Most visitors to the Andaman Coast are familiar with the beaches on the western coast of Phuket island and further north on the mainland around Khao Lak. All of Phuket’s beaches can get busy in the high season whilst Khao Lak’s beaches are less busy. But did you know that there are some great beaches between Phuket and Khao Lak that many people don’t know about?
These lesser-known beaches are suitable for swimming in the dry season but are not safe for swimming in the rainy season because this part of the coast has strong rips during the southwestern monsoon. That’s the reason they haven’t been developed much compared to Phuket and Khao Lak.
That’s not to say Phuket and Khao Lak don’t experience the same rips in the rainy season. They do. But most of their beaches are patrolled and red flags erected on the beach when it is not safe for swimming. The beaches between Phuket and Khao Lak are not patrolled at any time of the year.
Natai Beach is the best known of the beaches between Phuket and Khao Lak because it is home to three 5-star resorts, the annual Circoloco dance party at the Baba Beach Club, and a dozen or so upmarket villa complexes as well as some private beachfront residences.
Although the beach is not patrolled, it’s safe for swimming in the dry season because there is a pier on which many local people use for fishing or just hanging out during the day, so there’s usually always people around watching you even if you might be the only ones in the water.
Natai Garden Retreat is just five minutes from the pier if you are driving a car or motorbike, or about 12 minutes if you are on a pushbike.
Further up the coast from the pier, North Natai Beach is much quieter, and is a good option if you swim near one of the two 4-star resorts along that part of Natai Beach.
About 10 minutes’ drive further north is Bor Dan Beach, which many consider to be one of the best beaches on the Andaman Coast. It’s a beautiful beach but the gradient of the sand into the water is steeper than Natai Beach (which is quite gentle) and it’s only safe for swimming when the sea is very calm.
That’s probably the reason why it hasn’t been developed for tourism yet. In fact there are no buildings there at all, except a few wooden food shacks. It’s a popular spot with locals who come for sunset picnics, but in the morning it’s not unusual to find you have the whole beach to yourselves.
There is lots of shade at the top of the beach, so if you prefer to just sit under a tree and read a book whilst listening to the waves breaking on a sand, Bor Dan Beach is perfect.
Another 10 minutes further north is Tha Sai Beach. It’s a similar beach to Bor Dan but there is a small temple and monastery there, so you can only swim on the beach north of the Sea Light Café and Restaurant which is the only other building there. It’s a peaceful beach and the wooden temple is worth a look.
15 minutes further on, after passing through the small town of Thai Mueang, is Thai Mueang Beach which is nearly 20km long and extends right up into the Khao Lampi-Hat Thai Mueang National Park. The entrance to the national park is about halfway along the beach road but you don’t need to go right into the national park to enjoy Thai Mueang Beach. It’s second only to Bor Dan Beach.
If you do want to go right into the national park (there is a display of old tin dredging equipment there) where there are even fewer people, your entry ticket will also enable you to visit the nearby Ton Prai and Lampi waterfalls on the same day for no extra charge.
At the far northern end of Thai Mueang Beach is Khao Na Yak, one of the most secluded beaches between Phuket and Khao Lak, but that’s only accessible by 4WD through the national park in the dry season or by boat from the village of Ban Tha Din Daeng during the rainy season.
Whichever ever beach you choose to visit along this part of the coast, you’ll find them an enormous contrast to the beaches of Phuket and Khao Lak which are always busy with tourists. Here in southern Phang Nga province, you’ll feel more like Robinson Crusoe than just another tourist.