What I’d Do Differently: Thailand (Khao Lak) Edition

Updated April 2026 | 3 min read

Nine days at Le Meridien Khao Lak taught us that one good base beats a packed circuit, that the dive and boat days need booking earlier than you’d think, and that reef-safe sunscreen isn’t a suggestion at the Similan Islands pier — they check.

Stay Put Longer: One Base, Not a Circuit

We booked seven nights at one resort in Khao Lak and treated the whole trip as day trips out of a single base — Similan Islands one day, Richelieu Rock another, Phang Nga Bay and James Bond Island by speedboat, a rafting-and-elephants day near Khao Lak itself. It worked. No packing up, no ferry transfers between stops, no lost half-days moving hotels. If you’re weighing a single-base week against an island-hopping circuit through Krabi and the south, the base camp model is the one we’d repeat — it just means the islands further south (Koh Lanta, Koh Lipe) stay on the list for a separate trip rather than getting bolted onto this one.

Book the Boat Days Earlier, Not Later

We booked the Similan Islands day trip through the dive center at Le Meridien on our second day, and it turned out to be the right call by accident more than design: the Similan Islands are only open roughly October through May, and weather cancels boats. Having a backup day in the schedule mattered. Same logic applied to the Richelieu Rock dive trip and the Phang Nga Bay speedboat day — both went on the calendar within the first two days rather than left loose. If we did it again, we’d book all three boat days before we even landed, not after arriving.

Cash-wise, Khao Lak town runs on it — a handful of restaurants and two night markets, none of it card-friendly the way a resort front desk is. ATM fees ran the standard 220 baht per withdrawal regardless of amount, so withdrawing larger amounts less often was the move, along with using a card that reimburses foreign ATM fees.

Reef-Safe Sunscreen Isn’t Optional — They Check

At the Similan Islands pier, staff physically checked sunscreen and confiscated anything that wasn’t reef-safe. We knew this from research beforehand and packed mineral-based sunscreen from home; the local options at the pier shops are limited and overpriced, exactly as advertised. Dengue-carrying mosquitoes are active at dawn and dusk on this coast too — DEET-based repellent earned its space in the bag every evening at the night market.

What We Got Right

Flying into Phuket and transferring straight to Khao Lak (about 90 minutes north) instead of staying in Phuket town. Khao Lak is quieter and closer to both the Similan Islands and Richelieu Rock, and we never had a single night of Patong-style crowds or traffic. Basing the whole week at Le Meridien Khao Lak and building every activity as a day trip out of that one hotel meant zero time lost to checking in and out of new places.

What I’d Add Next Time: The Islands Route

This is the researched part, not the lived part — we have not done this leg. If we go back with more time, the route we’d look at tacking onto a Khao Lak week runs south to Krabi, then island-hops to Koh Lanta and Koh Lipe before finishing in Bangkok. From what we’ve read, Koh Lanta is the island most trip reports rate above Phi Phi for a multi-night stay, and Koh Lipe’s water clarity gets compared favorably to what we saw at the Similan Islands. Full route breakdown, researched pricing, and what we’d book: Two Weeks in Thailand: The Route I’d Book.

Travel Tools We Actually Use

• eSIM Data: Airalo eSIM for Thailand — Buy before you land. You need data the moment you arrive for navigation and translation apps.

Book Tours and Activities

• Thailand Tours and Activities on Viator

Gear We Recommend

• Osprey Farpoint 40 Travel Backpack — Carry-on sized, opens like a suitcase.
• Anker Nano Power Bank — Essential for long days of navigating with your phone.
• Packing Cubes (6-Pack) — We bring these on every trip now.
• Universal Travel Adapter — One adapter for every country.
• Reef-Safe Sunscreen — Required at many snorkel and dive sites.
• Quick-Dry Travel Towel — Essential for island hopping.

Book on Klook:

• Phi Phi Islands Day Trip
• Similan Islands Snorkeling
• Bangkok Temple Tour
• Transport: Book trains, buses, and ferries on 12Go

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