Koh Pa Island

Ko Pa isn’t a standing island — it’s a tidal sandbank off Takua Pa in Phang Nga, part of the Ko Kho Khao area, that appears at low tide and mostly disappears underwater at high tide. Before 2004 it held a small, tree-covered island of around 4-5 rai; the Indian Ocean tsunami that December swept the vegetation and sand dunes away, leaving the bare, flat sand formation visitors see today. The name — “pha,” meaning cloth — reportedly comes from how the stripped-bare island looked afterward.

What’s actually here is a stretch of pale sand, sometimes split into three separate mounds and sometimes joined into one continuous bank of nearly a square kilometre, depending on how far the tide has dropped. Walking out onto it at low tide with water receding on both sides is the draw — a “sea parting” effect similar to Koh Kradan’s sandbar further south, without the crowds. There’s no coral reef or limestone cliff here; the setting is flat, open, and quiet, with Ko Kho Khao’s tree line visible across the water and fishing boats working the channel.

Watch out: This is not a coral-snorkeling destination, whatever some third-party listings imply. There’s nothing to see underwater beyond sand and shallow tidal channels, and the sandbank itself can vanish within an hour or two as the tide turns — check tide tables before you commit to a boat.

Access is by chartered boat from Ban Nam Khem pier in Takua Pa district, a 20-40 minute crossing depending on the boat and sea conditions. There’s no scheduled ferry or fixed departure time — arrangements go through local boat operators or the Ko Kho Khao community tourism group, and timing around low tide matters more than time of day. Bring your own water and shade; there are no facilities on the sandbank itself.

Ban Nam Khem is also home to the tsunami memorial park where the boats to Ko Pa depart — worth combining the two, since the sandbank’s current shape and the memorial share the same 2004 origin story.