Laem Sak Travel Guide

Laem Sak is one of Thailand’s Hidden Gems.

It is Located in the southern part of Thailand, Specifically in Krabi. Laem Sak is known for being a fishermen community as well as being a village where three cultures and three beliefs live together in Harmony: Buddhists, Chinese and Muslims.

So, while most tourists, stick to the overcrowded Phuket, You can give Laem Sak a chance, avoid the crowds, and experience the real culture of Thailand.

This travel guide to Laem Sak will give you the best places to visit, tell you the best activities to engage in, how to get around and help you plan an amazing trip to this stunning small community.!

—————-How To Get To Laem Sak—————-

As most visitors usually leave from Bangkok, it is very easy to get a flight to Krabi. I suggest using Thai Smile because their service is really good and they even serve food in the one hour flight to Krabi. Their planes are spacious, the seats are comfortable and most importantly they are a low cost airline.

After you get off the airport, you can hire a van to Laem Sak Village. Laem Sak is situated about 1 hour away from Krabi airport.

In the way there, try not to fall asleep and enjoy the incredible scenery: High mountains standing up straight like skyscrapers, completely covered with trees growing off the side of the mountain and reaching high for the sky! If this is your first time in Thailand, You’ve probably never seen anything quiet like that. It is a miracle to me that those trees are not collapsing.

After a one hour ride, it won’t be hard to know that you’ve arrived to Laem Sak. As soon as you see the Buddhist temple, the Chinese shrine, and the mosque near one another you’ll know you’ve arrived.

Laem sak is known for being a community where 3 ethnicity and 3 religious beliefs meet and live together in harmony.

While in Laem Sak, it is not surprising to hear the Muslim call to prayers along with seeing many Buddha status around the town.

———————-Where To Stay———————-

The best place to stay in Laem Sak is for sure Bulan Anda Baba Resort. The resort is surrounded by water from 3 sides and it has the best views ever ! The resort also offers guides, transportation and activities around the village. This is your one spot for all.

The resort serves locally made breakfast and lunch. Their food is delicious. You will not have to go around town looking for the best Thai food as it already has it. As most of the villagers are fishermen, there is always fish and shrimp on the table.

Bulan Anda Baba, an incredible family owned resort.

There are many bungalows and in the center an old blue Chinese style building filled with pictures of the history of the family. I was told many of the people who live in Laem Sak are half Chinese since a long time ago, a huge ship came from China with many people who settled down here. Therefore, it is not surprising that Many of the pictures of the old family were in China.

———————Best Things To Do——————–

Watch The Sunrise/Sunset

You don’t want to miss the sunrise from Bulan Anda Baba Resort. It is one of the best sunrises ever. Walk down near the water, set up your camera, sit on the rocks and enjoy the beautiful scenery. The sun slowly rising up in the sky while the village’s fisherman throw their net in the water. It is very quiet. All that can be heard is the sound of water, bugs and birds.As much I insist on not missing Laem Sak’s beautiful sunrise, if you end up missing it, the sunset is also incredibly stunning.
Go KayakingAdd to your schedule, kayaking. You should give yourself plenty of time, because you’re probably going to be kayaking for the whole day. You can spend the day going from place to place kayaking. First, you can explore the caves where you will get the chance to see ancient “Cave men” color paintings. People believe Laem Sak used to be a community where ancient human lived in the far past.

It is believed that Krabi has been a place where homo sapiens lived and left so much history.

The bottom of the mountains is usually completely covered with shells and live oysters. You will probably see so many crabs going in and out the water. And the most beautiful of it all, the trees. The trees growing out of solid rocks reaching high for the sky ! Those trees feed off nutrients from rain and the nearby decaying plants.

You’ll probably be kayaking for hours enjoying the beautiful views, seeing all kind of wild life including walking fish on land (Yeah fish walking on land) ! So pay great attention so you can catch a peek of these beautiful animals.
Visit Oysters and Seaweed Farms

Get away from the normal touristy attraction and visit one of many Oysters and Seaweed farms. Find yourself a local guide that speaks English and talk with the workers and ask them to they showed you lobsters, oysters, huge fish and different kind of seaweed.
You will probably learn many lessons from the farm.Did you know that ..

– Sea weed needs to stay in the farm for at least 3 months before it can be eaten.
– Lobsters with purple claws are more rare and much more expensive.- Lobster changes its shell constantly to keep growing (Similar to snakes).
Take A Thai Food Cooking LessonIf you love Thai food as much as I do, then I’m sure you’d love to learn the secrets behind these amazing dishes. You will find Thai food cooking lessons signs all around Laem Sak. However, if you’re staying at Bulan Anda Baba Resort, you can ask them to plan a cooking lesson for you right there.

Some of the most famous dishes in Laem Sak are Baba-style local desserts, such as Ko Sui (brown sugar dumplings).

You can also learn how to make Khanom Chak, a Southern Thai dessert by using local ingredients, such as coconuts and nipa palm leaves. This one was the most interesting in my experience because, I found out that Thai people use Nipa Palms and Banana leaves to cook and serve the food, so no plastic needed at all. If you’re all the way in Laem Sak, I’m guessing you love nature and the environment. So I’m sure you will enjoy learning how to make sustainable plates and cooking utensils.

“We use banana Leaves instead of Using Plastic Containers” – Atip
Visit Tree Top Adventure Park Tree Top Adventure Park is in a very beautiful green location. You will get the chance to do rock climbing and from there get on top of the highest trees. This is your chance to experience the most beautiful 360 degrees view as this is going to be the highest spot you can get to in Laem Sak.
Getting to the top is pretty challenging, but the view is incredibly worth it ! You will go through many man made obstacles and then Zip line all the way down.
The park has 4 course: Blue Course, Green Course, Red Course and Black Course. The highest Zip line is in the Black Course. It is at a high of 40 meters and it is 150 meters long. Hold on Tight !

Here is a picture from the highest point in the park
Take A Traditional Thai Art Workshop

If you are interested in knowing how Thai people create their beautiful clothes and accessories, why not take a workshop with one of the locals. Again, Bulan Anda Baba resort will help you find a local person that masters the creating of Thai artifacts and you can make your own scarf, bag, cloth and the best part: You get to keep it ! What could be better than a souvenir made by yourself ?One of the most famous crafts in Laem Sak is the Batik Handkerchief. You can find a lesson and design and color your own Batik Handkerchief. The technique used for this craft is actually really interesting. Melted wax is put on a pot on top of fire and then a special kind of pen is used to lift the wax and use it to draw on the fabric. After that natural colors (Colors coming from trees, flowers, herbs) are used to paint the fabric. The wax here is used to stop the color from spreading to the whole fabric, and instead make it stop at the line of the wax. Remember, the lines and patterns have to be always fully closed.

Another famous item is the bag made from the batik cloth. Here, you have the choice to either use your own Batik fabric that you designed, or choose one of the many fabrics readily available. In Laem Sak, a common pattern is the flowers pattern unlike northern Thailand, where the elephants pattern is more popular.
Bike Around Town

Laem Sak, where people of different ethnicity and 3 different religions live together in harmony, helping and supporting each other. Laem Sak, the place where you can look up the mountain, see a Buddhist temple and hear the Muslim call to prayer. A really good way to experience all that, while following the village life style, is by biking around Laem Sak. Here you should stop to visit the Buddhist temple and enjoy a 360 degrees view of the small village. Then head on to the Chinese shrine and next to mosque. In the way, make sure to stop and try the local deserts Including an actual Ice Cream Sandwich (in bread).

While visiting the temple, cover your shoulders and don’t wear shorts.
Visit Than Bok Khorani National ParkTravel to Than Bok Khorani National Park, a watershed forest with limestone mountains, mangroves, a swamp forest and beach forest. This park has everything you need. So Pack your swimsuit and head on to this beautfiful location. (Caution: Make sure to check which locations are safe to swim in.. look out for the signs).
Bok Khorani National Park also includes some remote islands with some interesting underwater plants. Learn more about this national park while trekking the one-kilometer-long forest path.
Play With The Elephants

This is a hard one. Elephants are not as present in the south as in the north. However, if you ask around and are nice enough, I’m sure you can find somebody that will point you in the right direction. I had the chance to meet 2 elephants and shower them.However, please do not ride the elephants. Only play with them if you get a chance.

Check out this video of me playing with the elephants

——How To Give Back To The Community ——-
Plant Native Plants Back Into The WildOne of the best things you can do to show that you’re grateful to the community and to the nature around it, is to plant native plants back into the environment.
A local guide can show you where to best plant the plants. Per example, orchids best grow in little holes of dirt in the rocks. You can plant a few plants around and get introduced to the different kind of flowers in Thailand. While doing so, you will probably stumble around one of those land fish ! Do not miss your chance to take a picture !

You can also plant Nipa Palms back into the wild. Nipa palms is a specifies of palms native to the coastlines of the Indian and the Pacific oceans. After you plant the palms, you can reward yourself by fresh coconut ! It is very delicious and refreshing. If you have a local guide, he’ll probably cut the coconut in a way that you can have a part of it as a spoon. In my experience, being from Tunisia, we don’t really have any coconuts so the whole experience of them showing me how to eat it was so funny and exciting.

—————————————-What to Pack —————————————-

Laem Sak is a small community but it does have everything available at the local shops. If you forget anything, you will be able to get it from Laem Sak.

Clothes:
Shorts (for activities like kayaking, hiking)
a pair of jeans (you can never go wrong with jeans)
Sneakers (For hiking, biking)
Flip Flops (This is going to be your best friend, because in Laem Sak, you have to remove your footwear every single time you enter somewhere.. trust me it gets super annoying if you’re wearing shoes)
T-shirts (For everyday use)
Long Sleeve Shirt (To protect you from mosquitoes)
Swim wear or better yet wet suit (The sun is too hot in Laem Sak)
Underwears (Of course)
Beach Shoes
Beach Shoes
Beach Shoes (I insist because you need those ! Everywhere is filled with rocks
! I have a million scars on my feet right now)
_________________ ____________________________________________________
“Mosquitoes love foreign blood haha” – Kea
_____________________________________________________________________Others:
Mosquito Repellent (Thai people told me that Mosquitoes love my foreign blood haha)
Water proof Bag
A gift from your country (because you’re probably getting one from the Thai people)
———- 10 pictures that will make you fall in love with Laem Sak—————

———————————- Suggested Articles ————————————-

Getting to Laem Sak – Day 1 https://readme.me/p/25835
Kayaking Around Lamsak – Day 2 https://readme.me/p/25898
Zip Lining – Day 3 https://readme.me/p/26216
Planting Orchids – Day 4 https://readme.me/p/26216

======================== Visit Laem Sak With Your Family