Ao Ting Rai, Koh Jum

Ao Ting Rai runs down much of the west coast of Koh Jum, between Krabi and Koh Lanta. The sand is coarse and shelves gently, backed by casuarina and coconut with a handful of low bungalow operations set among the trees, and the beach faces west - so the Phi Phi islands sit on the horizon and the sun goes down behind them.

Koh Jum has resisted development to an unusual degree. There is no bank, the electricity supply is limited on parts of the island, and much of it is still rubber smallholdings and fishing villages. Several of the resorts close entirely during the monsoon.

The island is reached by longtail from Laem Kruat on the Krabi mainland, or by the Krabi-Lanta ferry, which stops offshore and transfers passengers to a longtail rather than docking.