Mai Khao Beach

Mai Khao is the longest of Phuket's beaches at nearly 11 km long it stretches and stretches and stretches far into the horizon. Located just north of the Phuket International Airport.

You can walk along its coarse yellow sand for hours and not see another soul. It's safe to swim during the high season but during the monsoons the waves are high and the water is rough.

There is not much tourist development here. If you really want to get away from it all this is the beach for you.

Mai Khao is part of the Sirinath National Park, which also includes Nai Yang and Nai Thon, the next beaches along to the south. The area was declared a national park in 1981 to protect the Olive Ridley Sea Turtles that lay their eggs here from November to February.

Mai Khao is a protected nesting ground for sea turtles, although fewer and fewer make it back each year. As part of a conversation program hatchlings are released onto the beach during the Songkran festival each year.

Getting to Mai Khao

There are several access roads to this long beach. Just south of the airport is a road leading to Nai Yang Beach. Follow this, enter the Sirinat National Park and turn right. Phuket's main highway, route 402, runs parallel to Mai Khao and if you are driving north you can take any road leading left off the highway and it will eventually lead you to the beach.

Right at the top of Phuket Island the highway runs almost next to the beach and you can park here by the beach restaurants and walk back south.

What to Do + See

Because of its isolation and its National Park status, Mai Khao is a favourite camping destination. At the far north of the beach, where the waters from Phang Nga Bay meet the Andaman Sea, surfers sometimes ride the waves, otherwise the beach is mostly devoid of activities except fishing and hiking.

Mai Khao is where the endangered giant leatherback turtles come to lay their eggs. In April every year young hatchlings are released into the sea here during the nationwide water festival, Songkran. The area is also home to a species of mole crab (emerita emeritus), which is also known as a chakkachan talay or sea cicada by the locals. Unfortunately for the chakkachan talay, they are considered a local specialty dish.

Sirinath National Park stretches across some 90 square kilometres between Nai Thon Beach to the south and Mai Khao to the north. The park was established to protect Phuket's sea turtles, but they're fighting a losing battle. While the main visitor's centre is on Nai Yang Beach, the park also has a small mangrove section right at the northern tip of Phuket, near the bridge to the mainland. The mangroves have an elevated walkway built through it so you can wander through and observe the mangrove habitat. While it's not worth the drive all the way north just to see, if you happen to be in the area, it's worth a peak.

The second of the two national parks on Phuket, the waterfalls and jungle hiking paths of Khao Phra Thaeo National Park make for a fine day trip. Ton Sai falls is just inside the park gates, but a disappointing drip from November to April. You can swim in the chilly water of the larger Bang Pae falls which is a only a 15 minute walk into the jungle. A 200B entrance fee is collected at the gates, but a heads-up to early risers, the gates are unmanned before 9:00.

Also located within the park is the Phuket Gibbon Rehabilitation Centre. This is a centre for gibbons seized from poachers, not a monkey show, so don't expect to be able to handle these endangered primates. They don't see a cent of the park admission fee, and even have to pay rent to be there. The centre does noble work and is run by entirely volunteers, so consider making a donation or buying something from the gift shop -- they have postcards, stuffed animals, and t-shirts (200 baht).

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