Donald Duck Bay

One hour on the sand, shared with several other boats, half the year.

How we rated it: the national park closes it every year from mid-May to mid-October, which takes it down one. Photo: Mathias Krumbholz · CC BY-SA 3.0

The hang

Donald Duck Bay, Ao Kueak, is in the Similan Islands National Park, reachable only on park day trips and liveaboards from Khao Lak and Phuket, and only in season: the park closes from mid-May to mid-October to protect the reef and avoid rough seas. Most tours leave from Thap Lamu Pier near Khao Lak. The park fee is THB 500 an adult and THB 250 a child. On the trip one guide describes, visitors had one hour on the beach and shared it with several other boats. The World's 50 Best Beaches put it tenth in 2026.

The real intel

Status, dated 2026-10-04: Reachable only while the national park is open; it closes every year from mid-May to mid-October.

Best months · warmest sea: April (30.3 °C), then May and March. Coolest: September (28.6 °C). One year of data, 2025.
Best months · emptiest: No good hour on record. The park is shut from mid-May to mid-October.
Getting there: On a national park day trip or liveaboard, most from Thap Lamu Pier near Khao Lak, some from Phuket.
Cost reality: Similan Islands National Park fee: THB 500 adults, THB 250 children.
The catch nobody tells you: The park closes every year from mid-May to mid-October.

The year at Donald Duck Bay

Warmest sea in April. Fewest wet days in January. Pick your fight.

Sea (°C)

28.9

29.4

30.3

30.1

29.5

29.2

28.6

28.8

28.7

Air (°C)

27.6

27.8

28.6

28.1

28.4

28.1

27.5

27.4

27.8

Sun (h/day)

10.9

11.1

9.5

6.7

8.4

9.7

7.7

7.5

10.5

Rain (days)

One year of data, 2025, from Open-Meteo at this beach's coordinates. A rain day is 1 mm or more. The red bar is the month to aim for in each row.

The neighbours

2 beaches within 6 km, as the gull flies.

2.1 kmAo Nguang Chang613 m of beach, measured. Not rated yet.
3.0 kmAo Lam Kaen713 m of beach, measured. Not rated yet.

Straight-line distances from the mapped beach shapes (OpenStreetMap). Roads are longer, and in Bali they are much longer.

The crowd

One hour on the sand, shared with several other boats.

The facts · we measured

Length: 239 m
Mean width: 27.9 m
Area: 6,676 m²
Warmest sea (2025): 30.3 °C in Apr
Coldest sea (2025): 28.6 °C in Sep
Sea by month, °C: Jan 28.9 · Feb 29.4 · Mar 30.0 · Apr 30.3 · May 30.1 · Jun 29.5 · Jul 29.0 · Aug 29.2 · Sep 28.6 · Oct 28.8 · Nov 28.8 · Dec 28.7