Ranong travel guide
Hot springs, tin-baron history and longtails across the border river
A working port town on the Myanmar border with hot springs, a tin-mining past and boats to Ko Phayam and Ko Chang. Visit between December and March. One or two nights in town is plenty; add the islands for longer. Costs are low, and many passports enter visa-free.
Ranong is a small Andaman-coast town at the narrow neck of the Kra Isthmus, where the Kraburi River estuary separates Thailand from Myanmar. It is about 586 km from Bangkok by road and has fewer than 17,000 residents. Travellers pass through for the boats to Ko Phayam and Ranong's own Ko Chang, for liveaboard dive trips and for the hot springs on the edge of town.
Tin built the place. The name is linked to rae nong, "full of minerals". A Chinese merchant named Kho Su Jiang bought up most of the tin trade and became the first governor when Rama V made Ranong a province in 1877. His family grave, guarded by granite figures of noblemen, horses and lions, still stands on land the king gave him.
Rama V stayed here for three nights in 1890, and a teak replica of the throne hall built for that visit sits on Niwet Khiri hill above the market. The hot springs have drawn visitors ever since that visit; today they form Raksawarin Park, where water comes out of the ground at about 65C, hot enough to cook the eggs sold beside the pools.
Locals call this the province of eight months of rain and four of sun, and the figures back it up. Rainfall passes 600 mm a month from June to September, and Ranong shares with Trat the title of wettest province in Thailand. The months to aim for are December to March, when the sea calms and the islands open up.
This is not a resort town. Hotels are plain, the songthaews stop around nine at night, and the best meals are in markets. That is its appeal: an ordinary southern Thai town on a working fishing port, with Myanmar a 20-minute longtail ride across the water.
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Top things to do in Ranong
Hot springs, island boats, royal and Chinese heritage, waterfalls and the Myanmar border river.
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Best time to visit Ranong
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Monthly rain falls to between 20 mm and 78 mm and highs reach 32C to 35C; the island boats and dive liveaboards run at full strength.
Showers return (154 mm in April, 130 mm in November), but the dive season still runs from late October to May.
Between 421 mm and 772 mm a month; waterfalls and the hot springs are at their best, beaches and boats are not.
Ranong's tourism fair, Visit Ranong and Andaman, is held in March with exhibitions and folk sports, at the end of the driest stretch of the year.
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Getting there
Don Mueang flights, Petchkasem Road buses and the Chumphon rail link
Ranong Airport (UNN) is about 22 km from town, with Thai AirAsia flights from Don Mueang. Nothing meets the flights, so book a car through your hotel or share a taxi. The bus station on Petchkasem Road in Bang Rin has services to Chumphon, Bangkok, Surat Thani, Khao Lak, Phuket and Krabi, with Bangkok night buses around 19:00 to 20:00. The nearest railway is at Chumphon, three hours by minibus.
- Ranong Airport (UNN)
- About 22 km from town; pre-booked car or shared taxi only
- Bus station
- Petchkasem Road, Bang Rin; songthaews 2 and 6 run towards the centre and the piers
- Rail
- Nearest station Chumphon; minibuses take about 3 hours and drop off around town
- Night buses to Bangkok
- Transport Co., Sombat Tour and Choke Anan Tour, departing in the early evening
- Some buses from Chumphon terminate at the Rangsit Tours office about 6 km out of town; songthaews 2 or 6 run from there to Ruangrat Road until about 21:00.
- If you are heading straight to Ko Phayam, tell your airport driver to go straight to Saphan Pla pier.
Where to stay
Ruangrat Road, Bang Rin and the palace hill
Ranong is small, but its sights and transport stops are strung out, so it pays to sleep near the songthaew routes. Few visitors stay more than two nights; anyone after beaches books on Ko Phayam instead.
- Ruangrat Road and the market
- The old centre, with the central market, the night market and Ranong Hideaway; noisy early in the morning
- Bang Rin and Petchkasem Road
- Guesthouses near the bus station and Tesco Lotus; handy for late arrivals, a ride from the centre
- Kamlang Sap Road by Rattanarangsarn Palace
- Family-run rooms on the hill, with morning songthaews to the pier passing the door
- Tha Muang Road
- The more comfortable small hotels, some street-facing rooms noisy
- Buy island boat tickets at the pier; booking through a guesthouse can add a transfer fee.
Getting around
Numbered songthaews to Saphan Pla and the springs
Numbered songthaews cover most needs: line 2 from the Ruangrat Road market to the hot springs, red line 3 to Saphan Pla and the Ko Phayam boats, and line 6 from the bus station to Saphan Pla. They stop at about 21:00. A riverside cycle path links the springs and the night market; for Laem Son or Kra Buri, rent a scooter or hire a driver.
- Songthaew 2
- Market to Raksawarin hot springs
- Songthaew 3
- Market to Saphan Pla pier for Ko Phayam and Ko Chang
- Songthaew 6
- Bus station to Saphan Pla
- Motorcycle taxi
- About 10 minutes from the bus station area to the main street
- If you plan to soak at the hot springs until closing, check how you will get back after the last songthaew.
Know before you go
What makes Ranong worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- Raksawarin hot springs, where three source pools steam at about 65C and cooler pools downstream let you soak.
- The longtail ride out to Ko Phayam, with its long white beaches, cashew plantations and a Chao Le community.
- Wat Suwan Khiri, whose Burmese-style chedi, built more than 70 years ago, reflects how close Myanmar is.
- Hat Bang Ben in Laem Son National Park, a long beach shaded by pines with the park headquarters behind it.
- Phukhao Ya, the treeless grass hill locals compare to Swiss pasture, with a waterfall visible in the distance.
Good to know
- Kawthoung day trips may be restricted. Because of the conflict in Myanmar, tourist entry at Ranong can change at short notice; confirm with Thai immigration before planning a visa run.
- Get stamped out first. Touts at Saphan Pla may hurry you onto a longtail before immigration, which would mean leaving Thailand illegally.
- The Ngao Mangrove Forest Research Centre is closed for now; the 1,500 m boardwalk in the Pa Khlong Lamliang-La-un reserve is an alternative.
- Rain is the rule for eight months. Island boats run several times a day only in high season, so check before travelling from May to October.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Ranong, month by month
August in Ranong averages about 772 mm of rain and February only 20 mm, so the month you choose shapes the whole trip.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Ranong (World Meteorological Organization, via Wikipedia).
Two days in Ranong from Raksawarin hot springs to Saphan Pla
Two days in Ranong cover the hot springs, the town's hill and its fishing port on the Myanmar border. Day one is for the Raksawarin springs and the Permphon Road night market; day two for the Rattanarangsarn Palace replica, Wat Suwan Khiri and Saphan Pla pier, where longtails cross to Kawthoung in about 20 minutes.
Thai AirAsia lands from Don Mueang in about 65 minutes; read the Ranong Airport guide before booking the flights from Bangkok, since transfers must be arranged ahead. Spend the first afternoon at Raksawarin hot springs (08:30 to 16:30), where the main pools need registration and an electric key but the upstream pools are open to all.
In the evening walk to the bottom of Ruangrat Road and turn along Permphon Road for the night market, a few hundred metres on. The songthaews stop at about 21:00, so stay central for the first night.
On day two see the replica of Rattanarangsarn Palace on Niwet Khiri, which recalls the 1890 royal visit, the three-tiered grave of governor Kho Su Jiang and Wat Suwan Khiri's Burmese-style chedi. In the afternoon songthaew 3 runs to Saphan Pla, where longtails leave for Kawthoung from the pier behind the petrol station. With a third day, take a boat to Ko Phayam or a bus to Khao Lak; return details are on the Ranong to Bangkok flights page.
Ranong's market stalls, the night market and spring-boiled eggs
Ranong eats at its markets. The central market on Ruangrat Road serves lunch through the day, and the Permphon Road night market is where most of the town has dinner. Cashews are the provincial crop, and eggs boiled in the 65C water of the Raksawarin springs are the local snack.
Market Street has a durian vendor in season, and the night market sits a few hundred metres along Permphon Road past the old CAT telecom building.
Cashews are the provincial crop, so much so that they appear in the provincial slogan. Plantations cover parts of Ko Phayam and Ranong's Ko Chang, and a bag of local cashews is the obvious thing to take home.
A vendor beside the source pools sells the spring-boiled eggs. For a sit-down dinner, Ranong Hideaway on Ruangrat Road, open since 2004, serves Thai seafood, steaks and pizza, and JaJaa Coffee on Petchkasem Road opens at 07:00 near the bus station.
Laem Son beaches, Punyaban Falls and Kra Buri from Ranong
The best beach trip from Ranong is Laem Son National Park, with Hat Bang Ben and islands such as Ko Kam Yai, best from December to March. Waterfalls such as Punyaban on Highway 4 run fullest in the monsoon, and Kra Buri marks the Kra Isthmus, the narrowest point of the Malay Peninsula.
Laem Son National Park, covering about 315 square kilometres of coast and Andaman islands, is the best beach outing from town. Hat Bang Ben is a long sandy beach under pines beside the park headquarters; Hat Laem Son lies about 4 km further on, and Hat Praphat is another wide, pine-shaded strand. The park also takes in Andaman islands such as Ko Kam Yai, with its white sand, and Ko Khangkhao. Go between December and March, when the sea is calm and February rain averages only 20 mm.
Inland, the rainy season works in your favour. Namtok Punyaban is a 20-metre waterfall at km 597 on Highway 4 towards Chumphon. Namtok Ton Phet and Namtok Bok Krai flow all year, and Namtok Chum Saeng throws rainbows in its spray during the monsoon, when August brings about 772 mm of rain.
North along Highway 4, Kra Buri district marks the narrowest point of the Malay Peninsula, only about 44 km from the Gulf of Thailand to the Andaman Sea, with the Kraburi River forming the border. Nearby, Khao Fa Chi, a hill used as a port in the Second World War, looks over the Kraburi and La-un rivers, and the wreck of a Japanese freighter shows at low tide about 2 km beyond it. Kra Buri also holds a Thai and Burmese Buddha-image boat procession and race on the first three days of the waning moon in the eleventh lunar month.
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How we research our Ranong travel guide
Ranong's hot spring hours and the border boat details to Myanmar are rechecked when they change, using the province's official website. Entry follows the Royal Thai Embassy notice and the Thailand Digital Arrival Card.
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Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of RanongRoyal Thai Embassy noticeThailand Digital Arrival Card
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Ranong.
Getting there
No, there is no public transport at the airport, which is about 22 km from town. Arrange a car through your hotel before you fly, or share a taxi with other passengers on arrival.
Thai AirAsia flies from Bangkok Don Mueang to Ranong in a little over an hour. There are no flights from Suvarnabhumi.
Chumphon, on the main southern line, is the nearest station. Minibuses from the Ranong bus station take about three hours and drop off around Chumphon.
General
Take red songthaew 3 from the market on Ruangrat Road, or line 6 from the bus station, to Saphan Pla, the ferry terminal about 4 km west of the centre. Longtails and ferries leave several times a day in high season.
Possibly, but entry for tourists can be restricted because of the conflict in Myanmar, so check with Thai immigration first. If you go, get stamped out at the immigration office at Saphan Pla before boarding a longtail.
Hat Bang Ben, beside the park headquarters, Hat Laem Son about 4 km away and Hat Praphat are all long, pine-shaded beaches. The park also takes in islands such as Ko Kam Yai and Ko Khangkhao.
In Kra Buri district, north of town on Highway 4, the peninsula narrows to about 44 km between the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. The Kraburi River there forms the border with Myanmar.
Numbered songthaews cover most needs: line 2 from the Ruangrat Road market to the hot springs, red line 3 to Saphan Pla and the Ko Phayam boats, and line 6 from the bus station to Saphan Pla. They stop at about 21:00. A riverside cycle path links the springs and the night market; for Laem Son or Kra Buri, rent a scooter or hire a driver.
Ranong is best known for:
- Raksawarin hot springs, where three source pools steam at about 65C and cooler pools downstream let you soak
- The longtail ride out to Ko Phayam, with its long white beaches, cashew plantations and a Chao Le community
- Wat Suwan Khiri, whose Burmese-style chedi, built more than 70 years ago, reflects how close Myanmar is
- Hat Bang Ben in Laem Son National Park, a long beach shaded by pines with the park headquarters behind it
- Phukhao Ya, the treeless grass hill locals compare to Swiss pasture, with a waterfall visible in the distance
Ranong is small, but its sights and transport stops are strung out, so it pays to sleep near the songthaew routes. Few visitors stay more than two nights; anyone after beaches books on Ko Phayam instead.
Timing & weather
The three source pools stay at about 65C, too hot to bathe in, while cooler pools are set aside for soaking. The park is open from 08:30 to 16:30 and songthaew 2 runs there from the market.
The dive season runs from the end of October to May. Liveaboards from Ranong visit the Surin and Similan Islands, Richelieu Rock and Ko Tachai, and some go to the Mergui Archipelago.
Booking
Locals speak of eight months of rain and four of sun, and May to October each average 420 mm to 770 mm. December to March is the dry window.
Visa & documents
From 15 September 2026, Thailand replaced its 60-day visa exemption with a 30-day exemption for tourism, covering about 60 countries; a one-time extension of up to 30 days may be possible at an immigration office. Some nationalities can get a visa on arrival, and others need an e-Visa before travel. All foreign visitors must complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online before arrival.
Health & safety
Visitors to Thailand rarely run into serious trouble. Road accidents, especially on scooters, cause the most harm, followed by scams and strong sea currents in the monsoon. Ignore anyone who says the Grand Palace is closed, and swim only where no red flag flies.
