BEACH
Hat Nadan is more than 7 kilometers long, making it a suitable beach for long walks near Khanom. Despite the presence of many other tourists in Hat Nadan, the beach never feels crowded due to its length. The many palm trees along the beach create a tropical feeling.
Even at high tide, this beach is nice and wide, so choose your favorite part of the beach and lay down your beach towel. You can swim well in the sea, but there are often waves, which make it less possible to snorkel near the beach.
WHERE TO STAY
Along the beach there are several places to stay, ranging from budget to upper range options. Khanom Beach Resort and Spa, Le Petit Saint Tropez and Aava Resort are nice upper range hotels. At Aava Resort are yoga and tai chi classes.
The mid-range hotels we mention are The Boutique Khanom, Cozy Khanom and Golden Beach Hotel. More budget options are Bansonmanee Homestay, and the authentic wooden beach bungalows at Baan Man Lay. You find the lovely resort Hallo Villa just out of town, 1 kilometer from the beach. We really enjoyed our stay here, and although it is not on the beach, we decided to add the stay on the TreasureBeaches website. Make sure to check the booking websites to see which stay suits you best.
There is a good number of places to eat.
PLACE
Khanom is a beautiful, sleepy town close to Surat Thani. If you want to avoid tourism on Ko Samui and Ko Phangan but still want good facilities, Khanom is the perfect alternative with its long, quiet beaches, surrounded by jungle-covered mountains and a turquoise and warm sea.
In the countryside there are many rubber and fruit plantations, and yellow-golden rice fields. The small town with its friendly people offers a relaxed way of life. Sea turtles come to lay eggs in October and January.
WHAT TO DO
There is a good choice of various fun day trips. One of our favorite activities is to rent a scooter and explore the neighborhood. Khanom is surrounded by untouched nature, beautiful fields, waterfalls and small secluded bays. Definitely don’t forget to visit the local market too!
A nice excursion is the Mu Ko Thale Tai National Park. It is home to a number of interesting caves, waterfalls, and mangrove forests and the Thale Tai Archipelago, an archipelago of eight islands known for their colorful coral reefs. Another well-known day trip is spotting the pink dolphins! The dolphins are often clearly visible, but no guarantees are given. It remains a fun boat trip, even if you are unlucky.
Khao Wang Thong Cave, a cave complex, is considered one of the province’s top tourist attractions. After climbing the stairs, you can enjoy the view of the mountains, fields and jungles. You will certainly meet monkeys during this climb. The entrance to the cave is next to the viewpoint. Khao Wang Thong is an impressive network of over limestone 15 caves. Make sure to enjoy and explore the stalagmites and stalactites, and hopefully you won’t be afraid of bats.
Near Khanom are 2 good beaches and a number of small bays. Our favorite place is the long beach Hat Nadan. Naiplau is a beautiful bay, but the main road runs so close to the beach that a good night’s sleep is not guaranteed. For this reason, Naiplau is not in our database.
TRANSPORT
Surat Thani is the main town in the southeast. You can reach it by plane, train or minibus. From Surat Thani to Khanom it is a 1-hour minibus ride for 100 baht per person. The bus and minibus to Khanom leaves from the main bus station in Surat Thani. Khanom is located 25 kilometers from Dansok Pier, and a taxi is approximately 200-300 baht. Khanom also has a good minibus connection with Nakhon Si Thammarat.
You can rent a scooter in town and make your own way to the beach or go on the back of a scooter taxi. You can rent scooters at most of hotels.
