Satun province is the gateway to Thailand's southern islands on the Andaman Sea, including Koh Tarutao, Koh Adang, Koh Rawi, and Koh Lipe. Koh Tarutao National Park just off the coast features some of the best beaches, diving and snorkeling in Thailand and is easily accessible from the mainland.
Sonkhla province is best known within Thailand for Songkhla Lake, the largest natural lake in the country. It covers an area of 1,040 km², and has a south-north extent of 78 km. At its mouth on the Gulf of Thailand, near the city of Songkhla, a small population of the rare Irrawaddy Dolphins lives in the lake, but are in danger of extinction due to accidental capture by the nets of the local fishing industry.
Songkhla Province hosts two national parks along the Thai-Malay border, famous for a group of Chinese Communist guerrillas living in this region until the 1980s.
