Khao Lak is probably the tourist destination in Phang Nga province with the most overnight stays. However, while I used to like to stay at a small family-owned resort on Pakkarang (Koral) Beach, the tsunami put an end to that. Big money, big hotel chains, and mass tourism moved in after the tsunami literally wiped out most of the small businesses in the area.
However, there are other interesting destinations along the coast of the Andaman Sea. Thai Muang is about 30 km north of the Sarasin Bridge that links Phuket with the mainland and is about 25 km south of Khao Lak. Thai Muang can roughly be translated into "the end of the mine", which indicates that the place was founded for shipping out ore.
Thai Muang has a golf club and a marina. I have never figured out why a marina was built in this non-touristic location, but there is more than a dozen kilometers of beach with nice white sand.
It is a great beach on which to walk and watch the Andaman while enjoying the peace and quiet of the area. Parts of the beach are protected nesting sites for leatherback turtles. More info on this can be had at a turtle conservation center.
Takua Pa lies north of Khao Lak. That town is one of the oldest on the Andaman Coast and several old buildings can be found around town. It grew big on the back of tin mining and there is a museum giving a positive spin on that part of the town’s history.
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