Ban Thung Pradu Community Enterprises Tourism

Ban Thung Pradu is a coastal fishing-and-coconut community in Thap Sakae district, on the narrow strip of Prachuap Khiri Khan between the highway and the Gulf. Its community-tourism group won the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration’s (DASTA) model-community award in 2020, and runs short hands-on programmes built around the two things the village lives on: the sea and the coconut grove. Entry is free; activities and homestays are arranged in advance.

On the water, fishers take visitors out to set traps for blue swimming crab and octopus, and to check sang-kor — bundles of bamboo sunk offshore as artificial reefs that gather fish and squid. On land, the coconut grove is the other staple: you can watch the fruit pressed for coconut milk, help out in the organic vegetable garden, and try “Nok Khum” (quail’s jewel), a local sweet made from young coconut meat marinated in herbal water until it takes on colour, then coated in flour and boiled — similar in style to the crystal-pomegranate dessert served elsewhere in Thailand. A quiet stretch of beach about two kilometres long is used for a simple warm-sand spa, where sun-warmed sand is packed around the body, and a ride on one of the village’s six-wheeled farm trucks doubles as the local tour bus between activities.

Insider Tip: The warm-sand spa works best in the late afternoon once the sand has spent the day absorbing heat — ask the community to time your visit for after 3pm rather than midday.

Because everything is run by the community for small groups, the pace is unhurried and the encounters are genuine — you work alongside families rather than watch a staged demonstration. Meals are built from the day’s catch and the grove’s coconuts, and the fishing and farming rhythms shift with the tides and the season rather than a fixed schedule.

Watch out: This is not a drop-in attraction. Without a booking, there is often nobody on-site to run the boat trips, garden visit or spa — contact the community ahead of time through Facebook or email to confirm what’s running on the day you plan to visit.

Ban Thung Pradu lies off Phetkasem Road in Thap Sakae, an easy drive south of Prachuap Khiri Khan town or north from Bang Saphan — a similar stretch of coast to Ao Noi and Hat Ban Krut further along the same road. Bring sun protection and clothes you don’t mind getting wet on the boat.