Phuket and Koh Samui are having a moment this year thanks to several of their photogenic resorts prominently featured on a certain television show. Although plenty of lushly appointed, family-friendly resorts abound in these Southern Thailand destinations, Koh Pha Ngan is a perfect destination for those wanting an immersive Thai experience with smaller crowds and a definitive sense of place.
© Elyse Glickman
The 50-room Chantaramas Beach Resort embraces the island’s character and a quieter version of Southern Thailand, appealing to families with children, couples and single travelers. The beachfront is beautifully maintained, and the restaurant and pool area are rendered in a boho-chic beach club vibe. Amenities include yoga classes, sauna, one-hour complimentary bike rentals, fitness room, hand-crafted soaps in room and traditional cookies replacing mints on the pillows. However, what makes it a perfect amalgam of resort experience and home stay are personal touches the owners incorporate into the resort, including a family of beagles who greet arriving guests.
While there is an activities board with information on hikes, farm experiences and outdoor adventure excursions offered by local tour companies, the on-site experience is devised with a lot of intention and focus on the environment. Its Zero Waste program puts sustainability front and center.
© Elyse Glickman
The resort also offers a shuttle available to take guests into main town Thong Sala twice a day. It’s put to good use during the weekly Saturday Walking Street Market from 4 to 10 p.m. on Thong Sala’s “Chinese Street” near the pier. Like the resort, this market and Sunday Walking Street Market in fishing village Chaloklum run at a slower pace than their counterparts in larger cities, allowing visitors to thoroughly take in the sights, aromas and a beautiful sunset. Food vendors run the gamut from local eateries specializing in one or two specific dishes to produce stands and those selling pastries mixing unexpected Eastern and Western flavors.
On non-market nights, Thai food enthusiasts can walk five minutes from the resort’s front door to check out Nang View.
© Elyse Glickman
In the morning, Chanteramas’ Moon Deck Restaurant serves home-style breakfast fare, while lunch and dinner menus list several western and Thai selections. However, with some advance planning, the space can transform into a date night experience as impressive as any beachside romantic dinner at a 5-star property, down to its shoreline views and fanciful lighting. What sets Chanteramas’ multicourse moonlight meal apart, however, is the added influence of Burmese cuisine based on the owners’ family roots. Highlights include Burmese salad with tea leaves, deep-fried fish with three-flavor sauce, stir-fried squid and brown rice. The staff will also remind guests with a smile that the herbs and organic vegetables used for the dinner come from the resort’s own organic herb farm and feature prominently in the resort’s daytime cooking classes.
Chanteramas Beach Resort
123 Moo 4 Baan Tai
Koh Pha Ngan, Baan Khai 84280
Thailand
tel 66 77 377 663
Read This Next
#WhereverFamily
Insta FeedDestinations
Apr 21, 2025Exodus Adventure Travels Announces New Wildlife Trips
Tour operator Exodus Adventure Travels invites family travelers to experience its immersive wildlife journeys around the world, including new itineraries.
Sponsored Content
Madrid: A Destination for All Ages
However one is traveling, what matters is having fun and creating unforgettable memories. Among many ways to travel, multigenerational trips — on which grandparents, parents and children get to spend quality time together — are gaining popularity. Setting out on this sort of adventure? Madrid has something to offer everyone!
Destinations / North America
Apr 21, 20255 Things You Can Only Do in Delaware County, New York
More and more family travelers seek immersive experiences hyper-specific to a particular destination, and spots like Delaware County in upstate New York promises activities the whole family can both enjoy and experience nowhere else.
Destinations
Apr 18, 2025Head to Garden in the Woods in Massachusetts for a Springtime Wonderland
Without going far, family travelers in Boston and surrounding towns can step into a serene woodland environment, where the forest floor is carpeted in wildflowers. Garden in the Woods, in Framingham, Massachusetts, is a botanical garden dedicated to native plants, showcasing them on 45 acres of open forest, ravines, ridges and wetlands.
Destinations / North America
Apr 18, 2025WonderWorks Myrtle Beach Celebrates Spring with Focus on Education, Entertainment
Family travelers know WonderWorks Myrtle Beach provides fun, educational opportunities year-round. But, this spring, the venue takes things to the next level by offering special events, ticket deals and group offerings — with something for everyone.
Destinations / North America
Apr 17, 2025Experience the Night Sky Like Never Before in Oregon’s Outback
I’ve looked up at the night sky almost every night of my life and have always been fascinated by the way the experience changes from day to day and place to place. But on recent family travel to Oregon, I got to experience it like never before in the Oregon Outback. I was staying at the lovely Brasada Ranch in Powell Butte (not far from Bend) and, as the day came to a close, my group boarded a van with Wanderlust Tours and began the journey into a region of the Oregon desert known as the Oregon Outback.
ShareThis