Pranburi was recently highlighted as one of the world’s ‘Next Best Places’ to look out for by Conde Nast Traveler Magazine.

The magazine wrote: “WHY TO GO: because Pranburi’s soft-sand beach is close to Bangkok but still unspoiled.

It sometimes seems like every stretch of sand on Thailand’s mainland has been colonized by hotels, massage parlors, and banana-pancake stands. But not the beach at Pranburi, where the macaques outnumber the people. In the morning, a handful of vendors sell heaps of rambutan (a lychee-like fruit) and fishermen haul in the morning catch of sea bass, to be served later with lime juice, chopped garlic, and tiny, fiery chilies at the simple beachfront restaurants.

In Khao Sam Roi Yot, the nearby national park, jungle-forested limestone hills look out on the Gulf of Thailand and make for excellent day hikes. The park also contains perhaps the country’s finest preserved shoreline habitat, home to more than 200 bird species and the rare Irrawaddy dolphin. Fortunately, Pranburi has so far escaped the blight of major resorts: accommodations are limited to small, personal hotels.”