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Voykit pocket guide · Thailand
Ranong
ระนอง
Come for 1–2 nights only if you want a Myanmar visa run, hot springs or the ferry to Ko Phayam; otherwise skip it and stay on the Andaman islands.
Ranong is a small, working Thai border town on the Northern Andaman Coast, 568 km from Bangkok, with the country's longest rainy season — about eight months a year. It is not a beach resort. People come for three concrete reasons: the boat crossing to Kawthoung in Myanmar (a visa run), the Raksawarin hot springs, and the ferry to the quiet islands of Ko Phayam and Ko Chang. Everything else is a stopover.
- Country
- Thailand
- Local name
- ระนอง
- Best months
- Nov–Apr (driest window; still expect rain)
- Avoid
- May–Oct (southwest monsoon; heaviest Jun–Sep)
- Stay
- 1–2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- THB
- Money
- Currency is the Thai baht (THB, ฿). Cards work in malls, hotels and many restaurants; street food, markets, boats and small taxis are cash.
- Daily spend
- Budget ฿800–1,500 excl. bed · Mid ฿1,500–3,000 excl. bed · High ฿3,000+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AIS and TrueMove H sell tourist SIMs at airport arrivals; passport registration is required.
- Emergency
- Police 191 · Ambulance and rescue 1669 · Tourist police (English) 1155
- Plugs
- Types A, B, C, O · 220 V · 50 Hz · Most sockets take flat US pins and round European pins; type O is the Thai three-pin standard. UK plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Street food: Nothing.; Sit-down restaurant: Leave ฿20–100 or the coins; skip it if a 10% service charge is on the bill.; Taxi / Grab: Round up to the next ฿10 or ฿20.; Massage: ฿50–100 per hour to the therapist, in hand.; Guide / driver day: ฿300–500 for the guide, ฿200–300 for the driver.; Hotel porter / housekeeping: ฿20–50.
- Water
- Not drinkable from the tap. Street refill machines charge about ฿1 a litre; bottled water everywhere.
- Toilets
- Western toilets in malls and hotels; squat toilets with a water bucket in rural stops. The hose ('bum gun') replaces paper; paper goes in the bin in older buildings. Some public toilets cost ฿3–5.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee or iced drink | ฿40–80 |
| Noodle soup or rice plate | ฿50–120 |
| Beer: draught in a bar / can at a shop | ฿80–120 / ฿35–60 |
| Songthaew ride | ฿15–30 |
| Minibus to Chumphon | ฿180 |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | ฿300–500 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- UNN · Ranong Airport
- About two flights a day from Bangkok Don Mueang (Thai AirAsia); no public transport from the airport, so share a ride or book a transfer.
Typical fares
- Songthaew in town
- about ฿15
- Longtail Ranong → Kawthoung, return
- about ฿300, agree before boarding
- Minibus Ranong → Chumphon
- about ฿180, roughly 3 h
Get around
Songthaews run numbered routes in town (฿15 a ride) and stop around 21:00, so plan to walk or take a motorcycle taxi later. The ferry terminal for Ko Phayam and Ko Chang is about 4 km west of the centre; songthaew 3 from the market goes there. There is no train station — the nearest is Chumphon.Songthaews run numbered routes in town (฿15 a ride) and stop around 9:00 PM, so plan to walk or take a motorcycle taxi later. The ferry terminal for Ko Phayam and Ko Chang is about 4 km west of the centre; songthaew 3 from the market goes there. There is no train station — the nearest is Chumphon.Songthaews run numbered routes in town (฿15 a ride) and stop around 21:00, so plan to walk or take a motorcycle taxi later. The ferry terminal for Ko Phayam and Ko Chang is about 2.5 mi west of the centre; songthaew 3 from the market goes there. There is no train station — the nearest is Chumphon.Songthaews run numbered routes in town (฿15 a ride) and stop around 9:00 PM, so plan to walk or take a motorcycle taxi later. The ferry terminal for Ko Phayam and Ko Chang is about 2.5 mi west of the centre; songthaew 3 from the market goes there. There is no train station — the nearest is Chumphon.
See and do
Known for
- Thai–Myanmar border crossing at Kawthoung
- Raksawarin hot springs
- Ko Phayam and Ko Chang ferries
- Mangrove forests and the Kra Isthmus
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Kawthoung, Myanmar | Songthaew to Saphan Pla, stamp out at Thai immigration, then a longtail across (about 20 min) | About 1 h plus immigration queues |
| Ko Phayam | Songthaew 3 from the market to the ferry terminal, then ferry or longtail (several a day in high season) | About 1.5–2 h |
| Raksawarin hot springs | Songthaew 2 from the market, or a short motorcycle-taxi ride | About 20 min |
| Laem Son National Park | Bus or minibus south, then a local songthaew to Hat Bang Ben | About 2 h |
Sleep
- Ruangrat Road (town centre)
- Guesthouses, market, songthaew lines and the night market; walkable and best for one night.
- Saphan Pla / fishing port
- Near the immigration office and boats to Kawthoung; practical for an early crossing.
- Ko Phayam
- Long white-sand beaches and cashew farms; basic bungalows, no cars. Sleep here, not in town, if beaches are the point.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | สวัสดีsawatdee |
| Thank you | ขอบคุณkhop khun |
| How much is it? | เท่าไหร่tao rai |
| Too expensive | แพงไปphaeng pai |
| Where is the immigration office? | ตม. อยู่ที่ไหนtamruat khon khao yoo tee nai |
| Where is the toilet? | ห้องน้ำอยู่ที่ไหนhong nam yoo tee nai |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: A wai (palms together, slight bow) to return a greeting; a smile and nod for shop staff; avoid: Waiing children or service staff first — it confuses; hugging strangers
- Head and feet: Keep feet on the floor, sit with legs folded to the side in temples; avoid: Touching heads (even children's), pointing feet, stepping over people or food
- Temples: Covered shoulders and knees, shoes off, sit lower than monks; avoid: Women touching monks or handing them things directly; climbing Buddha images
- Monarchy: Stand for the royal anthem in cinemas and at 08:00 and 18:00 in public places; avoid: Any joke or comment about the royal family; stepping on a banknote
- Keeping calm: Stay polite and smiling when things go wrong ('jai yen' — cool heart); avoid: Raising your voice; public anger loses the argument
- Names: Khun plus first name ('Khun Somchai'); nicknames are normal; avoid: Using the family name alone
- Home visit: Shoes off; bring fruit or sweets; step over the threshold, not on it; avoid: Sitting with feet towards the family shrine
- Beckoning and pointing: Palm down, fingers waved towards you; point with the whole hand or chin; avoid: Pointing at people with a finger or with your foot
Scams and watch-outs
- The Thai–Myanmar border at Kawthoung can be restricted for tourism because of the civil war in Myanmar: check official Thai government sources before you attempt the crossing.
- Do not board a longtail to Myanmar before you have been stamped out at the Thai immigration office at Saphan Pla — otherwise you leave the country illegally.
- Agree the boat price before you get in. A longtail return is around ฿300; reports exist of tourists being charged up to ฿1,000.
- The Ngao Mangrove Forest Research Centre is temporarily closed as of 2026: check before travelling out.
- Rain is the norm for much of the year; pack for wet days even in the dry season.
Ranong is a low-crime provincial town and generally safe by day and night. The real risks are the border crossing (check its status), unlicensed boat touts at Saphan Pla, and wet-season roads and boat cancellations.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Ranong yet. Suggested stay: 1–2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Thai–Myanmar border crossing at Kawthoung
- Raksawarin hot springs
- Ko Phayam and Ko Chang ferries
- Mangrove forests and the Kra Isthmus
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Tourism Authority of Thailand — Ranong attractions: www.tourismthailand.org/Attraction/raksawarin-hot-springs-and-public-park
- Wikivoyage: Ranong, revision 5278537 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5278537
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Ranongระนอง
ไปที่อยู่นี้ครับ/ค่ะ
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
Thailand has no embassies in Ranong; the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand missions are in Bangkok. For urgent help, call the tourist police on 1155.
Carry your passport for the border area; immigration may ask to see it.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/ranong). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.