Ao Phang-Nga

Location: Tak Daet, Mueang Phang-nga, Phang-nga, 75 kilometers northeast from Phuket Island, Thailand.
Entry fee: free
Opening time: all day long
Transportation to visit Ao Phang-Nga:
- take shuttle bus to Phang-Nga Province at Phuket Town with one-hour’s ride;
- take long-tail boat or speed boat to 007 Island.

Belong to Phang-Nga Province which adjoins to Phuket Island, Ao Phang-Nga is known as the most beautiful in Phuket and its surrounding area. Ao Phang-Nga is rated as World Wonder for its scattered isles, jagged rocks of grotesque shapes, marvelous caves with stalactites & stalactitums and irregularly changed sceneries. Among all isles, Ko Tapu and the cave in Stalactite Island acquired greatest reputations for their natural wonderful views, especially Ko Tapu, which is renamed as 007 Island after it was shot in one of the James Bond film series.

Ao Phang-Nga is picturesque with glistening lights of waves, and fantastic rock peaks extruding from waters of hundreds of meters. Ko Pingkan, two folded aslant peaks with smooth surface, and a cabbage-shaped rock, which is said to be disappeared not long after, are the most famous. In addition, a Buddhism temple is also famous among tourists and locals as a holy land for worship. The temple enshrines a huge golden sleeping Buddha which is believed to be quite efficacious.

In the gulf is also find mangrove with scattered precious viviparous plants, and fishing villages. It is a pleasant and comfortable experience to take a boat to enjoy the scenic views on both sides of the waterway.