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Taste-test the wines at C Bar
Thailand attracts visitors with its food rather than its wine. But that’s not deterred the C Bar in the Pullman Naithon hotel from developing a wine library. This bar is a ‘venoteca’, which means you can get some of the best quality wines by the glass, not just the bottle. Not only that, but you can enjoy your zesty white or oaky red as a plump sofa swallows you up beside the infinity pool.Nai Thon is one for beach purists. The sands here are backed by wild casuarina trees rather than restaurants or hotels, and there’s only a cluster of sunloungers on the sand. The starting gun for scuba diving trips is regularly fired from this beach. There’s a dive shop on the beach, which runs trips to Anemone Reef, known for its pompom-like sea anemones, and Shark Point, which is named after its docile leopard sharks.
Read MorePull up a seat on the terrace at the Tien Seng restaurant on Nai Thon Beach Road. This is one of the only independent restaurants in Nai Thon. Surprisingly, the morning menu here pledges its allegiances to the United States – you can get pancakes for breakfast. But it swings back to Thai in the evenings, offering fresh fish, noodles and curries.
Read MoreLet yourself be fully unwound during a Thai massage. The hotels in Nai Thon Beach all have spas or massage huts, where you can have all the tension worked out of you. If you’ve never had a typical Thai massage before, it’s different to the ones you might have experienced in the UK. The masseuse plies and stretches your skin like putty, to unblock your vital energies, and it’s usually conducted on the floor.
Read MoreShopping lists serve no purpose in Nai Thon, because the only shop here is a minimarket. If you’ve got a shopping itch that you have to scratch, however, the nearest retail opportunities are in Mai Khao, a 25-minute drive away. Turtle Village is home to some bespoke boutiques, which specialise in Thai silks, coral and pearl jewellery, and art.
Read MoreThis festival is similar to the Loi Krathong celebrations in December. The highlight of the ceremony is the release of a flotilla of tiny boats into the water, just off Nai Thon’s beach. The idea is to bring good luck and ward off evil.
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