James Bond Island is the biggest tourist attraction at Phang Nga Bay National Park. This is where the 1974 James Bond movie starring Roger Moore, Man with the Golden Gun, was shot. Phang Nga Bay National Park is located on the northeast of Phuket.
There are in fact two islands, side by side, that vie to be called James Bond Island. The one generally accepted as the true title holder is Koh Khao Phing Kan (also variously written as Khao Phing Kan, Koh Ping Kan, Khao Phing Gan), whose name means Island of the Leaning Mount. It is a butterfly-shape island comprising two islets joined together by a sandy isthmus. It got its name from an immense sheer wall of limestone that appears to lean to one side. In addition , there are also grottoes to explore. Koh Khao Phing Kan is where actual location shot of the James Bond movie was done.
As Koh Khao Phing Kan has a beach, tourist can land on it. Tourists arriving at James Bond Island by motorboat and speed boat disembark at a pier a short distance away, while those coming by longtail boat are dropped off directly on the shore. The arrival of tourists is rarely unaccompanied, so too has souvenir vendors descended on Koh Khao Phing Kan. The only strip of beach on the island is now given away to a row of souvenir stalls that sell seashells by the seashore, and hordes of other trinkets.
But most tourist come to Koh Khao Phing Kan for one singular purpose: to pay homage to the famous James Bond landmark. That, however, is not on Koh Khao Phing Kan itself, but right out in the sea. That's the other island also called James Bond Island, and it's the most iconic, well-recognized rock formation in all of Thailand. This little islet is much smaller than Koh Khao Phing Kan, and it juts out of the sea like the head of a nail. No wonder its Thai name is Koh Tapu (also written Koh Tapoo), meaning Nail Island. There is a story how Nail Island got its name which you can read here.
In the James Bond movie, this is where the villian Scaramanga hid his laser weapon - what George Bush would call "weapon of mass destruction". It must be the most photographed island in all of Phang Nga. As most tourists regard it as the James Bond Island, and of late it has gathered acceptance as the true James Bond Island.
Many people visiting James Bond Island express disappointment at seeing Koh Tapu. The majority whom I have spoken to expected it to be bigger, taller. Seeing it to be smaller than what they had expected comes as a bit of an anticlimax after the thrill boat trip through Phang Nga National Park. My advise to would-be visitors is not to harbour too much expectation, and simply enjoy the scenery - Koh Khao Phing Kan is actually quite scenic, if you ignore the souvenir stalls. But if you think you are going to be disappointed, then do not visit James Bond Island.
Getting there
The James Bond Island is located in Phang Nga National Park, which is on the northeast of Phuket. There are day trips to Phang Nga National Park, some includes a visit to James Bond Island and some don't. If you wish to visit James Bond Island, be sure to specify it to your tour operator. Nevertheless, other places in Phang Nga National Park are also worth visiting, and I'll describe them all separately.
If you take a great shot of this sight, let us help you showcase it. We search Panoramio for the most beautiful photographs of this destination, and display the best for all to see. If you photo is as good or even better, upload it to Panoramio (www.panoramio.com) and send us the link. If we find it any good, we will display it here, with attribution and link-back to your Panoramio page. Every now and then, we revise this page to show new selection, but the best will always stay!
All photographs by Panoramio photographers are governed by the Panoramio API, which allows display "as is", with attribution to the photographer and link to the photographer's Panoramio URL. Copyright of these photos belong to the photographer. Apart from displaying "as is" as hosted in Panoramio, the photos may not be copied or downloaded or used in any other methods without the prior permission of the photographer. For more information, click here.
Let us keep you updated on everything related to Phuket. Just copy and paste our link to your website or blog.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you for visiting Phuket Travel Tips, and thank you for the opportunity to explore the world, to document, to photograph, and to share the travel information with you. My name is Tim, I'm the writer of this website, and I want to tell you how grateful I am for your visit. This is one of over a dozen websites that I write - you can click my thumbnail photo above to randomly visit any one of them. All my photos are available for commercial printing - find out the photo usage rights here. If you wish to share you photos on this website, upload them to www.panoramio.com and send the URL to me for consideration. And, if you'd like to correspond with me, send your mails to my address as shown below:
