Kung Krabane Wildlife Reserve

Kung Krabane Wildlife Reserve protects a mangrove bay and coastal wetland in Tha Mai district, Chanthaburi — entry is a small per-person fee (20-30 THB in recent visitor reports), open 08:00-17:00 daily. The Thai name marks it as a non-hunting area rather than a permit-gated sanctuary, so it’s open to ordinary visitors, not restricted to researchers.

Wooden boardwalks lead out over the mangrove channels near the visitor centre, giving an elevated view over the root systems and tidal mudflats without wading through them. The reserve’s standout walk is the Lan Hin Si Chomphu trail — a roughly 1,000-metre coastal path to a stretch of distinctively pink-tinged rock along the shoreline, taking about an hour and a half there and back.

Insider Tip: Go at low tide if you want to see the mudflats and their crab and mudskipper activity — at high tide the mangrove channels fill and much of that action disappears underwater.

The bay itself sits within a working coastal landscape rather than untouched wilderness — the adjacent Khung Kraben Bay Royal Development Study Center runs aquaculture and mangrove-restoration research on the same bay, and the two are easy to combine in one visit since they’re right next to each other.

Watch out: The pink rock trail has no shade for most of its length, so avoid the midday hours in the dry season if you’re doing the full walk.

Bring insect repellent, sun protection, and shoes that can handle both boardwalk and uneven coastal rock. If you’re touring the wider Laem Sadet coastline, the Laem Sadet Arboretum is a short drive further along the same peninsula.