The last accessible areas on the north west coast are known locally as Klong Yai Kee and Klong Rahan.
Klong Yai Kee is a very undeveloped part of Koh Kood, with backroads winding through the forest and a waterfall. There are no other shops or restaurants. It does have a couple of places to stay, Bann Makok and accessible only by boat, Captain Hook. The area’s sole beach sits opposite that resort, with a boat or kayak needed to get there.
Further up the coast, Klong Rahan comprises a lovely long beach, known locally as Secret Beach, as well as the uninihabited island of Koh Raet (Rhino Island) offshore, itself part of all local snorkeling trips. The resort Seacret opened here in 2023, with another, Moona, under construction ready for the 2024/25 season (maybe)….all in all, sadly, not so secret anymore.
At the far end on the hilltop and in the bays beyond, you’ll find the upmarket and very private resort of Soneva Kiri. It has its beach bar around the corner from Seacret Resort.
Getting to Klong Yai Kee and Klong Han | Klong Yai Kee | Klong Rahan | Soneva Kiri End
Getting to Klong Yai Kee and Klong Han
If you find yourself on the main road to or from Ao Salad, the arrival pier for the mainlands boats, you simply need to look out for the signs for Klong Yai Kee waterfall and follow them.
If coming from Klong Mad down on the north west coast, you take the right turning immediately before Suanya Resort. Having passed the large boutique bungalows of Koh Kood Beach Resort, followed by Kood Life and Koh Kood Garden, you reach the route branching off to the left, once again signed for the waterfall.
Incidentally, if you didn’t turn here but went straight on, you arrive at the Ao Salad road as above.
Klong Yai Kee
Once on the right route, Klong Yai Kee waterfall itself is a few hundred metres along, accessed down a small side lane, with a cheap restaurant across the way.
Beyond it, the road arrives at the very secluded boutique guesthouse, Bann Makok the Getaway, which sits hidden away amongst the mangroves on the canal or klong, as it is called in Thai.
At the end of this same canal, on the seafront itself, is the upscale resort of Captain Hook, with the tiny so called Palm Beach on the opposite side – you can very easily kayak here from Bann Makok too.
Both of these resorts are very isolated, peaceful places to stay, though they do provide transport so you can explore the island.
If you continue still further north, a lovely drive on narrow roads through the the trees, you eventually stumble upon a tiny wooden pier hidden away in the mangroves. This is the land pick-up point for Captain Hook Resort‘s guests as it has no direct road access and next to it, the small path brings you out at the restaurant, Krua Mae Tuk, used by guests from Soneva Kiri.
Klong Rahan
Crossing over the concrete and wooden bridges, the route snakes up a hill before reaching a flatter section, with two newly paved concrete lanes on your left. These cut through the long grass all the way to the sea and with it, the beautiful Klong Rahan beach. The island of Koh Raet is just offshore, great for snorkeling.
If you take the first lane, you emerge at MuEi Bar, which sits on the lagoon and is open for both food and drink. Moana, the resort itself, is still very much under construction, with a finish date cautiously pencilled in for the end of 2024.
Next door and approached by the second of the lanes, the resort, Seacret, on the other hand, opened in 2023.
Soneva Kiri End
Walk around the bend of the beach and Soneva’s Beach Club is at the far end. For now, you can get a drink here but not hire the watersports equipment. Whether this will be the case in the future, will probably depend on how the ultra private nature of Soneva and its guests plays out against an increasingly busier beach (all of which are public in Thailand).
Incidentally, the ruins you can see in the foliage as you walk down to the end are all that remains of Soneva’s previous beach club, which closed up a few years back…for non disclosed reasons.
Meanwhile, back at the main road, you can follow it to the end and the back gate of Soneva Kiri itself. With access strictly prohibited, you are effectively at a dead end so must turn around and retrace your steps.
Lining this last stretch of road, most of the tiny diners were abandoned in the pandemic and show no signs yet of flickering back to life.
Further up the coast, Koh Kood’s other island, Koh Maisi Lek, is home to Soneva Kiri’s airstrip, carved out across its middle, which allows the resort to fly in guests on Cessnas, before ferrying them across to the resort on its private speedboats.
UPDATED August 24 for 24/25 Season
Return to Koh Kood Beaches
