When the unexpected becomes real
Thailand surprised us in so many ways. But what surprised us most was how often we found secluded places to camp, with barely anyone around, not even locals. Considering how busy Thailand is and how many tourists visit this beautiful country every year, you’d think empty beaches no longer exist.
At least, that’s what we thought. But even on one of the most famous beaches on Koh Yao Yai, we found a little camp spot that became completely ours once the sun went down.
To get to the island, we had to take another ferry, this time from Thalane Pier, about 30 minutes from Krabi. The crossing itself was quick and smooth, within half an hour, we were already rolling off the ferry and entering Koh Yao Yai.
Small roads lined with palm trees, quiet villages, and hardly any traffic gave the island a completely different vibe. But where are all the tourists?
View from the ferry to that one beach, which became our favourite campspot in Thailand: Laem Haad Beach.
A traditional Thai-stlye longtail boat on it’s way.
THE BEST
Coconut Beach Bar
Coconut Beach Bar
Coconut Beach Bar
Coconut Beach Bar
Coconut Beach Bar
That’s the place called at the island’s most famous beach. During low tide, a huge sandbank appears offshore that you can actually walk to, and throughout the day many boats may arrive there with visitors. When we asked the owner, a young guy from Bangkok named Ken, if we could camp there, he kindly welcomed us onto his property.
His parents bought the land around 20 years ago but never really did much with it. Later, Ken came up with the idea of turning it into a small project of his own: building a simple beach bar and a few huts right by the sea. He could probably make a fortune by selling the property to investors, they apparently come by almost every day asking about it. But he chooses not to. Instead, he wants to keep the place the way it is and slowly build something of his own there.
This part of the island used to be a coconut farm, the whole area sits on a small headland.
So nice these old coconut palm trees are still there.
The moment we arrived and set up our camp right on the beach, we thought ok wow, this is paradise, this is our favorite place in Thailand. But honestly, after a while traveling in Thailand, it becomes impossible to choose.
But that one beach on Koh Yao Yai, is for sure one of the places that we loved most. I mean LOOK AT IT! Probably the first time a Landrover Defender 110 parked there.
Laem Haad Beach is probably the most famous beach on Koh Yao Yai, known for its huge sandbank that appears at low tide. During the day, boats arrive with visitors, but once the sun goes down the whole place becomes incredibly quiet again – we've been alone and had the whole place for us.
This monkey is still asleep 🙂
Bedroom views at low tide.
Current mood: do not disturb.
Loving this!
It’s hard to believe spots like this still exist in Thailand.
One thing we learned on this trip: don’t believe everything you hear until you see it for yourself. We knew Thailand was touristy and could get crowded, and whenever we asked about camping spots people often told us, “Don’t go there.” But we went anyway and ended up finding beautiful hidden places like this, sometimes even having them completely to ourselves.
Thailand is a amazing, cheers to that!