I Traveled To Jurassic World Rebirth’s Thailand Filming Locations

I’ve been drenched on Universal’s Jurassic Park River Adventure more times than I can count. My love for Jeff Goldblum may have compelled me to emblazon “Life finds a way...” on my college grad cap. And when the Jurassic franchise’s latest entry hit theaters on Fourth of July weekend, I promptly sat with a matinee breakfast of popcorn and blue Icee. All this to say: I’m a dino girlie! But nothing could have prepared me for the chance to visit Jurassic World Rebirth’s real-life filming locations in Thailand this summer.

Universal Pictures recently hosted a press trip to explore the stunning natural backdrops behind the blockbuster, which follows a new crew’s dangerous mission to an abandoned research island. In honor of Rebirth’s at-home debut — you can own or rent the film on digital now — I chatted with the stars before following in their characters’ footsteps across the lush and rocky coasts of southern Thailand, staying at both Anantara Mai Khao Phuket and Rayavadee in Krabi to recharge between excursions.

Watching (or rewatching) at home and want to tag along? Here’s a recap of the prehistoric adventure.

Phang Nga Bay

Rebirth’s thrills begin before the crew even makes it to Ile Saint-Hubert. Their perilous journey through Mosasaurus- and Spinosaurus-infested waters features Phang Nga Bay as its IRL backdrop. I set out from Phuket to explore this stunning slice of the Andaman Sea, where vegetation-covered limestone rock formations dot the horizon — their sharp silhouettes fading to blue the farther you look in any direction.

While the film’s water sequences are anything but smooth sailing, ours was delightfully chill. I stopped to swim in the open water and trek through a cave to peek at a secluded lagoon. It was the perfect way to explore some of Thailand’s one-of-a-kind coastal geography.

Thap Prik

The next day, I traveled from Phuket to Krabi, with a stop at a tucked-away field in Thap Prik, west of Khao Phanom Bencha National Park. Surrounded by jaw-dropping mountain views, this lush expanse served as home to the moving Titanosaurus scene in Rebirth. Complementing the natural splendor, the crew specially planted grass to get the long, wild effect — and I’ve never been anywhere more cinematic.

As executive producer Denis Stewart recalls, “Once we got the grass to where we needed it to be, we brought in an elephant to wander the field so we could see how grass might move when a dinosaur walked through it. The elephant was so happy. It just walked around, eating grass. It was a great day.”

Phranang Beach

Understandably, the stars of Rebirth didn’t actually rappel down a dangerous cliff face. (No Jonathan Baileys were harmed in the making of this film!) Rather, they shot this portion of the Quetzalcoatlus encounter on a set in England. But to recreate the climbing experience in Thailand, I practiced on one of the striking coastal cliffs that surround the Rayavadee Resort on Phranang Beach, which is part of the gorgeous Railay peninsula and only accessible by boat. As the Tourism Authority of Thailand notes, Railay’s dramatic shoreline appears in several of Rebirth’s aerial shots.

During our time at Rayavadee, I also got to explore the water by kayak. Unlike in the movie, there was no T-rex chomping at my paddle — but the resort is home to lots of other wildlife, from playful monkeys to monitor lizards who could certainly pass for Jurassic extras.