a fairly easy 3km round-trip nature trail that heads along the cape and ends at often-deserted Hat Lek beach.
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Grassroots HRED
Grassroots HRED is in Takua Pa, 25km north of Khao Lak. This human rights organisation strives to help the Burmese people in Thailand, particularly in the tsunami-affected areas. Their successful summer camps programs are a great way to lend a helping hand.
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Sea Dragon Diver Center
One of the older operations in Khao Lak, Sea Dragon has maintained high standards throughout the years and continues to offer top-notch day trips and live-aboards. The penny-pincher three-day live-aboard goes for 11,800B (not including park fees and equipment).
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Tsunami Volunteer Center
The most well-known organisation on this coast is the excellent, Thai-run Tsunami Volunteer Center in Khao Lak. Volunteers are needed to teach English or work on village projects, and you can simultaneously take Thai language and cooking courses.
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Beach Trails
Between Khao Lak and Bang Sak is a network of sandy beach trails - some of which lead to deserted beaches - which are fun to explore on foot or by rented motorcycle. Most of the hotels in town rent out motorbikes.
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Pizzeria
By Giorgio, these Italian dishes are phenomenal! Stuff your face with authentic eats like homemade gnocchi or thin-crust pizzas, and we guarantee you’ll be back for seconds.
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Hat Bang Niang
About 2.5km north of Hat Khao Lak, Hat Bang Niang was also flattened by the tsunami, but is well worth a trip if you are looking for a little more peace and quiet.
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Happy Snapper
Wooden statues lie frozen as patrons bop their heads to the nightly live-music acts. There’s a small Thai canteen attached to the bar that serves up tasty usuals.
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Scuba Groupie
Friendly bartender dispenses post-dive drinks. Located on the ground floor of the ‘big yellow building’ (you can’t miss it).
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Stémpfer Café
Great coffee, tasty sandwiches, and a speedy wireless internet connection – what more could an email junky ask for?
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Mama’s
Mama whips up honest-to-goodness home-cooked meals. Located next to the 7-Eleven in Bang Niang.
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Takua Pa Market
This colourful market 25km north of town is a great place for snacking.
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Pinocchio
This beautiful candle-lit garden restaurant features a huge stone pizza oven, imported wine and cheese, tremendous sourdough bread, even better pizza, homemade pasta, and gelato.
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Phu Khao Lak
With its cloth tables spilling to the edges of a lawn at the southern end of the Khao Lak strip, this place is hard to miss. And you shouldn't because there's a huge menu of Western and Thai dishes here with ample descriptions, all cooked to perfection.
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Mama's Restaurant
Nobody, and we do mean nobody, does seafood better than Mama, who's set up across from Boat 813. Her fish cakes are insane, so is the barracuda sautéed in yellow curry.
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Khlong Thap Liang
Guided hikes along the coast or inland can be arranged through many tour agencies in town, as can long-tail boat trips up the scenic Khlong Thap Liang estuary. The latter trip affords opportunities to view mangrove communities of crab-eating macaques.
Between Khao Lak and Bang Sak is a network of sandy beach trails – some of which lead to deserted beaches – which are fun to explore on foot or by rented motorcycle. Most of the hotels in Khao Lek Town rent motorbikes for 250B per day.
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Happy Snapper
Here's a bar stocked with good liquor, with a map of the world on the ceiling, the tree of life on the wall and a rockin' house band on stage six nights a week in the high season, led by the owner, a Bangkok-born bass legend.
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Boat 813
In an open field nearly 1km from shore, this boat is a testament to the force of the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. Nearly 10 years later, it remains the region's most prominent reminder of the disaster. There's an information booth nearby with a tsunami timeline in both Thai and English. It's a 50B sŏrng·tăa·ou ride between here and Khao Lak.
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Big Blue
Japanese and Swedish owned; its speedboat, live-aboard and dive instructors are among the best in Khao Lak.
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IQ Dive
A quality operation that focuses on diving and snorkelling day trips. Diving day trips start at 5100B (all-inclusive). The website has good information about the gamut of live-aboards operating in the region.
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