🔄 Updated 21 Jun 2026
Chumphon souvenirs split easily into two lines. The first is dried and processed goods that travel far without trouble — dried lady finger bananas, dried squid, shrimp paste, curry paste, coffee. You can take these home any time of year. The second is fresh seafood, which is better enjoyed at Pak Nam than hauled a long way. We've ordered things from the headliner — the lady finger banana — down to the local items Chumphon people buy for themselves, with the areas where you can actually find each one.
Dried Lady Finger Banana — Chumphon's Number-One Souvenir
Mention Chumphon souvenirs and people think of the lady finger banana before anything else. It's a small native variety with slim fruit shaped like fingers, packed close in a hand that resembles a woman's fingernails. What sets it apart from ordinary dried banana is that the sweetness comes from the banana itself — the better makers add no sugar or honey, baking or sun-drying it until the flesh turns soft and chewy, deeply sweet and fragrant. Chumphon's lady finger banana now carries a GI (geographical indication) registration, with the main growing areas around Tha Sae district and the hills near Pho Ta Hin Chang.
Besides the whole sun-dried version, you'll also find baked-and-rolled, banana chips, banana paste, and chocolate-coated lady finger bananas. Most bags run around ฿40–70 depending on size and brand. Buy several bags at the roadside shops and you can usually haggle a bit.
Punika Lady Finger Banana
The maker many people treat as the benchmark. Chemical-free oven-dried lady finger bananas with both OTOP and GI Thailand credentials, soft and naturally sweet. Several styles, from oven-dried to rolled. Find it around Pho Ta Hin Chang or order via their Facebook page / Shopee / Lazada.
Nong Pang Oven-Dried Lady Finger Banana
A long-running souvenir from Pho Ta Hin Chang, focused on chewy, intensely sweet oven-dried banana. A name regulars passing through know well. There's a shopfront near the Pho Ta Hin Chang shrine, and you can order through their page.
Pho Ta Hin Chang Souvenir Strip (many vendors)
A zone of over a hundred souvenir shops lined up around the Pho Ta Hin Chang shrine on Phetkasem Road, centered on lady finger bananas — fresh, baked, fried, and pureed. You can taste and compare several makers in one spot. Good if you're driving through and want to grab all your souvenirs in one go.
Tha Sae Housewife / Community Enterprise Groups
Lady finger bananas straight from the real growing area around Tha Sae. Several groups process and sell their own under the OTOP label at gentle prices — good if you want to support the growers directly.
How to pick a good lady finger banana
Look at the flesh. If it's soft and chewy and sweet on its own without a sticky sugar coating, that's a maker doing it right. Ask whether they add sugar, since many of the original makers pride themselves on being all-natural sweetness. And if you're keeping it a while, choose a tightly sealed bag with a clear production date — oven-dried banana generally keeps for several weeks to a month.
Want to taste deeper? Try a Chumphon food tour or cooking class
Half a day with a local who knows the lanes — or cooking a dish yourself — teaches you more than just eating. Book ahead on Klook or GetYourGuide.
Dried Squid — Processed Seafood from the Pak Nam Squid Boats
Chumphon is a fishing town with squid boats heading out to sea every night, so its dried squid stands out for freshness. The better makers take squid the boats brought in just one night earlier and dry it right away — sweet flesh, no fishy edge, a nice color with no need for bleaching agents. Dried squid comes in several grades by size and type, from banana squid to small reef squid and roe-filled raft squid. Prices shift with grade and the catch season.
Je Pha Dried Squid (Pak Nam Chumphon)
A dried-squid raft that's gone popular on social media, leaning on its selling point of single-night squid-boat catch dried fresh with no bleaching agent. Several grades to choose from, plus other processed seafood, sold retail and wholesale. Order via their Facebook / TikTok.
Fish Rafts / Pak Nam Chumphon Market
The fish-raft and market zone at Pak Nam Chumphon, with dried squid, dried fish, and dried shrimp sold straight from the fishers — better prices than the in-town souvenir shops. Good if you want to pick the fresh stuff yourself and haggle.
Pak Nam Lang Suan Market
Another fishing spot in the south of the province, with dried and fresh seafood sold by the water in a quiet, easygoing setting. Good if you're exploring the Lang Suan area and want to take home dried squid or dried fish.
How to buy dried squid that isn't bleached
Naturally dried squid comes out a brownish-pink, not unnaturally white. Smell it — you want a clean sea scent, not a sharp chemical one. If you buy from a fish raft or a maker who clearly says it's single-night squid-boat catch, you usually get fresher stuff. Keep it in a sealed bag in the freezer for several months and grill it just before eating.
Shrimp Paste, Chili Dips & Southern Curry Paste — Pantry Staples to Take Home
Chumphon is a sea town, so kapi koey (shrimp paste made from tiny krill) is a local product people have made for generations. From a good maker the paste is smooth, a pretty pink, fragrant, and not overly salty — use it for chili dip, curry, or stir-fried with shrimp. Alongside the shrimp paste are southern curry pastes and ready-made chili dips that many souvenir shops make themselves, properly fiery in true southern style — buy them to stir-fry or curry at home. These all keep well and travel far without fuss.
Chumphon Shrimp Paste (e.g. Khunlamduan)
Traditional-recipe krill shrimp paste, smooth and fragrant, sold in 500-gram tubs. Use it for chili dip or curry over a long stretch — a popular pantry souvenir.
Ta Jit-Yai Noi Southern Curry Paste
Rich, punchy southern curry paste that prides itself on adding no sugar — good for anyone who likes true southern spicy curries. Small packets at gentle prices, easy to carry home.
Local Chili Dips
From shrimp-paste chili dip to dried fish-innards dip and southern grilled-fish chili dip. Many souvenir shops in town and at Pho Ta Hin Chang make their own. Eat with steamed rice or fresh vegetables.
Sweet-Simmered Mackerel (e.g. Phorn Chan)
Fresh mackerel simmered to a balanced sweet-salty flavor, firm-fleshed and ready to eat. An edible souvenir that lasts longer than fresh mackerel — good with rice porridge or steamed rice.
Can you fly with shrimp paste?
Shrimp paste and wet chili dips count as liquids / semi-liquids. If you're flying, you should check it in the hold and wrap it in several layers against smell and leaks. To carry it in the cabin it has to fit the 100 ml liquids rule, which most shrimp-paste tubs exceed. Pick a tightly sealed tub — it keeps your bag cleaner.
Khao Thalu Robusta Coffee — A Souvenir for Coffee Lovers
Chumphon is a major robusta-growing area in the south, and Khao Thalu subdistrict in Sawi is a name coffee people know. Chumphon robusta is bold with a heavy body, suited to anyone who likes strong coffee. It's sold as roasted beans, drip coffee, and easy-to-brew 3-in-1 souvenir packs. Prices start around ฿130 a pack, and you can find it at souvenir shops, local cafes, and online.
- Khao Thalu Coffee — an OTOP Chumphon robusta brand, available as roasted beans and easy 3-in-1 packs. A solid souvenir for coffee lovers.
- In-town cafes / roasters — several shops in Chumphon town roast local robusta beans themselves. Pick up freshly roasted beans to take home.
- Coffee-farm community enterprises — some farms around Sawi-Tha Sae sell coffee straight from the growing area, for fresh stuff at good prices.
Where to Buy Chumphon Souvenirs
Chumphon souvenirs are concentrated in just a few main spots. Choose based on which route you're traveling and how much time you have.
- Pho Ta Hin Chang Shrine (Tha Sae district) — the hub of over a hundred souvenir shops along Phetkasem Road on the way out of Chumphon toward Bangkok. Lady finger bananas, processed seafood, shrimp paste, sator beans, coffee — it's all here, and you can stop to pay respects at the shrine too. Good for anyone driving through.
- Pak Nam Chumphon / fish rafts — dried and fresh seafood like dried squid, dried fish, and dried shrimp at source prices, straight from the fishers. Good if you're visiting Sai Ri Beach and want to stop by.
- Chumphon town markets — fresh markets and souvenir shops in town for local goods, shrimp paste, chili dips, and curry paste. Convenient if you're staying in town.
- Pak Nam Lang Suan — the southern part of the province, with fresh and dried seafood by the water. Good for anyone exploring the Lang Suan-Koh Phitak area.
Worth knowing before you buy
The prices we've listed are rough ranges from what various shops charge, and they can shift with season and grade — especially dried squid, which swings with the catch season. Ask about the price and production date every time. If you're buying a lot, try haggling by the bag or by the tub. And if you're hauling seafood a long way, dried and tightly sealed is safer than fresh.
Want a full-day Chumphon eating itinerary that includes souvenir stops?
See the Chumphon travel guide →