The Northern Beaches of Phuket by Car

Three beaches and how they differ

Mai Khao is the longest and emptiest, backed by pine trees, with the airport approach path over its northern end. You can walk for a long time and see almost nobody.

Nai Yang is the sociable one: a curved bay with casuarina trees, beach restaurants and shade, which makes it the easiest of the three for a full day with family.

Nai Thon

Nai Thon is the smallest and the prettiest, tucked between headlands with a short strip of places to eat. It is the one people find by accident and then return to.

All three are reached from the same main road, and doing two of them in a day is easy because the drive between them is short.

What it means for the car

The main road north is the fastest and best-surfaced road on the island. There is nothing demanding about getting to this part of Phuket.

The access tracks

The last stretch to the water varies. Some access points are properly sealed with marked parking; others are sand or compacted earth, rutted after rain and soft at the edges. Drive slowly, keep to the middle where the surface is firmest, and if a track looks soft, stop and walk.

Sand is the real enemy

Never drive onto soft sand, however firm it looks from the road. Getting stuck is easy, getting out is not, and on a protected beach it is also the wrong thing to do. Park on the firm ground and walk the last thirty metres.

Where to park

Nai Yang has the most organised parking, with space near the restaurants under the trees. Nai Thon has a modest amount along its front. Mai Khao has pull-ins spread along its length and rarely any competition for them.

Shade

This matters more here than anywhere, because you will be away from the car for hours and there is nothing else around. A car parked in full sun on an open northern beach becomes genuinely unpleasant to get back into. Take the tree and walk further.

Leave nothing visible. Quiet beaches mean quiet car parks, and quiet car parks mean nobody is watching.

Note that parts of this coast are protected, with marked access points. Use them, and keep vehicles off the sand entirely.

• Park on firm ground and walk the last stretch
• Choose tree shade over closeness to the water
• Use marked access points in the protected sections
• Take valuables with you; these car parks are unwatched

How to plan a day in the north

Go in the morning. The light is better, the car parks are empty and the heat has not built. Do one beach properly, have lunch, then drive fifteen minutes to a second one in the afternoon.

Aircraft

The northern end of Mai Khao is under the landing approach, and watching aircraft come in low is a genuine attraction. Stop in a marked pull-in, not on the road, and keep well back from the fence line.

Water and currents

These beaches face open water and the swell in the wet season is serious. Red flags mean exactly what they say, and there are fewer people around to notice if something goes wrong. In calm months the water is beautiful; in rough months, look at it and stay out.

Cars that suit this

Any ordinary car reaches all three beaches. A crossover is more relaxed on the unsealed access tracks, particularly after rain, but nothing here demands one.

What to bring

Water, shade of your own and something to sit on, because facilities are thin at Mai Khao and non-existent at some access points. A towel for the seats after the beach saves the interior from sand, which is the one thing that genuinely annoys people at hand-back.

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