Escape to a Beach
If you have dreams of escaping to your own desert island but don't fancy all that hut building, searching for water, scavenging for food stuff, we have a secret we'd like to share with you!
Golden Buddha Beach Resort is a remote eco-resort set in lush tropical forest on the edge of spectacular golden sands. Here you can enjoy breathtaking seafront views and abundant wildlife (including turtles and rare hornbills) in one of the last unspoiled coastal areas of Thailand whilst relaxing in your own private villa with an un-inhabited 11 kilometer beach.
Located on the island of Koh Phratong, two hours drive north of Phuket, Golden Buddha is truly a paradise for nature lovers and the famous Surin Islands only an hour away by boat.
The resort comprises beach front and sea view dwellings that afford privacy, stylish beach homes and villas, and uniqueness (most houses have been individually designed).
Services include first class dining, focusing on fresh local ingredients and quality beverages served at the Bee Eater bakery and Seabreeze bar.
Accommodation
Each home at Golden Buddha Beach Resort is unique and individually designed. Homes vary from simple one-bedroom beachfront houses to luxury forest canopied lodges with beautiful views of the Andaman Sea.
Whether you're a couple looking for privacy or a family or group with particular requirements, there's almost certain to be something to suit you and we'll be happy to discuss this in the process of making your booking. All of the houses have open-air bathrooms and are supplied with fans and mosquito nets, great views and plenty of fresh sea air.
Activities
Activities have been designed to benefit from the beautiful location and include: coral reef snorkeling, a walk through primary rain forest emerging onto a deserted beach, kayak trips through tranquil mangrove lagoons, island jeep safaris, bird watching, yoga, Thai massage and cultural visits. The resort also offers several yoga retreats each year, led by well known instructors, as well as diving trips to the Surin and Similian islands (one of the world's premier dive locations).
Sea Kayaking and Snorkelling
Sea kayaks and snorkelling equipment are available to hire from the resort and private guided sea kayak tours can be arranged upon request. The estuaries on the island offer a particularly enticing location to explore using these enjoyable craft.
Cultural Tours
The island has two villages populated by Thai, Moklen (the nomadic people of the Andaman coast of Thailand and southern Burma) and the Moken (the people commonly referred to as sea gypsies from the north Andaman coasts of Thailand and Burma.)
Excursions to these villages (Thang Dap and Tapayoi) can be arranged offering an opportunity to meet local families and learn about their age-old way of life. Depending on the time of year, it may also be possible to visit local schools to meet the children and teachers as well as a visiting the local public health centre. We can even arrange family homestays where guests will enjoy their meals and experience the local sea community life. In some villages, guests can take Thai cooking courses and sample some of the traditional fruits of Thailand such as mangosteen, durian and jackfruit.
About the Area
In Thailand's Andaman Sea, just a few kilometres from Burmese waters, there is a small coastal archipelago. The largest of the islands is Koh Phra Thong, which translates as Golden Buddha Island. With over 10 kilometres of pristine beach to comb, Golden Buddha Beach is both the resort's name and its nature.
Koh Phra Thong is named after a local legend of buried treasure... As the story goes, many years ago a band of pirates attracted by the island’s isolation or perhaps ship wrecked by rough seas, buried a golden Buddha at an undisclosed location on the island. There is no record of it ever having been discovered, and may well be hidden somewhere in the confines of the resort!
Fishing is an important industry for the island. The fishing villages are reliant on the indigenous squid, shrimps and jellyfish of the Andaman Sea for their livelihoods. A famous delicacy is “gabpi” (fish paste). At certain times of the year, shrimp appear near the beach and fisherman scoop them up in their nets. Islanders then ferment the shrimp into a paste which they trade on the mainland.
Communities on the island have prospered in recent years. The local government has enlarged the schools in each village and every year volunteers conduct conservation classes in the schools, sponsored by Golden Buddha Beach Resort. This ensures that outsiders' influence and impact is as positive as possible. Unfortunately, much of that prosperity vanished following the tsunami of 2004 that devastated Phuket and surrounding islands, however, due to the generous support of the Swiss government and a number of relief agencies, they have made a remarkable recovery. The resort seeks to continue to support the island citizens through its volunteer programs and extensively training and hiring local residents.
Golden Buddha Beach is an ideal combination with -
Khao Soke and the Jungle Lodge
For an ideal mix of beach-front relaxation and natural exploration
a visit to Khao Soke National Park is the perfect complement
to Golden Buddha Beach.
Khao Soke is well known for its lush rainforest, proliferation of wildlife, and amazing scenery. Your accommodation at the Jungle Lodge is in a beautiful setting - looking out over a clear brook to majestic limestone cliffs. At night oil lamps are the only means of illumination. Meals are provided at the lodge. American or Asian breakfast, a light Thai lunch, and a generous Thai set dinner. Vegetarian food is also available.
Activities here include:
• Hiking with a guide experienced in the lore and crafts
of the jungle.
• Walking through the rain forest criss-crossed with
waterfalls and streams.
• Observe the flora and fauna, and swim in a clear, safe
pool in the middle of the forest.
• Lake trips by boat through a fairyland of majestic
limestone cliffs and caves.
• Swim in the lake, and in the evening watch for large
birds and animals coming to feed.
• Enjoy a picnic lunch and dinner on the lake.
• Massage - indulge in an hour of traditional Thai massage
• Tubing - float down the river on a tubing trip that
takes you through the forest
• Night safari for wildlife viewing
• Elephant Trek
Village Homestay and/or short-term volunteering
Stay with a local fishing family, learn about their way of life, explore deserted islands and mangroves, enjoy sunsets on the beach and also help to support those finding alternative ways of making a living in the aftermath of the tsunami. More...
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