Samet Nangshe Sunrise Time

The sun rises over Phang Nga Bay at Samet Nangshe between 06:11 and 06:47 from November to April: about 06:18 in mid-November, 06:45 in mid-January and 06:17 in mid-April, Thai time. First light, when the islands start to show, comes about 22 minutes earlier. From Phuket Old Town that means leaving at about 4:25 AM in mid-January. If you would rather not drive the dark road, Phuket Let’s Go’s Sunrise in Phangnga with Off-Peak James Bond Island Visit collects you between 3:30 and 4:00 AM and takes you up by 4x4, from US$135 a person (checked November 2026).

It has one option and runs with at least 4 people; with fewer you may be asked to change the date. Free cancellation runs until 24 hours before.

Sunrise and first light, half-month by half-month

Computed with the standard solar-position formulas for the viewpoint’s position, Thai time (UTC+7); accurate to a minute or two. Calculated November 2026. Civil dawn is when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon and the sky is already light.

The mornings get later until the end of January and then earlier again: the last sunrise of January is 36 minutes after the last one of April. From one week to the next the time moves by three or four minutes at most.

The Phang Nga Provincial Administrative Organisation describes the viewpoint as at its best at sunrise, among the limestone mountains of the bay. The bay lies to the east of the hill, so in the evening the sun goes down behind you rather than over the islands.

When to leave

Road distances and free-flow driving times from a route planner, November 2026. The last column is the driving time plus about 25 minutes to park and get up the hill, before first light at 06:22.

The 25 minutes is a working figure, not a published one. Reviewers of Phuket Let’s Go’s tour describe a walk of 20 to 25 minutes from the car park to the top, or you can take the site’s own pick-up truck. Nobody publishes the hours the trucks run before dawn, so if you go on your own, have the 30 baht ready for the walk in case none is waiting.

For a date in mid-November or mid-April, first light is about 26 minutes earlier than on 15 January, so take that off the last column; at the end of January add three minutes.

Will there be mist?

Nobody can tell you, and no one publishes the odds. The pictures of Samet Nangshe with mist lying between the islands are mostly rainy-season pictures: in June 2026 the Tourism Authority of Thailand listed the viewpoint among its sea-of-mist spots for the green season, “especially magical during rainy-season mornings”. It says nothing about the dry months, from November to April.

What the dry months do have is less rain. The Thai Meteorological Department’s long record at Phuket Airport, the nearest station with one:

Thai Meteorological Department, climate normals 1991 to 2020, Phuket Airport station; checked November 2026.

A clear sky is not promised either. One reviewer of the sunrise tour in March 2025 had a cloudy morning and called it “still mystical”; the operator lent out head torches and walking poles because the path was slippery after rain the day before.

Going with a tour

Most of the tours that go up for the sunrise collect you in the small hours. Phuket Let’s Go’s day is the one that pairs it with the bay: after breakfast on the hill, a villager’s longtail takes the group to James Bond Island at an off-peak hour, then canoeing in the caves, a mangrove walk and lunch, about 8 hours in all. It includes the park fees, a boxed breakfast with coffee or tea, lunch, water, a beer or soft drink, and a souvenir; tips are not included. It is not recommended for pregnant women or people with back or heart problems.

Of its 350 newest reviews, 317 are five-star, and its calendar had 26 November 2026 and 20 January 2027 on sale on 10 November 2026.

Delight Tours and Travels' private sunrise option starts at 4:30 AM and goes on to Cheow Lan Lake; its shared tour starts at 6:00 AM, and the van ride to the viewpoint is an hour.

If the bay is what you are after and the sunrise matters less, The Thai Tourism Company Limited’s day from Phuket costs less and its options start at 9:00 AM, but it does not go up the hill.

See the bay day's dates

How to get to Samet Nangshe covers the drive and the last stretch up in daylight.