Thailand Travel: How to Visit the Aug Thong National Park

Thailand

Thailand Travel: How to Visit the Aug Thong National Park

If you happen to ever find yourself on the east coast of Thailand, the Aug Thong National Park is a must-see destination!

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How to Get There

Staring from the island of Koh Samui, I was able to do a day tour (7 am – 5 pm) for about 1500 Baht = $45 and a 300 Baht entrance fee to the park, which is about 10 USD. The tour included transfer to and from my hostel, lunch, and a boat to the islands. Most tours do the same route while hitting the same islands, but 42 islands that make up the entire park!

A helpful tip for this excursion is that because it is a national marine park, your only options are to go with an organized tour or charter a boat. So for those that love to go rouge, unfortunately, that is not an option here that I know of.

Fun fact: In the movie, The Beach, an island in this park was said to be the infamous island heaven, but the movie was filmed on a small island on the East side of mainland Thailand, not the west, called Ko Phi Phi Leh.

The boat was very large with space for everyone to sit and rest. This came in handy on the ride back as many people decided to nap.

Stop 1

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After about an hour and a half ferry ride, we made it to the first island inside the Aug Thong National Park. This island had a small beach and a hiking trail. The hike was more like 5 million stairs but it was worth it! I was long but the view at the top was beautiful. Along the way, there were also resting platforms which were really convenient.

On the way up or down you might even get lucky enough to catch some monkeys! Below are some we ran into near the end of the hike.

Stop 2

Kayaking in the Aug Thong National Park was the next activity. This was different as the kayaks were stored on the boat so that was the starting point of the tour. From here we when under these huge rock formations carved out from the water and it was beautiful! Halfway through we stopped at another island for a few moments and then continued on our way. After about 30 minutes we made it to the 3rd island.

Stop 3

This was the last stop of the tour for the day. This island had yet another hike with it but again was well worth it. The journey was not as bad as the first but the steps were more like ladders which made things interesting.

After a few ups and downs, we finally made it to the end, to the famous emerald lagoon. A unique thing about this lagoon is that it is completely enclosed meaning the saltwater rises from underneath the rock formations to fill the lagoon.

This island also had some decent snorkeling in a small area designated by floating buoys. I enjoyed all the soft coral in the area but there was not much fish life. After a quick ice cream break from the shop on this island, we headed back to the boat and made our way towards the mainland.

In conclusion…

This day trip to the Aug Thong National Park was perfect! I definitely recommend it if you are ever on the East side of Thailand! When you go it will be a long hot day so make sure to grab your essential travel tools to make the day even more enjoyable!