I believe this place also goes by the name of ‘Golden Mangrove Field’ and ‘Tung Prong Thong’ in Thai. Just to clarify, the start/finish of this boardwalk is located right next to the land-based HTMS Prasae.
The main attraction for visitors here is the elevated wooden boardwalk through the mangrove forest. The distance is approximately 1.8 kilometers, and at a nice leisurely pace, stopping at scenic viewing points and for drinks, it will take you about an hour and 15 minutes to get from the start to the finish.
I’ve added a few photos (below) from our visit, which started with a little wander around the HTMS Prasae. Scroll down the page to find more snippets about the Prasae mangrove forest boardwalk.
HTMS Prasae is a permanent (landlocked) exhibition. The ship dates back to 1943 and was a frigate in the US Navy before being sold to Thailand after the Second World War. It’s free to board and enter all areas which are not locked.
Although much has been stripped from the vessel, there are still original guns and cannons in place, which offer a nice photo opportunity.
You can read about the history of HTMS Prasae before boarding the exhibition if you can read Thai!
We entered the Prasae mangrove boardwalk (photo above) next to HTMS Prasae because that is where we followed the map directions to. Before you reach the car parking area, there is a roundabout. The entrance to the boardwalk is on your left side just as you enter the roundabout.
Because the mangrove forest boardwalk goes from point A to point B, you have the option of walking there and back in both directions, and you can start at any of the 2 entrances.
At both start/finish points, there are motorcycle taxis, and if you plan to start at HTMS Prasae they will most likely offer to take you to the finish point so that you can walk back to HTMS Prasae. It’s not a scam. No matter where you start, the walk is the same. Unless you decide to walk back, you will need to take the motorcycle taxi back from the finish point. The motorcycle taxi back cost us around 100 baht.
It just happened to be low tide when we visited, and the rather spectacular root systems of the mangrove trees were exposed.
The boardwalk is about a meter above the ground.
From any of the 2 entrances, you have the option to take a long-tail boat to the finish point, if the water level permits. If you start from HTMS Prasae, you need to walk a few meters along the boardwalk to the boat jetty.
The mangrove forest boardwalk follows a mainly coastal route that goes through both dense forest and exposed areas.
There are 3 or 4 scenic points along the way where you can stop and rest.
Mangrove forests (also known as mangrove swamps) are quite common in many coastal areas of Thailand. Mangrove forests are typically large expanses of coastal regions where both freshwater and seawater merge to form a semi-salt water environment where the mangrove tree flourishes.
This particular mangrove forest covers an area of around 2,400 acres and is being developed as an important eco-tourism venue.
If you are going to Koh Chang any time, there is also a mangrove forest boardwalk, a fishing village, and a kayak station at Salakkok.
You will come across a couple of features as you follow the boardwalk, including this shrine in the photo above.
The next 4 photos (below) are of the main feature at the Golden Mangrove Field boardwalk. This a large, open expanse of dense, but short trees. The platform here overlooks the trees and has a wonderful panoramic view. This is really the feature everybody came for, and here it’s selfies galore.
If you enter the boardwalk at HTMS Prasae, this viewing point is located close to the finishing point, so make the most of it.
I probably could have benefited by using a wide-angle lens to capture the views from the platform to give you a better sense and feel of the place.
The Prasae mangrove forest boardwalk is open 24 hours a day, and entry is free.
It takes around 90 minutes by car from Pattaya, so much further than other off-the-beaten places around Pattaya. To get there, just follow the directions on this Google map. If you are traveling from Pattaya, I recommend you take route 36.
I’m not sure there is a best time to visit Prasae mangrove forest boardwalk. Some suggest sunrise and sunset. We visited at low tide, which is great if you want to see the root structures. If you want to take a long-tail boat ride, high tide would be better. You can also visit at night time. I can’t verify it myself, but the locals say there is a very good chance you will see fireflies if you visit at night.