Thailand Guide
The deep south
Pak Bara
PAK BARA, towards the north end of Satun province, is the main port for Ko Tarutao and Ko Lipe.
From Trang town, Andrew Tour (www.andrewlipe.com; in Pak Bara 074 783459) offer direct air-con minibuses to Pak Bara (2 daily, more in high season; 1hr 30min–2hr); otherwise you'll need to take a Satun-bound bus (2hr–2hr 30min) or a share-taxi from Thanon Ratsada (1hr 30min) to the inland town of Langu and change there to a red pick-up for the ten-kilometre hop to the port. Andrew Tour also lay on one air-con minibus a day all the way through from Krabi in high season (4hr). Frequent buses, air-con minibuses and taxis from Satun make the fifty-kilometre trip to Langu.
If you need a place to stay in Pak Bara, try Bara Guesthouse (089 654 2801; B250-400), 200m before the pier on the west side of the main road, which offers large but slightly gloomy, tiled, concrete rooms with their own bathrooms in a garden running down to the sea.
There are no banks on the Tarutao islands or Ko Bulon Lae, but Krung Thai Bank send a minibus to Pak Bara pier every day in high season, with an on-board ATM and currency exchange facilities.
The national park visitor centre (074 783485, www.dnp.go.th), set back on the left just before the pier, is the place to book a room on Ko Tarutao or Ko Adang before boarding your boat.