Khao Phing Kan (James Bond Island)
Iconic karst island in Phang Nga Bay featuring the needle-shaped Ko Tapu rock, made famous by the 1974 Bond film 'The Man with the Golden Gun'.
- Category
- Islands
- Entrance fee
- Ao Phang Nga NP fee ~300 THB foreigners; typically via day tour ~1,000–1,800 THB, as of 2026
- Hours
- Daytime park hours, approx 08:00–17:00
- Best time
- Nov–Apr; early morning before the tour armada
- Time needed
- Full day (as part of a bay tour)
About Khao Phing Kan (James Bond Island)
This is the famous one, the needle-shaped Ko Tapu rock that showed up in 'The Man with the Golden Gun'. The karst scenery in Phang Nga Bay is spectacular and it's a bucket-list photo for a lot of people.
Here's the honest part: it's crowded and commercialised. You can't actually land on Ko Tapu itself, and souvenir stalls crowd the main island, so the on-the-ground experience doesn't always match the postcard.
My advice is to treat it as one stop on a wider Phang Nga sea-kayak and cave tour rather than a destination in itself. The bay around it is the real reward.
Highlights
- The iconic needle-shaped Ko Tapu rock
- Dramatic karst scenery in Phang Nga Bay
- The 'Man with the Golden Gun' film connection
- Part of a wider Phang Nga Bay tour
Tips
- Go early to beat the tour armada
- You can't land on Ko Tapu itself; it's a viewing stop
- Best as one stop on a broader kayak/cave tour
- Expect souvenir stalls crowding the main island
How to get there
~30 km drive north to Ao Po/Surakul pier area then longtail or speedboat; almost everyone visits on a Phang Nga Bay day tour (full day).