Thailand’s rainiest corner: hot springs, mangroves and Koh Phayam’s quiet beaches, across from Myanmar.
Ranong sits where Thailand is narrowest, on a Kra Isthmus only 44 km wide, with Myanmar’s Kawthaung a 20-minute longtail ride across the water. It is one of the wettest places in the country, which keeps it green: rain forest, waterfalls and the Raksawarin hot springs in town. Offshore, Koh Phayam and Ranong’s own Koh Chang are quiet islands of coconut and cashew groves and sandy beaches, and Laem Son National Park protects the mangrove coast to the south. It is the second-least populous province, with a small, local property market that suits slow island life more than investment.
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