Sunset at Ao Kantiang

Ao Kantiang is one of the southernmost bays on Thailand's Ko Lanta island.

Taken on: 13th October, 2004. Copyright: All Rights Reserved - See travelfishery's page of Flickr

Read more about Ao Kantiang

The UK’s Sunday Times voted Ao Kantiang the best beach in Thailand, which is quite a claim, but it quite possibly deserves the accolade. The sand is super-fine, the views are postcard-perfect and it’s usually deserted.

The island's poshest five-star resort is here, complete with million-dollar yachts moored offshore. A few much smaller resorts do business along the northern end of the beach, where there are also some good cafes and restaurants.

Only a few years ago this beach was almost off-limits due to the state of the roads. Now, thanks to more upmarket resorts, it has opened up. Whether you stay here or not, coming here for a few hours is a must, partly to see how the other half live and partly to enjoy the superb beach.

Back up on the main road sits a small community where you’ll find a reasonable number of cafes and restaurants, as well as a 7-eleven. Read our complete Ao Kantiang travel guide

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