Conclusion

It’s a normal feature in these web pages now for me to write a conclusion to each tour. My conclusions here cover both Surat Thani and Phang Nga tours which have separate tour blogs.
When I first planned this tour I thought it would be for around 12 days. Anything less would not justify the time and effort to reach these provinces by road. The Ratchprapha Dam area was to be the focus of the tour but I’d identified Koh Yao Noi as an island that doesn’t see it joining the grand tourist trail anytime soon. When I saw the opportunity to fit in a two week tour I added Koh Tao as well. Koh Tao was planned to be a two night stay as I had reservations from the start but extended my stay nevertheless. This remained the tour plan as the tour was underway. One thing I tried to do on this tour was to achieve a better balance of site visits and simply enjoying sea and sand. By choosing islands I was sure I could achieve this. After I took the boat trip on Chiew Lan Lake things became clearer as this was always an unknown quantity. If I was just going to laze around after my tour of the lake then I might as well do that on a beach somewhere. The tour route then completely changed. Now instead of heading straight to Phang Nga as intended I took the route past Khao Sok and on to the coast in Takua Pa District of Phang Nga. This change added a couple of days to the tour but was a real success story as I took in Khao Lak as well. Finally when I made it to Koh Yao Noi in Phang Nga Bay I realised the value of my independence that I didn’t have to join the crowds in Phuket or Krabi.
The tour breaks down easily into two provinces with two areas covered in each. Such is the size of these provinces I could not possibly cover them in great detail but I sure covered them more comprehensively by using the car.

Koh Tao…….I thought Kao Tao rather overrated. It’s clearly seen better days and is not the beautiful isolated paradise it may have been some years ago. Accommodation and food is expensive as are the activities you feel obliged to engage in as there’s not a lot else to do other than sit around in beer bars. I rate it 5 out of 10.
Ratchaphrapa Dam/Khao Sok……..This is a totally unspoilt natural environment and my kind of location. Unfortunately ‘unspoilt’ also means that access is costly. Raft huts are available for an overnight stay but you won’t get change from 3,000 baht per person and there are park fees to pay. Khao Sok has a good tourist community with access to the park and the amazing natural environment. I give this area 7 out of 10. I'd give it a 9 if I wasn’t on a budget.
Takua Pa District……..This district is a revelation. The area around Khao Lak is relatively unspoilt. Food is cheap away from beach locations and good quality accommodation is affordable. From Little Amazon to Khao Lak Beach there is plenty to do in Takua Pa. The recommendation is to rent a motorbike. I rate this area 8 out of 10.
Phang Nga/Koh Yao Noi……..The area around Phang Nga is rugged and stunningly beautiful in parts. Phang Nga itself is not geared up for tourism which is a pity. It has plenty to offer bringing tourists from Khao Lak, Phuket and Krabi. Phang Nga Bay offers breathtaking scenery and my choice of Koh Yao Noi was well justified being in the centre of the bay. This area gets an easy 8 out of 10.

This combined trip gets an average 7 out of 10. All locations except Koh Tao are not excluded from a revisit. There are a few stats that I can provide. The total kilometres for this trip were around 3,700. The cost of accommodation was 9,650 baht just over 600 baht per night. The cost of journeys by boat was nearly the same at 9,600 baht while fuel was about half that with food and sundries and notional car hire fees making a total of less than 35,000 baht or 1,000 baht ( £18.50 or $28.00) per person per night. That’s got to be incredible value. Further to that there were no health or travel issues apart from losing my snorkeling equipment on Koh Tao.