samui magazine

Mai Thon & Mai Thon Noi beaches

From Bang Tao Beach, a winding road snakes north over the hills, roughly following the coast. The first beach it reaches is Nai Thon Noi, a short but beautiful beach backed by steep hills. The road is cut into the mountain side behind it. A boutique resort, the Andaman White Beach Resort, opened on this beach in November 2001, occupying all of the land between the road and the beach. This promises to be a fine, isolated little resort.

A couple of kilometres further north, the road descends from the hills into a valley, trimmed on the seaward side by Mai Thon beach. There has been a village in this picturesque valley for generations, surrounded by rice fields and orchards. The road runs right along the beach here, with a number of small bungalows for rent on the back side of this. It is still very quiet here, with just a couple of restaurants open in the high season. Beach umbrellas have only recently appeared here in the high season.


Nai Yang Beach

Just south of the airport and just five minutes drive away, Nai Yang Beach is another relatively quiet beach with only two hotels. Here we find the Crown Nai Yang Suite Hotel and the Pearl Village. Both are set back from the beach, separated from the sand by a park-like forest of casaurina trees. There are many small beach-side restaurants here and women offering massage services under the trees.


Mai Khao Beach in the far north

This is the northern-most beach in Phuket, the longest beach on the island, and certainly the quietest of all. The first hotel here, the Marriott, only opened in January 2002, and enjoys kilometre after kilometre of empty beach. While the sand is not as fine and white as that on the famous beaches further south, this is still an ideal escape for those looking for a quiet beach holiday. Some visitors staying on more crowded beaches on the south end of the island drive up here for a tranquil day. At the very top of the island, the main highway north runs alongside the beach, and here many small local restaurants offer sea-view dining. Sunset is particularly beautiful here.