A travel guide for Trang

Trang is a coastal province in southern Thailand and a gateway to adventures at sea.

Southern Thailand's popularity is entirely justified, given its many hours of sunshine, emerald-green sea, and fine sandy beaches. However, some areas have become overcrowded. If we don't consciously strive to protect everything that makes Thailand so unique, we risk destroying what we love so much about southern Thailand.

There are other provinces that are unknown to most tourists but well worth a visit. Trang, for example, is a coastal province in southern Thailand, bordering Krabi to the north and Satun to the south. An almost 200-kilometer coastline separates Trang from the Andaman Sea to the west, making it an ideal starting point for a maritime adventure that rivals the beauty of Phang Nga and Krabi – without the tourist crowds. Fortunately, Trang has retained its hidden gem status while remaining easily accessible.

“The beauty of Trang lies in the uniqueness of its dive sites and the fact that you are almost the only divers there,” explains Mary Biron, a travel journalist who participated in a four-day dive safari in the Andaman Sea off Trang in January 2020. “The Andaman Sea is perfect at this time of year, and the dive sites here are not as crowded as other places in Thailand.”

Arrival

Daily flights from Bangkok-Don Mueang Airport take one and a half hours to travel from the capital to Trang. Two overnight trains from Bangkok offer a more relaxed way to travel to the province if you prefer the scenic route.

From Trang, you can take a minivan to Pak Meng Pier and from there catch a ferry to Ko Muk, Ko Kradan, and Ko Libong. There are also ferry connections from Phuket (via Rassada Pier) and Ko Lanta (via Saladan Pier) for travelers from these nearby towns, who disembark at Hat Yao Pier in Trang.

locomotion

Accommodation options are available in Trang on the mainland and on the islands. Those seeking a five-star experience should choose a resort on Ko Ngai. While room rates and additional costs are quite high, the quality comes at a price!

More affordable and rustic accommodations can be found on the neighboring islands of Ko Muk, Ko Kradan, and Ko Libong, which are located near fishing villages. To experience local life, book a stay at Bo Hin Farm Stay, where guests can participate in authentic experiences such as tours through the mangrove forests.

Best time to travel

Plan your visit during the dry season between November and April to enjoy bright sunshine and a refreshing breeze throughout your trip. Romantics can visit the region in February for Valentine's Day, when underwater weddings take place in Morakot Cave, which, according to the Guinness Book of Records, are the largest of their kind in the world.

Activities in Trang

The karst landscape of southern Thailand (similar to that in Krabi) shapes the unique appearance of the islands around Trang. The wilder, untamed character of these islands gives visitors the feeling of having discovered an undiscovered secret.

We recommend that you first visit Hat Chao Mai National Park. It is a marine national park whose marine area encompasses seven main islands and their respective attractions. The attractions in the national park include:

Ko Muk is known for its sparkling white beaches and the Tham Morakot (Emerald) Cave, whose waters turn a bright emerald green when sunlight hits them at the right angle.

Ko Kradan is home to Trang's most famous beach. Thanks to its location within a nature reserve, Kradan Beach remains largely untouched, allowing its dazzling white sand, blue sky, and sea to be the island's main attraction. A smaller, but no less spectacular, bay called Sunset Beach on the island's west coast is a great spot to enjoy the sunset at the end of the day.

Ko Libong is the largest island in Trang and part of the Libong Archipelago Wildlife Reserve, which covers over 40,000 square kilometers with secluded beaches and pristine nature amidst mangrove forests. The seagrass meadows in the waters around Ko Libong provide habitat for a population of dugongs, endangered marine mammals considered the unofficial sanctuary animal of Trang.

For Mary Biron and other underwater enthusiasts, the best of Trang lies beneath the surface. The offshore islands offer a breathtaking variety of dive sites, accessible from liveaboard dive boats in the Andaman Sea.

Starting from the tiny island of Ko Waen, Mary and her crew "enjoyed a few relaxing dives on a beautiful reef with healthy coral and rich marine life," she explains. "The dive guide led us along a small reef wall, and the dive ended at some huge coral blocks."

In Hin Dang and Hin Muang, Mary experienced her "best dive ever": "On the surface, you only see a few bare rocks, but as soon as you dive down, a whole new world opens up," she raves. "We saw manta rays, reef sharks, and more marine life than on most other dives in just one minute, and even the tail fin of a whale shark (unfortunately, we didn't see the whole thing)."

Swimming in the emerald waters of Morakot on Ko Muk may be Trang's most famous cave experience, but Tham Le Khao Kob is a close second. Essentially, the boat travels through a section where the ceiling is so low that passengers must lie flat on the deck to pass "under the dragon's belly."

If confined spaces make you uncomfortable, how about going the other way – towards the sky? The east-facing cliffs of Ko Lao Liang Noi offer an alternative climbing experience to Railay and Tonsai, and hold numerous challenges for bouldering and deep-water soloing enthusiasts.

You will only truly experience the province's splendor when you explore Trang's cultural side. Begin in the capital city of the same name, Trang, a centuries-old trading center whose history at the crossroads of Malay, Chinese, Portuguese, and Thai trade routes has profoundly shaped the old town.

Between visits to ancient Chinese shrines and Malay mosques, you can take culinary breaks and discover the local cuisine, including crispy Trang-style pork, airy Trang cake, and the local coffee. The best way to explore the city is by taking one of the typical tuk-tuks with the frog-head motif (unique to Trang).

The city of Kantang, south of Trang, experienced an early economic boom in the early 20th century thanks to its pioneering work in rubber cultivation. The first rubber tree still stands near the road to Kantang; the Phraya Ratsadanupradit Mahitsaraphakdi Museum, housed in the former governor's palace, honors the government official of the same name who first brought rubber cultivation to Trang.

In the village of Na Muen Si in Na Yong, the women have passed down a unique weaving tradition through generations – tourists can see and buy their handicrafts in the shop of the Na Muen Si Weaving Group and watch the weavers working on old-fashioned wooden looms.

The most beautiful tropical beaches in Trang

Ko Muk

Ko Kradan

Ko Libong

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