Mai Khao is a beach that is known for fact that there are very low flying planes, right overhead, otherwise this beach is called – beach with planes in Phuket. There are only a few such beaches in world, where landing and airport runway are right next to beach. And beach itself, usually, is not closed, and people are quietly swim in sea watching planes take off and land over their heads. You say – what is unusual about it? Yes, on small Islands you can often see planes taking off and landing, often landing strip is right in sea, but rarely in these places you can walk freely, sunbathe and bathe. This is what is unusual beach Mai Khao in Phuket. Looking from side is one thing, and to stand over low flying airplanes is quite another – usually emotions are just off charts..
Mai Khao Beach with planes in Phuket – how to get there
There are 2 options for stopping vehicle if you are traveling on your own by car or moped. Both of these options are on opposite sides of airport.
- 1st way — go to Sirinat National Park and park your moped in a crowded area. In this case you will need to go to north of Island 500-600 meters through park Sirinat, and entrance to park is paid. cost is 100 baht per person.
- 2nd way — using google maps, type name of Mai Khao beach and drive to this point, see bottom of page for a detailed route. There are many hotels on coast and you can leave your moped there for free. We took this option. After you park your moped, you have to walk same 500-600 meters along path near beach to south towards airport. paths are good, and walking in shade of pine trees is very pleasant.
Hotels that go along beach — Grand West Sands Resort & Villas Phuket, Orchidilla Phuket Mai Khao Beach Houses, Coriacea Boutique Resort. If you are going with small children and want a good 5-star hotel with a beach 50 meters away, these options are for you.
If you are staying near beaches of Patong, Kata, Karon, then on your own by moped or car to beach with planes drive about 50-60 minutes. way is not close, and it is best to leave either by early morning or by sunset, as you will have absolutely nowhere to hide from sun while waiting for planes to land and take off. We wanted to leave early in morning from our hotel in Patong we got to beach by 1 p.m. as a result, it was very hot and we spent only an hour on Mai Khao, but that was enough time for us to see planes and take pictures from different angles.
Mai Khao — description of beach with airplanes
Mai Khao beach is longest beach in Phuket, its length is 11 km. Some people like this beach and some people do not. It all depends on time of year in which you decide to come here. In season, beach Mai Khao clean, no waves, water clarity. only drawback – there are no sun beds, as well as various bars and cafes. You can eat only in restaurant of hotels located along beach. Out of season on Mai Khao large waves and trash throws on shore, sight is not very pleasant, though I’ve seen it only on photo on Internet.
I liked beach with planes in Phuket so much that I wanted to come here again during our stay on Island, but unfortunately it did not work. We had a very busy program as it was.
Beach with planes – how to make good photos? My emotions.
Just to get to beach with planes and wait for these very planes is easy, more difficult to choose right angle and place to see entire size of plane coming in for landing. After spending about an hour on beach Mai Khao, we realized that planes are always in same line to make a beautiful photo, there is not much room and there are always people.
For me most successful angle was just to stand in front of plane, while my husband crouched down hard and practically took photos and videos from ground. It was a good angle to show whole plane behind you. You could also take pictures from side, as if you were touching plane with your hand. most important thing here is not to freak out in heat and wait for next plane landing. We were very lucky – planes were landing literally every 5 minutes. Sometimes I didn’t even have time to take a dip in water to cool down before little dot of plane was visible again in distance.
Don’t forget about your safety – airplanes taking off and landing bring a hot wave of air, even hotter than sun. first time a plane flew behind me, I couldn’t help but look at it, and sight of a huge machine flying straight at me automatically made my knees buckle, I wanted to duck and hide inside, in shower, everything rises, and you don’t understand why you are here and what you want to do. second time I was braver, and then I got so used to it that I didn’t even notice size of planes rushing at us. most spectacular are of course Boeing and Airbus. We were accompanied by Qatar Qirways, Air Asia and others..
Conifers at Mai Khao Beach
A distinctive feature of Mai Khao beach is that along beach are not palm trees, but conifers! I saw such a combination for first time in Asia, it really looks very unusual. minus of conifers is of course needles. Since sun beds with umbrellas on beach Mai Khao no, after an hour of actively photographing planes in direct sun, we found a place in shade of pine trees, put our towels and happily relaxed. As you may have guessed, it was very difficult to shake off needles from our towels afterwards.
Since we were on beach with planes at peak hour of sun, there weren’t many people, they were off to their hotels for lunch and rest. Along beach we found a couple of swings that we enjoyed swinging on, it felt like we were on some desert Island. People as if all died out. In general, we enjoyed our time on Mai Khao beach very much..
Sirinat National Park and Sea Turtles
Mai Khao, together with beaches of Nai Yang and Knighton, form Sirinath Marine National Park, which is pride of Thailand and is under patronage of His Majesty King Rama IX. national park covers 90 square kilometers, 22 of which are located directly on Island. About national park itself, read more in topic of Nai Yang Beach.
But beach is Mai Khao famous for fact that sea turtles come here to lay their eggs. Sirinat National Park is home to three species of sea turtles: bisected, green and leatherback. Female sea turtles are known to be able to migrate long distances during breeding season to reach their birthplace and make a clutch of eggs. Therefore, hotels on beach Mai Khao prohibited to put sun loungers and umbrellas directly on sand, there are no scooters and other motorized entertainment. Turtles come here between November and February, and two months after laying, their young will hatch. There is a turtle conservation center in Mai Khao area; they mark clutches they find and help turtles get to water.
Time to visit Mai Khao
The best time to visit Mai Khao Beach is from November to April, when sea is calm. Because of steep descent in three or four meters, sea is quite deep, so should refrain from swimming with small children. And during monsoon season, Mai Khao beach is often dominated by high waves.