Khao Lak stretches about three kilometres along the Andaman coast in Phang Nga Province, roughly 80 km north of Phuket Airport. Compared to Phuket, it's quieter and more relaxed — the beach is backed by casuarina trees, with views out to island rock formations offshore, and the town has none of Patong's nightlife intensity.
The area is a major jumping-off point for dive trips to the Similan and Surin Islands, some of Thailand's best dive sites, reachable by liveaboard or day boat. The 2004 tsunami hit Khao Lak hard, and a memorial with a beached police boat stands just north of the main beach as a reminder.