Samet Nangshe Viewpoint — Attraction in Phang-nga Province

What a place! Went for the second time yesterday morning, woke up around 4:15 and was ready to leave at 4:55, a little late probably, but we just made it, the drive from Patong to Samet Nangshee itself went okay, just be aware of some pedestrian homeless dogs when the fist light arrives in the morning! The drive takes you through Phuket, pretty much all the way from Soi the to north, past the airport and over Sarasin Bridge that connects Phuket to the mainland of Thailand. When I reached this point I was very uncertain if we were going to make the sunrise in time, but luckily we did, from the bridge you use approximately 30 minutes to get to the viewpoint! A small warning if you got a low car, the parking lot can be difficult to enter, when lots of rain has dug big rivers in the sand at the parking! There is a fee to be paid when you get there, it’s not a big fee though! And it also gives you free transportation up to the viewpoint! You can also walk up if you’re feeling fresh in the morning, the walk is steep but not so long around 15 minutes depending on your personal shape! Last time I visited we did the walk, but that is about four years ago now, so to change things up a little we took the shuttle this time, believe me the hill was if possible even scarier on the back of a pickup truck! But at the top a magnificent view that erases all bad thoughts that you possibly had during the ascent! Magnificent view to the charismatic famous islands of Phang Nga bay! Especially with the sun slowly raising over this tiny island is really a breathtaking experience! When we had done the sightseeing and went down the road to the car again, we went to the lovely Samet Nangshee boutique that is placed maybe 200 mater further down the main road, to visit the Bay View Café which is located at the top of the hotel, lots of steps to enter this café. The view from this café was almost as impressive as from the viewpoint, but be aware, it was a really long wait to get the food delivered, and when you are a group of people you usually wants the food at the same time, this is not the case here, we were two persons, I ordered a Bay view breakfast while my date ordered a Spaghetti Seafoosd, it almost took an hour for her to get her foos, while mine came in about 30 minutes! Not to be rude or anything like that, but to get a tables food pretty collective is something they really should...

Samet Nangshe Viewpoint – what a ride (literally).

When we arrived, it was into a rough, dusty car park lined with stalls selling the usual bits, drinks, hats, souvenirs, all the things you tell yourself you won’t buy, but somehow end up with. To get to the actual viewpoint, you’ve got two choices:

100 Baht for a lift up in the back of a truck. 30 Baht if you fancy walking.

Now, unless you’ve recently trained for the Everest base camp trek, part of special forces, take the truck. Honestly, I strongly suspect that if you walk, you’ll need a new pair of lungs at the top and we didn’t see a single person attempt it.

The ride up is a bumpy, winding climb through the trees, the kind where you hang on and hope the driver knows the road like the back of his hand. At the top, though, it’s worth every jolt. The views open up to a panorama of limestone karsts rising out of Phang Nga Bay, framed by mangrove forests and turquoise waters. Every few steps, there’s another perfect photo spot and yes, we took advantage of most of them.

There’s a café at the summit selling cold drinks (much appreciated after the climb even if ours was motorised), hot drinks, and snacks. There were people around, but it never felt overcrowded or like you had to queue for ages to get a shot of the scenery.

From our vantage point, the sheer scale and beauty of the bay was unreal, almost like a movie backdrop. We snapped plenty, took in the breeze, and enjoyed the fact that we didn’t have to gasp for oxygen like we would have if we’d walked up.

The ride back down was just as quick, and before we knew it, we were back in the dusty car park, heading off with memories (and photos) of one of the most stunning spots in Phuket.

Tip - Pay the 100 Baht, skip the heroic hike, and spend your energy on soaking in the...

We’ve visited Samet Nangshe view point on our way to Krabi (there is the view point and another point wit a bridge near the hotel which I read here it’s not worth the money). It was a hot day and we didn’t want to go by foot. Tickets were 150Bht pp and ever ticket can be used as credit if you buy at the view point bar (for every 300bht you spend you get 150 discount for as many tickets you have). The view is astonishing. The pang nga bay with all limestone islands always amazes us. Of course the weather helps so check it before you drive here. The bar is nice and has variety of food and beverages including ice cream and cakes. The only drawback is of course the lack of ventilation… it’s hot as hell on the bar and getting out to the sun and breeze is absurdly the way to get comfortable. There are restrooms up there yet they’re even hotter than the bar so make it short… To sum it up, a marvelous view point. It’s not close to anywhere (except if you come to avoid everyone and have a quite vacation with nothing but some villages around you) I wouldn’t drive here solely, but if you are planning a trip from Phuket to Krabi or Khao lak to Krabi or the opposite direction I’d definitely...