Nam Khem Pier

Nam Khem Pier (Khaolak Lam Ru National Park)

Nam Khem Pier is the main departure point for liveaboard dive boats and snorkelling day-trip vessels heading to the Surin Islands, one of Thailand’s most remote and unspoilt marine national parks. The pier sits at the edge of the Khaolak-Lam Ru National Park, 15 km north of Khao Lak town, and also serves as an embarkation point for private speedboat charters to outlying reef systems.

Surin Islands Day Trips from Nam Khem

From November to May, high-speed catamaran day trips depart Nam Khem Pier daily for the Surin Islands (around 3 hours each way). The islands offer extraordinary shallow-water coral gardens, giant sea turtles, and the highest density of whale sharks in Thai waters during March–April. Khao Lak Land Discovery runs a Surin Islands snorkelling day trip departing from Nam Khem Pier — one of the longest-running operations in the area.

Transfer to Nam Khem Pier

Nam Khem Pier is 15 km north of central Khao Lak (approximately 20 minutes by road). If you are staying in Khao Lak, your tour operator typically provides a hotel pick-up for the early-morning departure. Travellers arriving directly from Phuket Airport can arrange a direct private transfer to Nam Khem Pier from ฿2,000 — particularly useful for liveaboard clients joining a vessel the same day as their flight.

The 2004 Tsunami Memorial

Nam Khem village was among the areas most severely affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. A moving open-air memorial park at the edge of the pier area commemorates the victims, including a preserved police patrol boat that was carried 2 km inland by the wave. The memorial is a sobering but important stop for visitors passing through.