This relatively untouristed gateway to the south offers good beaches and diving plus some lively festivals.

Culture, Art & Festivals
Chumphon Province is the true door to the south, and while the town itself is not a major tourist attraction, some of its festivals are worth seeing. The Marine Festival (March or April) offers displays of cultural and folk-art, along with a windsurfing competition and a marathon. Lang Suan is a small town about an hour’s drive further south. For five days in October, it holds a Buddha image parade with temple boats, coupled with a boat race.

Island Diving
Some good beaches near Chumphon town include Ao Thung Wua Laeng and Ao Phanang Tak, and just off shore, there are a few small islands with good dive sites. One of them, Koh Rang Kachiu, is off-limits due to the protectionism of birds’ nest concessionaires; swifts build their nests here, and the Laem Thong Bird Nest Company harvests and packages them for soup.

Back on the coast, boats to the divers’ haven of Koh Tao are available from Pak Nam, 10 km from Chumphon and not far from Lang Suan. The midnight boat from the Koh Tao Boat Pier gets to the island at about 6 a.m. The return boat leaves Koh Tao at 10 a.m: cover up on this trip, as you may find yourself on an unsheltered deck, open to the sun and /or rain.