National Park Accommodation

A good range of options, but hard mattresses

Photo of National Park Accommodation, National Park Office, Ko Tarutao. , Ko Tarutao

What we say:

The park provides a range of options of which camping is the cheapest. High-quality two-person tents can be rented and pitched on prime spots along the white sand, and it's a relatively comfortable night's sleep on the beach. Tents may also be set up at the more isolated beaches throughout the island, but with the exception of Ao Molae facilities are lacking. Bungalows without bathrooms are the next step up. These contain little other than four hard mattresses on the floor and a fan. The shared bathrooms are simple but well-maintained with sinks, squat toilets and cold showers. Fan bungalows with two beds and a private bathroom are a popular choice for pairs of travellers who don't feel like roughing it. For 100 baht more these get you hardwood floors, large screened windows,a desk and chair, and plenty of space both in the room and on the porch. Though the beds are well-constructed, mattresses and pillows are terribly hard, and for some reason the blankets are very heavy, rendering them useless for south Thailand's hot climate. The attached bathrooms have clean tiles, sinks, mirrors, Western toilets and cold-water showers. Big 'official Thai parks' towels are provided. Family-style bungalows with private bathrooms are a good option for groups and families.These are set facing the beach and inside they're essentially a pair of fan bungalows under the same roof. There are now newer fan bungalows with attached cold water bathrooms available at the less frequented Ao Molae beach a couple of kilometres to the south of Ao Pante. These have private cold water bathrooms and large ocean-view windows facing the sea. They also have double beds, making them a good option for couples.

Contact details:

National Park Office, Ko Tarutao.

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What we were quoted

Type of room	Low season	High season	Notes
Family room	n/a	1,000 THB	Sleeps 4
Bungalow fan share b'room	n/a	500 THB	Sleeps 4, no fan
Bungalow fan private b'room	n/a	600 THB	Sleeps 2
Tent	225 THB	225 THB	30B if you have your own tent

Added to Travelfish on: 19th March, 2006
Last visited or updated on: 4th January, 2012

Read National Park Accommodation reviews

Rated 3.5 out of 5

Based on 3 ratings and 3 reviews

expensive

I stayed in 2 different places, Ao Malea and in the HQ, Ao Ponte Malaka. The bungalows at Ao Malea are much nicer than the ones at Ao Ponte Malaka. I paid THB600 for one night, the most expensive accomodation in my 3 month trip to Thailand. Power only from 18:00 to midnight. They have shower curtains in the bathroom, a luxury in Thailand. In Ao Ponte Malaka I stayed in a longhouse for THB500, with shared bathroom and no beds, just 4 mattresses on the floor, and no mosquito nets. the restaurants in both places are cheap and good. the ratings are for Ao Malea.
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National Park Accommodation reviewed by nathantraveler (Total reviews: 25) on 30th March, 2009
Rated 4 out of 5. after a stay here in 1/2009
Not great, they should look to Ko Adang for advice!

Shared a longhouse with 3 people: 500THB. Although this is not a lot of money and the room was clean, the long houses on Adang are 400 and come with attached bathrooms. I got woke up many times by people in adjacent rooms going to the bathroom as the whole house shakes. The shared bathrooms nearest the longhouse were disgusting by the end of the day: stinky and one was overflowing. In comparison, the shared bathrooms on Adang were spotless. I found some newly built bathrooms about 200m away which were very clean but had no electricity at night. There are new bungalows 4km away from the HQ at Ao Molae. These were very nice - 600THB but only one seemed occupied. A shuttle runs to them a few times a day for 50 baht p/p. The beach was much better than the one at the park HQ. It had a restaurant, but seemed to be staff-free. There is a nice walk to Ao Son but the beach is covered in rubbish. The restaurant served very cheap food - 40 for rice and veg - but it wasn't very good food Unlike Tezza, I wasn't taken by the beach: not so beautiful and we all got stung by jellyfish!
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National Park Accommodation reviewed by Tennouji (Total reviews: 19) on 8th January, 2009
Rated 3 out of 5. after a stay here in 1/2009
Good value accommodation

I stayed at NP HQ beach Ao Malaka in the nw of Tarutao. This spacious and neatly laid out area has a visitors centre (get a free map and info sheet), small shop, clinic, good restaurant with prices LOWER than the average backpacker joint and equipment sheds for park maintenance. Wireless for laptops but no public computers. No ATM or money changing. There are several types of bungalow - but all seemed spacious. My 600b 2 ppl job was part of a duplex, timber and polished floor construction, had a heap of room and was in pretty good condition although a repaint inside would not hurt. Towels were provided but no toilet paper or soap. Smallish bathroom with western toilet, bidet gun, basin (no plug) and good cold water pressure. The thick mattresses and pillows were VERY firm. No mozzie nets - good window screens but they always seem to get in. Otherwise it was well kitted out and well worth the 600 compared to other bungalows I stayed in. I would rate it flashpacker. NP was building about a dozen extra rooms closer to the beach which looked like they would be just as nice as my Ko Adang NP 600 when finished. There is so much space in the bungalow area that these new structures are not overcrowding it - downside: it must have been a 400m+ walk from my bungalow down to the restaurant. Make sure you have a torch for walking back when the generator cuts out around 2200-2230. The paths and roads are very good and well lit at other times. The grounds are constantly manicured by the staff and very clean. A new bigger restaurant seemed to be under construction closer to the beach and the bungalows. The 400baht longhouse rooms with 4 matresses on the floor were basic but good value for 4 sharing. Could be a bit noisy with timber walls separating rooms. Outside bathroom block looked okay although some German girls were not whelmed about the ladies'. The beach is a ripper, about 4 km long and backed by casuarinas and palms. Water was deep enough to swim not too far from shore even at lowest tide and was very clear, despite the proximity of Tarutao’s biggest stream Klong Pante Malaka.
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National Park Accommodation reviewed by tezza (Total reviews: 34) on 12th December, 2008
Rated 4 out of 5. after a stay here in 11/2008

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