Ban Krut: a quiet getaway between beaches and temples

Ban Krut is a long strip of beach at 70 km south of Prachuap Khiri Khan. Depending on the times, you will find it spelled several ways, including Ban Krood, Baan Krud, Ban Kroot or even Baan Grood.

It is the kind of destination completely unknown to foreign tourists, a little less to Thais, especially on weekends, who like to come here to relax. But what is so special about it?

Deserted beach and white sand

Well to start with yes, that's even the main thing you'll find in Ban Krut! But that's already not bad! We often hear questions from travelers like " but where to go in Thailand for authentic places, preserved from tourism »?

Well Ban Krut is one of those places. After when I say preserved from tourism, I mean mostly mass tourism and even more precisely foreign tourists. As mentioned in the intro, Thais like to come to Ban Krut for a long weekend, but during the week, it is quiet.

As the site promoting the region says very well (see all info) : Can you imagine a preserved stretch of beach where you can walk on white sand without seeing a soul nearby? If so, you've just discovered Ban Krut!

Viewpoint at Wat Tong Chai

Establishing a temple of this importance somewhere is a guarantee of attracting visitors, even if only passing through (I am thinking for example of this other temple built recently near Prasat, in Surin province, largely funded by the crown prince and with the aim of boosting interest in visiting the region), but which temple exactly?

Wat Tong Chai seen from Ban Krut.

Le Wat Tong Chai (also spelled Tang Sai) is a donation from Her Majesty Queen Sirikit. Located on a hill at the end of the beach, the temple is especially appreciated for the superb view of the multitude of coconut trees covering the region, fortunately remaining rather wild and protected from deforestation.

The temple itself is quite recent even if it has a touch of its own (afterwards I can understand that at some point you say to yourself "yes, well, another temple...", there are so many in Thailand...), notably that of have stained glass windows !

Next to it is a large seated golden Buddha and the Phra Phut Kiti Sirichai Pagoda.

After this visit, we rode our bikes around the many coconut groves, because here there are still few (and that's a good thing) large hotels like you can find on beaches like in the north towards Cham Am or Hua Hin.

No, Ban Krut is a few resorts here and there and the rest is farmers and coconut trees as far as the eye can see. And nothing better than the bike for a ride since the roads are flat and rather deserted too.

By the way, if you like cycling, you can go to the neighboring town of Bang Saphan, where you will find a fishing community. There is also a Cave with Buddhas at Wat Tham Khiri Wong.

In Ban Krut itself you can go to the market in the morning near the station, on Saturday afternoon there is also a kind of flea market.

Finally if you want to do some snorkeling you can try to find a boat to rent to take you to the small island of Ko Lamra.

How to get there and where to stay?

During our stay we stayed in an annex building which was part of the Baan Grood Arcadia Resort & Spa from which we also benefited from their swimming pool!

Swimming pool at Baan Grood Arcadia Resort & Spa.

How to get there, by yourself, the easiest is still the train, there are 3 passages per day. For the bus, it will drop you off on the edge of the national road 4, the main road along the south coast. To reach Ban Krut, you will then have to take a motorbike taxi, the journey to the beach being about 10 km. Same thing then on the way back where you will have to join the national road before hailing the bus on the way…