Chumphon province is with its rice fields, seafood and fruit a gem for delicious candle light beach dining.

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Chumphon province is probably the last province you think of if you want to scuba dive in Thailand. Although the coral, visibility and marine life are not as good as most other locations, it can be a highly rewarding dive region. It is diving without the mass tourism you will find in Phuket, Krabi and Koh Samui. There are over fifty islands just offshore that offer caves, caverns, walls, drift, deep and shallow dives. Chumphon is beautiful with very nice beaches, excellent seafood and enough other attractions that can be done besides scuba diving and snorkelling. It is an area full of basins used for fruit plantations and rice fields but there are also small mining communities and areas of large and thick forests.

Just thirty kilometers north of Chumphon city sits Namtok Kapo Forest Park, famous for its waterfalls and dense forest. Several famous beaches are scattered around Chumphon's coast line such as Hat Sai Ree, Hat Pharadonphap and Hat Pha Daeng all offering great sunbathing with excellent candle light dinners afterwards. Beaches such as Hat Arunothai have rock-climbing, camping and hiking trails nearby. Several great small islands are offered tours to including Koh Samet, Ko Mattra, Koh Talu, Ko Ngam Yai and Ko Ngam Noi. There are many caves such as Tham Khao Kriap near the top of the hull, Tham Khao Khun Krathing with prehistoric paintings and Tham Khao Ngoen that even has inscriptions of the King's initials. Chumphon is a seaside resort town and considered the first major gateway to Ko Tao, Ko Pha Ngang, Koh Samui and other destinations in the south such as Phuket. There are rafting tours, spectacular waterfalls, bird tours and of course enough locations for divers and snorkellers.

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