Thailand Guide
Southern Thailand: the Andaman coast
Ao Phra-Ae (Long Beach)
With its lovely long parade of soft, white sand, calm and crystal-clear water that's good for swimming and shady fringe of casuarina trees, AO PHRA-AE (also known as Long Beach) is strikingly beautiful and the best of Lanta's many long beaches. There's a little more variety and character among the accommodation options here than at Khlong Dao, a couple of kilometres to the north, and quite a development of shops, with ATM, restaurants and tour agents along the main road. The main stretch of the beach is divided from the southern rocky extremity by a shallow, easily wadeable canal; Lanta Marina Resort marks the southern reaches of the beach and is about half an hour's walk along the beach from Sayang at the northern end. Phra Ae's budget enclave clusters along a network of sandy tracks behind the Ozone Bar.