Ban Tha Ranae Community Tourism Enterprise

Ban Tha Ranae sits on a tidal creek in Nong Khan Song, about 10km from Trat town, where a fishing community has built its tourism around the taboon (mangrove apple) forest that lines the water — some of the trees are said to be over a century old. The draw is the mangrove itself: visitors paddle the green channels by longtail boat or stand-up paddleboard through three linked forest types, mangrove, nipa palm, and taboon, while guides explain how the village manages and replants the trees that shelter its fishery.

Activities are hands-on and rooted in the mangrove rather than staged for a bus tour. You can taste tea brewed from “roi-ru” — a hundred-hole ant-plant that grows as an epiphyte on the mangrove trees and is used locally as a folk tonic — try tempura made from young taboon leaves, and tie-dye cloth using natural dye drawn from taboon seed pods. The community also runs hat- and basket-weaving demonstrations, an old rice-stamping craft activity, and lets visitors release giant freshwater prawns back into the creek as part of its restocking effort. Some of these activities double as small conservation projects: mangrove replanting and mud-crab releases are built into the same visit.

Boat trips run roughly ฿300 per longtail for one or two people, or about ฿100 per person for groups of three or more; stand-up paddleboard hire is around ฿700 per person, arranged through a local SUP operator that partners with the village. Entry to the village itself is free — you pay only for the activities you choose. Trips depend on the tide as much as on a guide being available, so it’s worth contacting the community through its Facebook page, or calling coordinators Saichol or Pairat Sunert directly, a day or two ahead rather than turning up unannounced.

Insider Tip: Ask about timing your visit around a rising tide — the mangrove channels are far easier (and safer) to paddle when the water is higher, and guides will often reschedule around this rather than around your preferred hour.

Watch out: This is a working fishing community, not a purpose-built attraction — expect informal facilities and activities that depend on which villagers are free that day, and always ask before photographing people at their homes or on the water.

Tha Ranae makes an easy half-day paired with Trat town or the Laem Ngop piers, where the Koh Chang ferries leave if you are heading to the island. Nearby, the Mai Rut Community Tourism Enterprise runs a similar mangrove-based programme, and the Irrawaddy Dolphin Point at Laem Klat is a short drive along the same coast. Wear clothes you do not mind splashing, bring sun protection, and check the tide times when you book so the channels are easy to paddle.