Koh Ra and Koh Phratong lay close to eachother and are very nice islands to visit for snorkeling and for sightseeing. Long stretched and secluded beaches invite for long walks along the beach, a picknick along and for making stunning photographs. You'll get a true Robinson feeling over here!
Koh Ra
Despite its relatively close proximity to the town of Khuraburi along Thailand's west coast, the long, thin and rugged island of Ko Ra is one of the country's more remote islands and is a good choice for those seeking an offbeat, eco-minded destination. With most of the island protected as a wildlife sanctuary, this is a chance to experience a lush, untamed landscape meeting mountainous terrains.
Ko Ra's quiet and peaceful setting indeed make it an ideal place to retreat for a while for the day.
Though quite thin from east to west, Ko Ra stretches about two km in length from north to south, and most of the interior is rocky and rugged, although a small region of flat white sands savannah landscape is found near the northeastern point.
Ko Ra is slowly catching on as one of Thailand's premier bird watching destinations, and many other forms of wildlife, such as monkeys, giant white boar, sea turtles, and snakes of many varieties may be spotted throughout the island.
Koh Phratong
More than just a remote island destination, setting foot on Ko Phra Thong's endless golden beaches and unlikely savannah landscape feels a bit like venturing back 300 years in time.
Ko Phra Thong Island has long uninhabited beaches, fringed by coconut palms. It fronts onto over eight kilometres of beach on the Andaman Sea and, in addition, over six kilometres of beach on a beautiful bay containing small picturesque islands rocks and coral for snorkelling. Visitors can expect to have wide beaches of relatively fine light tan sand all to themselve, one can walk for several kilometres and be met only by sand crabs. So untouched are the beaches that sea turtles still nest here.
In Thai, 'Phra Thong' means 'Golden Buddha', and a legend tells of how a valuable solid gold Buddha image was buried somewhere on the island hundreds of years ago. Any treasure hunters seem to have given up their searches long ago, which isn't surprising given Ko Phra Thong's unforgivingly hot and expansive savannah landscape.
It's also one of the best bird watching destinations in Thailand.
