Around Bangsaphan
Ban Krut
Ban Krut is a small beach town that is situated around 20 kilometers north of Bangsaphan Yai. It has a beautiful long golden beach and a beach road lined with restaurants and resorts.
The main difference to Bangsaphan is this road, it gives the beach a “busier” feel as opposed to the quiet settings and limited road access further south. The beach road has also undergone massive development with new resorts, condos and shopfronts all appearing in the last year or two.
The town at Ban Krut is nothing more than a cluster of small local shops and houses. Larger shopping areas can found in Prachuap Khiri Khan which is about 70 kilometers to the north or further south in Chumphon.
For more information please visit our sister site: Ban Krut Info
What’s in a name?
Ban Krut is spelt a number of different ways as transliteration from Thai to English is not always clear cut. You may see the following spellings: Ban Krud, Baan Krud, Ban Krood. The Thai spelling ( บ้านกรูด ) would indicate that Ban Krud is correct but we see most road signs using Ban Krut so have gone with that!
The journey from Ban Krut to Bangsaphan only takes around 20 minutes but passes through some spectacular scenery including miles of unspoilt beach, coconut palm groves, colourful fishing boats and azure blue ocean.
Ban Krut Accommodation
Room rates are affected by standard of accommodation, facilities, duration of stay and time of year and week with low season mid week breaks being often significantly less than high season or holiday weekends. More Ban Krut accommodation with online booking can be found here: Ban Krut Accommodation
Ban Krut has no shortage of accommodation options however most are geared towards Thai families who venture down from Bangkok for long weekends.
Bang Berd
Also spelt Bang Burd or Bang Boet, this long stretch of empty beach is around 20 kilometers south of Bangsaphan, to the north of the bay is a little village with a few resorts and beach front restaurants. The rest of the bay is deserted and it makes a great day trip from Bangsaphan.
Chumphon
The city of Chumphon is an hours drive from Bangsaphan. It is the place to do more serious shopping if Bangsaphan does not have the goods that you seek.
Chumphon Accommodation
There are several good beaches located here and no end of accommodation options. Three of the more popular hotels and resorts are the Chumphon Cabana, Chumphon Palace and Nana Buri Hotel. There is a full list of accommodation for Chumphon here: Chumphon Hotels
Chumphon is the departure point for Koh Tao island. The Lompraya ferry leaves daily at 1pm and the journey takes around 1 hour fifteen minutes. The pier is around 25km south of the main city, its well signposted.
Scuba diving
In addition to Koh Talu there are a couple of good dive spots off the coast of Chumphon where visibility and marine life can better that seen on Koh Tao. Click here for more information on Chumphon dive sites. Other attractions include kite boarding as wind conditions are often favourable here.