Koh Hong in Phang Nga Bay: Lagoon, Kayaks and How Boats Visit

Koh Hong, also written Ko Hong, is a limestone island in Phang Nga Bay with a lagoon hidden inside it. Motorboats are not allowed inside the hongs of Phang Nga Bay, so you get in through a low sea cave in a canoe or kayak, usually with a guide doing the paddling, and only when the tide allows. If you are planning a private boat day in Phang Nga Bay and wondering whether Koh Hong is worth a stop, this guide explains what you are actually visiting, how the visit is usually organised and what to confirm with your operator.

Which Koh Hong is this?

Two different places in the Andaman Sea go by "Hong" in English. This article is about Ko Hong in Phang Nga Bay, inside Ao Phang Nga National Park, the bay of limestone towers that is also home to the village island of Ko Panyee.

A separate group of islands off the coast of Krabi is also sold as "Hong Islands" or "Koh Hong". Lovethailand.org places these Hong Islands in Krabi Province, within Than Bok Khorani National Park. It is a different destination with different boat trips. When you read tour listings or reviews, check which one they mean: a Krabi "Hong Islands" trip is not a visit to the Phang Nga lagoon described here, and the other way round.

What a "hong" is

In Thai, hong means "room", as the National Parks Atlas guide to Phang Nga Bay explains. The Tourism Authority of Thailand's newsroom describes the hongs of Phang Nga Bay as "collapsed cave chambers open to the sky". In practice that means an enclosed lagoon inside the island, with rock walls around it and open sky above.

On Ko Hong, the way in is "a sea level cave passage that leads to a lagoon further inside the island", according to the Thai National Parks guide to Ao Phang-Nga National Park, which calls Ko Hong one of the best canoeing spots in Phang-Nga Bay. National Parks Atlas describes it the same way: a lagoon behind a cave, enclosed by rock on all sides, with access by canoe only.

A sailing couple who visited Ko Hong in early 2025 wrote on their blog that the cave entrance is "entry by canoe only", and that after the first chamber "you exit into a lagoon".

How boats usually visit Koh Hong

The boat you arrive on does not go into the lagoon. The visit usually works in two stages:

1. Your boat stops near the island. In Phang Nga Bay, "the tourist boats bring stacks of kayaks and use them to take their passengers into the caves and around the cliffs", in the words of that same 2025 sailing blog. The same couple, arriving on their own yacht, paid for a canoe trip around the hong because their dinghy was too large for the smaller caves.
2. You transfer to a sea canoe or kayak. National Parks Atlas notes that a guide usually paddles. A travel feature on sea canoeing in Phang Nga Bay by Sand In My Suitcase describes guides paddling from the back while guests lie back to slide under the low cave roofs. The same feature notes that, because the bay is a national park, motor boats are not allowed inside the hongs.

On a private charter the pattern is similar: your boat takes you to the area, and the canoe part is a separate service. The Phang Nga Bay charter guide from the charter service behind this site lists canoeing as a possible add-on, and says the quote should confirm the activity, the provider, the equipment and any extra cost. It also points out that a private boat does not guarantee unrestricted access or an empty landmark, which is worth remembering at a popular stop like Ko Hong.

Why the tide matters

Whether you can get through the cave depends on the water level. TAT's newsroom puts it simply: in Phang Nga Bay, sea canoes thread through low tunnels "at the right tide". When the water is too high, the gap under the rock can be too low to pass. The 2025 sailing blog records exactly this at another cave in the bay, where the water was too high to exit into the hong at the end.

Sand In My Suitcase adds the other side of the risk: guides time the exit carefully, because you do not want to be trapped inside a hong by a rising tide. Blue Andaman's Phang Nga Bay page also notes that tide and conditions affect which caves or hongs can be visited.

What this means for planning:

• The order of stops can change. Blue Andaman's Phang Nga Bay page says the captain may adjust the order for conditions and tides, so Ko Hong may not come at the time you expect.
• The lagoon is not guaranteed. On some days the canoe trip may go around the cliffs rather than into the hong. Ask what happens in that case.
• Ask, do not assume. This guide does not give tide times for specific dates. Ask the operator when they plan to reach Ko Hong and why.

Weather and season

Calm water makes canoeing easier, and conditions change through the year. TAT's newsroom notes that October and early November can still bring rain, and that boat operators sometimes hold back when the waves run high. If conditions are poor on your date, ask the operator what the plan is, and whether the canoe part could be dropped or moved.

For the national park itself, a 2023 TAT Newsroom update on park status listed Ao Phang-Nga National Park as open, with a closure from 1 August to 30 September for listed sites around Ko Lawa Yai, Ao Khian, Ko Boi Yai and an accommodation zone, not the whole park. The independent Thai National Parks guide, however, says the park is closed in the rainy season from 16 May to 14 October each year. The sources do not agree and neither is a current official notice, so ask your operator for the current status for your date.

Park fees, tickets and rules

Ko Hong lies inside a national park, so a park entrance fee applies. Ao Phang Nga National Park is in the fee group where foreign adults pay 300 baht and foreign children 150 baht, according to The Nation's list of national park fees that took effect on 7 June 2022. Fees can change, so check the amount for your date.

TAT's newsroom reports that six marine national parks, including Phang Nga Bay, have used electronic tickets since October 2025, and advises buying tickets in advance and having your passport ready.

On a private charter, ask whether the park fee is included in the price or paid separately, who buys the tickets and whether every guest needs to bring a passport on the day.

A few practical rules follow from the sources above:

• No motorboats in the hongs. Only canoes and kayaks go inside.
• Follow your guide's timing. The guide decides when it is safe to enter and leave.
• Treat the lagoon as a protected place. TAT's general advice for Andaman marine parks is to use reef-safe sunscreen and leave coral untouched. Take nothing out and leave nothing behind.

Fitting Koh Hong into a private day

Not every boat offers the same stops or starts from the same pier, as the Blue Andaman Phang Nga Bay page puts it, and it says sailing time to the bay depends on the boat and the departure pier, so your pier and boat type shape how much time you have at Ko Hong. Our guide to choosing between a catamaran and a speedboat explains how boat choice changes the pace of the day, and the private day charter overview shows how a private day charter is put together.

Before you pay a deposit, get the route, the canoe provider and what is included in writing. Our checklist on how to choose a yacht charter company in Phuket covers what a good written quote should show. When you are ready, you can send your date and group details and ask whether Ko Hong fits your route.

Questions to ask before you book

• Is this Ko Hong in Phang Nga Bay, or the Hong Islands in Krabi?
• Is the canoe or kayak trip into the lagoon included, or is it an add-on with an extra cost?
• Who provides the canoes, and will a guide paddle for us?
• At what time do you plan to reach Ko Hong, and does the tide on our date allow entry into the lagoon?
• What happens if the water level or the sea does not allow us into the hong?
• Is the national park fee included, who buys the electronic tickets, and do we need our passports?
• Are there life jackets for every guest in the canoes, including children?
• Which pier do we leave from, and how long is the crossing to Phang Nga Bay on this boat?
• Is Ao Phang Nga National Park, or any part of it we plan to visit, closed on our date?