Koh Ang Thong Marine Park
This national park is an 10 km long archipelago of 40 protected islands. We stay on the only one with rooms and a restaurant, and there are enough cottages JUST for our group. In the actual book "The Beach", this is the Marine Park where the main character goes to find ‘The Beach’. Fortunately, most travelers still have no idea that you can stay overnight here, so besides the friendly Thais that maintain the one restaurant & bar, your group essentially has the island all to yourselves! (Although, we can’t forget all the monkeys that call this place home as well.)
The beach you stay at has the softest powder white sand. At night the beach is a great place to hang out and you’ll discover vivid phosphorescence in the crystal clear water. During the day, there are two hikes that either take you up through an enormous cave, or to a stunning viewpoint that overlooks all the other islands of the National Park. Kayaks can be rented and with a little bit of paddling you’ll be sitting on your own uninhabited island…truly a remote island paradise!
**the park is closed in November due to rough sea conditions