Offshore Islands - Koh Rang Yai

Koh Rang Yai is a small uninhabited island about 5km off the east coast of Phuket, featuring a kilometer of sandy beach on the west with views back to the mainland. There is no accomodation on the island, but there is a nice restaurant which is open all day. There is also a pearl farm, and some tours do come to the island...if you want to have the place more to yourself, get there early, or in the late afternoon.





To reach Koh Rang Yai, you'll need to take a longtail boat from Laem Hin jetty, next to Laem Hin Seafood (yum yum). We rented a boat for 800 Baht for the 5km trip, with the boat waiting for us at Koh Rang for a few hours. On the way, you pass Koh Maphrao, a much bigger island and also worth a stop off.

• Koh Rang Yai - Location on Google Earth



Koh Rang Yai is a little paradise. Take a walk along the beach if you want to get away from the few beach chairs that exist. The water on the east coast is not always really clear, but we found the beach ideal for swimming and splashing around with the kids. You can sit in the shade of the coconut trees, play with the sand and ash down to the water for a refreshing dip. There are shower facilities there, so you can clean up before getting back in your longtail for the ride back to Laem Hin.

  

(Photos © by the Monk Family 2006)

You can see some new photos around Koh Rang Yai here: Speedboats and Helicam - a trip I took in March 2010.