In Search of Surf

The first time I traveled to southern Thailand, my initial destination was Ranong. I chose Ranong precisely because it was not recommended in guidebooks, which meant there would be few foreigners. Quite by accident, I walked into Pon’s Place and spotted a photo of a woman on a beach holding a boogie board. Immediately, I knew further investigation was required and I was on the next boat to Koh Phayam.

My objective was to check out the island for a few days, find that boogie board and see if there were waves. As fate would have it, three days turned into a week and a week into three weeks. And yes, there were waves on Aow Yai Beach. In October that year, I rode that boogie board often. Now, more than ten years later, I have returned to that idyllic island each year, often for as long as six months.

On my second visit, I brought a waveski and was the lone wave rider for several years. Three years ago, my nephew joined me and I brought a second waveski. We owned the waves that season. Only the occasional surfer passed through, always expressing surprise to discover rideable waves.

The following season, Matt bought a surf board and learned to ride. He quickly outgrew that board and sold it to a Thai friend. At the end of the season, Matt sold his second board to the same friend and the local guys started to surf. It was not long until they were bitten by the surf bug and the surf scene on the island began to take hold. The first dedicated surf shop was at South Star, but today, there are several places with a range of rental boards on Aow Yai Beach.

Matt Morch at Aow Yai Beach, Koh Phayam

Koh Phayam is an emerging blip on the surf radar and it is known to work well in a SW swell, particularly from late April to October. It will often pick up waves before Khao Lak and Phuket, making it a good choice when the swell is passing those locations. There are more riders every year and the most recent edition of the popular Storm Rider Surf Guide even mentions the beach breaks of Koh Phayam in its Thailand section.

With the surf scene steadily growing in Thailand, those established breaks of Phuket and Khao Lak are also seeing more riders. It is natural evolution that people are exploring new locations. Breaks in Pha Nga province as well as those in the Gulf of Siam are being explored. However, they can be challenging to access and remain largely unexploited. But this is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

The coast of Ranong province remains virtually untouched and is littered with untapped potential and miles of secluded beach. There is little road access and the only way to truly discover them is from the water.

Jack from the UK at Aow Yai Beach

In search of surf, I set out in a sea kayak to peruse the Andaman coast of Thailand and identify new breaks. I departed Koh Phayam on December 20, 2010, and paddled almost 700km to the Malaysian border at Langkawi. To my surprise and pleasure, I discovered was that there are plenty of hidden gems, not only in Ranong, but in the south as well. While I am not going to give up everything I unearthed, I will highlight several that might pique the interest of an adventurous soul.

A major challenge facing the sea kayaker is capturing images of surf. When the waves are breaking, there is no chance I will pull out my dSLR camera to try and shoot. But since that inaugural trip, I have purchased a waterproof camera with high-definition video to capture those images

South of Ranong town (north of Kapoe) near the village of Bang Ben, there is a beach break that is already known to some. Located off Highway 4 at the end of Ranong Ro Pho Cho Road, this break can generate some powerful waves, mostly rights. Leave the car at the National Park facilities and walk south along the beach. The resort here has rooms and food but as this is part of Laem Son National park, there is also plenty of space to set up camp. I have a friend who has explored parts of this coast and he swears the longest ride he ever had in Thailand was at this location.

Secret location near Koh Lanta

Just south of Bang Ben and across the mouth of Khlong Kapoe is Laem Manao. I camped on the beach and watched an interesting wave that wrapped around the point and peeled left as it neared the beach. The chart profile shows several changes in the shoreline along the intertidal zone. There is a rock protuberance near the point which is followed by a large hole. A second outcropping closer to the shore appears to set off the wave. Near the beachfront, a burned out house has a freshwater well for bathing. Don’t mind the cows as they meander along the beach after sunrise or before sunset. It should be easy to negotiate boat access from the pier at the end of Khrongkan Thanon Nai Mu Ban soi Tha Phae Mu 4 Road, near the resort.

Another beach break is located 4.5 kms south of Laem Manao, just north of Ban Thale Nok. Here, a small inlet with a broad fronting sandbar sets up waves at a variety of tide levels. At low tide, the waves break at the outer reaches of the sandbar. At higher tides, especially with a larger swell, the sandbar sets up waves that break in both directions closer to shore. This is also part of Laem Son National Park, which runs along the coast of Ranong province. There is nothing there, so camping on the beach is not a problem. Access is by boat only.

Further south, near Kamphuan, Ranong 2003 O Bo To Road leads back into Laem Son National Park and runs along the shore. There is an interesting change in the coastline here where a point juts out protecting a large inlet. Although the swell was small when I camped nearby it definitely merits further exploration.

One area that has already been identified by surf explorers is the Kuraburi district. Nonetheless, the islands of Ko Ra, Ko Phra Thong and Ko Kho Khao continue to be relatively unknown. The west side of these islands have a steep profile, rising from a depth of 66 feet to 6 feet in a very short distance. Ko Ra generates some powerful beach breaks. In particular, the most southerly beach on Ko Ra has an interesting depth profile that changes from 16 feet to 6 feet and then back to 16 feet before rising to the beach, all of this in approximately 100 meters. This creates a powerful wave that any self-respecting boogie board rider would love to sample. In fact, on December 24, the waves were big enough that I was caught by a large set, lifted onto the peak of a wave that rose a solid 7 feet and dumped me unceremoniously upside down on the beach. Merry Christmas! This is definitely NOT how to land your sea kayak. Beware: the rip currents can be extremely strong.

Personally, I think that some of the best potential lies on Ko Phra Thong. The narrow channel between Ko Ra and Ko Phra Thong has large sandbars on either side that deliver waves. I saw head high waves that peeled left and right on both sides of the channel and the larger sets broke directly into the channel itself. I met a longtail captain who showed me the prow of his boat that was snapped by a large wave that proceeded to swamp the boat coming out of the channel that day. Now that is some power! Ko Phra Thong also has a couple beach breaks at the northern end of the island on the way to the channel. An Australian surfer told me he had been riding short but powerful beach breaks for the week leading up to Christmas.

"Surfer's Point", Koh Phra Thong

In October, 2011, I returned to Koh Phra Thong with a crew of Australian surfers filming a surf documentary on Thailand. They were pleasantly surprised by the waves and very happy to know that the 12 of us were members of an exclusive club of the handful of riders ever to have surfed this spot. I have since been back to this spot and it definitely works well. There are miles of unspoiled beach here that produce powerful beach breaks. The boogie board crowd will certainly like to explore this area.

This island is reputedly the most bio-diverse island on the Andaman Coast. In recent years, a number of smaller resort operations have opened on this island as it recovers from the tsunami.


The channel between Ko Phra Thong and Ko Kho Khao also has prominent sandbars that stick out over 2 kms on both sides of the channel shaping lefts and rights. Ko Kho Khao is easily accessed by ferry and roads lead to the north end of the island, making this an uncomplicated candidate for the car crowd.

Khao Lak has a number of well known breaks like Kuk Kak, Cape Pakarang and Taxi, to name a few. The surf scene is growing rapidly here with Pak Arang surf shop and others offering rentals and instruction. Andrew, from Siam Surf Dogs, knows this area well. He has explored extensively with an SUP and informs me there are plenty of secret spots that work very well when conditions are favourable. From beach breaks to reef breaks, Khao Lak is only second to Phuket on the surf scene.

There are a few intrepid surfers who ride the waves around the town of Thai Muang. The beach break here, I am assured, can be quite good. South of town, there is a large sand pit behind an opening between two sand spits that looks as though it should generate waves. From Highway 4, follow Pha Nga rural road 5012 .6km and turn left onto an un-numbered road. Drive south for approximately 3km (the road turns sharply to the right and then left near the coast). The rest is up to you.

Na Tooei, 10km south of Thai Muang off Pha Nga rural road 3006, also generates good breaks. There are some rocks near the beach that look promising and the pier just south is also reputed to work quite well.

Sunset near Koh Lanta

Further south, I noted a few potential locations on Ko Klang, just north of Koh Lanta, where waves set up with regularity. This island is not covered by Phuket and its exposure allows the swell to arrive unfettered. Near the northern end of the island at Khlong Lat Li Ki there is a large sandbar that was working reasonably well as I paddled past. Krabi 3141 Ro Pho Cho Road ends at the khlong. Additionally, a number of beach breaks were also showing potential a several bends in the beach along Krabi 4026 Rural Road.

One spot that I thought was particularly interesting were the sandbars off Koh Lanta. The waves were taking good shape on both of the sandbars. Accessible by boat only, they probably only work under specific conditions and are likely to shift seasonally. Nonetheless, they merit further examination.

Naturally, there are others. And some of the places I have identified may not work as well as others, but in the spirit of exploration and information sharing I encourage others to survey the sites and the surf community can develop a better database.