Attractions to explore in Phang-Nga national park area other than James Bond island

Phang-Nga national park is a vast geographical area north of Phuket with lots of interesting attractions that can be explored. However most tourists end up visiting only the James Bond Island via the tours arranged by their operator and miss to explore other visit worthy places in the Phang Nga area. This post sheds light on various attractions I visited inside Phang Nga area, with half a day left with me after visiting James Bond island on my own. 

1. Serasin Bridge: Impossible to miss this bridge on the way to Phang Nga. Do stop for a while here- checkthis detailed post for photos and additional info.

Click here for map or refer below for the map of places I visited.

2. Phung Chang Caves: 500 baht entry fee, no photography allowed and takes about 90 minutes to explore. You will be taken inside by raft or by walk. I was running out of time- I had seen similar caves in Meghalaya, Philippines etc so I decided to skip this one and go to next one.

2. Sa Nang Manora Waterfalls: Free entry. Beauty about many waterfalls in Phuket area is that there’ll be a walking trail adjacent to the falls- you can walk upstream along the river for some distance. The display said there’s a walking trail for about 2 kms adjacent to the falls. I walked for about a km, after which decided to return. No one was around and the stream felt bit too risky to cross.

3. Raman Waterfalls: Not a huge one, very small but pretty safe n good for kids. Can be skipped if time is limited.

4. Phang Nga Viewpoint: A private property couple of kms off the highway- has a café, viewpoint, a ziplining setup and a set of horses on which guests can try a ride. I saw their ad display and took a small diversion. Spotted hybrid tender coconuts that were lower than my shoulders.

5. A roadside shop:

6. Scenic roads- the ride itself was memorable with cloudy skies, cool weather and scenic surroundings

This road, highway #4 can take you all the way to Krabi if you keep going (Krabi is about 100+ kms from Phang Nga area). Several towns exist enroute with supermarkets/restaurants. Managed with lite snacks for most of the day as getting proper veg meals was not possible.


7. A random temple: There were many temples enroute. I stopped at a few of them.

There were few more attractions- saw a sign board about a waterfall, but after riding few kms couldn't figure out which road to take- the waterfalls was not on map and locals hadn't heard of it. Had to return to main road.

8. Samet Nangshe Viewpoint: This was the last spot I visited. It was late, around 6.15 PM, some 15 minutes after closing time. Everyone had left, there was just enough day light left to click some decent pictures. There were two view points, I wasted more time on first one- should have gone to second one first. The uphill ride was steep, but Honda click managed to get me to top. Getting down was even more risky but managed with careful braking. View of the bay with so many limestone rocks is highly captivating. If there is a next time, I will spend more time here.

On the day I visited Phang Nga, I left at 5.45 AM, managed to reach hostel back at around 10 PM- had to stop at few places due to very heavy rain. Could have saved some time spent on waiting for ride sharing at the bay. Could have got some more day light if I had started at say 5 AM. Eitherway, the day was very fulfilling. If you visit Phuket, rent a bike and go to these wonderful places hidden away from civilization, deep inside nature.

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