Lamai Viewpoint — the hill deck above Lamai bay, by scooter (2026)

Getting there by scooter

The deck sits on the hill behind Lamai, about 1.6 km inland from Lamai Beach in a straight line. From Chaweng you take the 4169 south over the Lad Koh hill and drop into Lamai. In my experience that takes 20–30 minutes at an easy pace, depending on traffic. From Lamai itself it is a short hop: you leave the ring road and climb a side road into the hills on the west side of the bay.

Go up on a low, steady throttle. Come down gently, using front and rear brakes together. With two people on board, a 125cc copes better than a 50cc. See 50cc or 125cc.

There is usually somewhere to leave a scooter near the top. Check on site how much space there is and whether parking is charged. Navigate by the coordinates 9.4588, 100.0356 rather than by name, because map labels vary.

What you get and how long to stay

The deck sits on the hillside and looks east over Lamai bay. You see Lamai Beach, with the town behind it and open sea beyond. From up here the shape of the coast makes sense in a way it never does from the road below.

Plan 20–40 minutes at the top. That is enough for photos, some water and a few minutes in the shade before the ride down. Entry is 100 baht, daily about 9:00–18:30. Bring your own water and a little cash in small notes just in case.

When to go

The deck faces east, and that decides most of it. In the early morning you look straight into the sun over the bay. The colour at sunrise is good, but photos of the beach come out backlit. By afternoon the sun is behind you and the bay turns properly blue. By early afternoon the problem is no longer the light but the heat on the climb. Late afternoon is softer and cooler, and the beach below gets the warm light.

In the rain season, roughly October to December, the road up matters more than the view. The climb gets slippery when wet. If it has just poured, wait or go another day. More in rain and night riding.

• Do not plan to ride down after dark.
• Midday is fine for colour but hard on you. Carry water for the climb.

Combine it with

Lamai Viewpoint is one of the stops on my viewpoints loop, a 38.3 km ride through several hill decks. That loop is the simplest way to fit it into a day without planning each climb separately.

For something shorter around Lamai:

• Overlap Stone: the next hill deck to the west, about 650 m as the crow flies. See Overlap Stone.
• Hin Ta Hin Yai: the Grandfather and Grandmother rocks at the south end of Lamai, a little under 1 km south-east of the viewpoint in a straight line. Ride down the hill, then along the coast.
• Lamai Beach: right below you, and the natural place to finish with a swim.

This makes an easy half day. Do the viewpoint in the morning and the rocks before it gets busy, then swim and have lunch in Lamai.

Questions