Mai Khao Beach Phuket

I was up around Mai Khao beach this weekend so I took a few photos to post here. I want to blog about it to divers because we are receiving more and more enquiries from divers who have booked a hotel in Mai Khao beach only to realise that it’s miles from anywhere.

For Similan diving day trips or liveaboards, Mai Khao is ok. Most companies will collect you on the way to Thap Lamu pier (Khao Lak). But that’s only for diving from November to April. If you are staying in Mai Khao in the off season from May to October and you want to dive you must be prepared to pay extra and have a long transfer. This seems to come as a surprise to many divers who thought they were getting a great deal on low season hotel rates only to realise that they are now trapped in an exclusive resort with exclusive prices.MaiKhao is on the north west coast of Phuket Island, north of Phuket airport and just south of the Sarasin Bridge. It takes about one hour to get to Chalong pier which is where most of the Phuket day trip dive boats depart from. Divers who stay in the south of Phuket get picked up and transferred to the dive boats in Chalong free of charge. Divers staying in MaiKhao beach will be asked for an extra taxi fare which could be as much as 1000 baht (US$30) each way.

In fact getting anywhere from Mai Khao beach is going cost you big, the taxi drivers have you pretty much captive there unless you hire your own car. If you fancy an evening out in Patong beach it will take about 50 minutes and cost about 1000 baht, probably more coming back late at night.

On the plus side, Mai Khao beach itself is beautiful. It’s a very long, almost deserted stretch of sand edged by casuarina trees. There are some fine resorts on Mai Khao including the JW Marriott. Where as Naiyang beach a little further south is maintaining a low key vibe, Mai Khao is becoming the luxury 5 star resort area of Phuket to rival Laguna Phuket. More chain hotels are opening, the Holiday Inn will be finished soon. There are some large luxury condo resorts like West Sands and the JW Marriott Vacation club (time share). There is a water park called Splash Jungle that looked empty when I saw it. I’m not surprised when it’s 1495 baht for adults (750 baht kids) and the beach is just down the road. There is also a Turtle Village shopping mall if you enjoy paying inflated prices for your tourist souvenirs.

So in summary, it’s not that I don’t like the beach itself, it’s just that I think the location is too remote, particularly for Phuket divers. I will post more shortly on the best locations to stay if you are diving in Phuket.