James Bond Island, Thailand
James Bond Island, Thailand
Khao Phing Kan, or better known as James Bond Island, is an island just northeast of Phuket. Prior to the James Bond movie, The Man With The Golden Gun, in 1974, the island was relatively left alone. Now it is a tourist hot spot. The island has no shore line, so you won’t be able to go up to the actual island you saw in the movie, but you from the national park there is a nice path so you can take plenty of photos.
If you do not want to actually sail to the island, you can actually hire a long tail boat to take you to the island so you don’t have to miss it on your Thailand sailing internary. This is also a good option so you can visit other locations more quickly such as Koh Panyi, the local floating muslim village.
There is not much on James Bond Island, but the island has been really outfitted for tourists. If arriving by a speed boat, you will be greeted by national park guards who will collect 300 baht per person (roughly $10). From the beach you will walk up a set up stairs as you see “James Bond Island” and take some photos. If you are visiting midday, expect the stairwell to be pretty crowded.
After the stairs there are some caves that you can explore and climb around. Make sure to be wearing tennis shoes, because the lose rock can make for some easy falls. After exploring the caves of James Bond Island there are some locals that have set up some booths where you can buy some local items to take home! Plan not to spend more than 1 hour here, it is a great spot, but there is not much to see here.
James Bond Island, Thailand