The laid back southern beaches of Thailand's Phuket Island

Phuket (pronounced "Poo-ket") is Thailand's largest island, located in the country's southern region, and situated just off the mainland in the Andaman Sea. Its forested mountains and numerous white sand beaches (36 beaches in all) make it an attractive destination for tourists, both Thai and foreign. As a result, Phuket has experienced explosive growth in infrastructure and commercial development (Thirty years ago, before large scale development, Phuket was host to Peace Corps volunteers).

As islands go, Phuket is quite large: 570 sq. km (220 sq. miles) and has nearly 400,000 inhabitants. It is also one of Thailand's provinces.

Recently, my wife and I traveled to the southern tip of the island to explore some of the lesser known areas and quieter beaches. The trip from the airport to Rawai beach (Thai: "Haht Rawai") took more than an hour by taxi (fare: 1,000 THB/$30), which may be why other beaches and their accompanying business districts midway are more popular and much more crowded with "fun in the sun" visitors. However, as of March 1st, a new bus route has been introduced that travels between the airport and Rawai beach.

All photos are copyrighted © by the author. It is illegal to use any of the images without permission. For usage rights, please send an inquiry to jsscience@yahoo.com

Sunrise on Rawai beach

RAWAI BEACH
The first thing tourists planning to visit should know, is that Rawai beach (pronounced "Rah-wye") is not a swimming beach. There is not even a sliver of idyllic white sand beach: the shore is where the "sea gypsy" fishing fleet is moored, along with the sleek power boats that roar off to other nearby islands with tourists aboard. A long concrete shaded promenade parallels the waterfront for about 1 km, ending at the busy seafood market beyond Rawai pier. Across the road are numerous restaurants, coffee shops, bars, gift shops and massage shops, which offer the visitor a large selection of places to eat delicious seafood and traditional Thai dishes, get a traditional massage and find plenty of souvenirs and beach clothing. For me, the most interesting aspect was the fishing boats and the activity surrounding them. Typically, the fleet returns from a night of fishing at about 1:00 pm and offloads the night's catch to restauranteurs.

Early morning activity as boats are loaded with goods that will be taken to nearby islands.

Workers load coconuts and pineapples onto a boat.

Buddhist monks make their daily early morning alms round along Rawai's main road.

A tour group poses for a photo after returning from a day's outing.

The walk along Rawai beach is pleasantly shaded.

At the end of the beach is Rawai pier. On the side away from the beach are the many seafood restaurants where one can buy from the daily catch and have it cooked at one of the restaurants.

A typical display of fresh seafood at the market. Prices are Thai baht per kilogram
(1 US$ = about 30 Thai baht). Due to the high level of tourists who visit the market, prices are much higher than in a market in a predominantly Thai area.

Customers choose the seafood they want, and it is weighed, priced, then cooked.

One of the chefs at a seafood restaurant by the market

Deliciously prepared sea bass...

...large grilled shrimp...

...and large mussels. 1 kg of mussels (2 lbs), 1/2 kg of shrimp (1 lb), 2 kg of fish (4.5 lbs) and two large beers cost a total of 1,300 baht ($40, cooking of the seafood included). However, it was a special price because the owner is from a town close to Joy's village in northeast Thailand. Normal "foreigner" price would be $60-70.

Two furry visitors patiently waited for morsels to be shared.
They did not have to wait long.

NAI HARN AND NA YUI BEACHES
Not far from Rawai beach are two beautiful beaches that offer clear water, white sand and little else. They are for the beach crowd, but not the night life crowd. Both are only a few minutes by motorcycle or car, connected to Rawai by a circular route. The beaches are so close that we decided to walk through the hills and neighborhoods to reach them. Not everyone is up for that, but there were a lot of bicyclists and joggers along the way as well.

Nai Harn beach

Nai Harn ("Nye-hahn") is a beautiful white sand beach with clear warm water that blankets a long sweeping curve of Phuket's western shore. It is long enough that one does not feel cramped when relaxing under beach umbrellas, and does not have a sprawling, busy business district: there are three open air restaurants, a gift shop, and on the beach is an army of masseuses on bamboo platforms to ease away one's aches and pains. A few food and clothing vendors stroll by but not the annoying crush found on other beaches in Thailand. It is a very relaxing beach with tourists mainly from Europe, many with children.

The walk to Nai Harn from Rawai took about 45 minutes, and led us through a small shopping area about 500-700 meters from the beach. Between the shopping area and beach is a peaceful shaded park with a man-made lake; nearby is a Buddhist temple that is only about 50 meters from the beach. Many joggers and others simply strolling passed by us as they made their way around the lake.

This is a nice park with shaded walkways around it, just a few meters from the beach. The Nai Harn shopping area is at the distant end.

People of all shapes and sizes enjoy the fine sand, which got very hot as the day progressed, causing many to race across from shade to water and vice-versa.

Beach lounge with umbrella rents for 100 baht ($3) for the day.

A good place to do, well, nothing!

A fishing boat and pleasure craft line up with a sand castle on Nai Harn beach.

The air mattress (rentals available) seems to be hovering in mid air, but that is because the sea water it is resting on is so clear here.

For those craving more isolation, Ya Nui ("Yah-Noo-ee") beach is less than a kilometer south of Nai Harn beach. It involves a steep climb and then decline, but is only minutes away on foot. We did not go directly to Ya Nui from Nai Harn, but went the next day, as I had been neglectful in protecting myself from the sun and had a painful burn (one would think that I would know better, living in Thailand for 13 years without burning prior to that...oh, did I mention that it is easy to fall asleep on the beach as the sun swings around the umbrellas?). There are "songtaows"--literally "two lines" (open bed, side-railed vehicles with two benches)--that can be rented to take passengers to any place near Nai Harn for 100 baht per person ($3).

A view of Ya Nui beach from the road leading to Promthep Cape. Nai Harn beach is around the hill at right center where the pleasure craft are moored.

Our walk to Ya Nui took less than a half hour from Rawai and took us through pleasant countryside where water buffalo graze and small houses dot the landscape, as well as a few guest houses, a new hotel, and occasional bar or restaurant. The hotel is about 100 meters from the beach. The only other businesses nearby are two open air, shaded restaurants across the road from Ya Nui. Most people came by car or motorcycle. We did not notice any other pedestrians on our way, despite the relatively short distance from Rawai.

A great egret finds lunch. This was on the walk from Rawai to Ya Nui beach.

Ya Nui is a small beach in a cove between Nai Harn and the southernmost tip of the island, Cape Promthep (Thai: Laem Promthep ["Prom-tep"]), a beautiful overlook of the sea and outlying islands. The beach has numerous rocky outcrops and large rocks in the water, and is a popular spot for snorkeling to see the colorful underwater life. Beach space is limited and there are no umbrellas or beach lounges for rent, so people bring their own, sit in the shade or simply lie in the sun. It is a very relaxing spot. We spent time moving between the beach and the restaurant. 

Visitors enjoying Ya Nui beach in various stages of skin exposure.

View of Ya Nui beach from a rocky hill that overlooks the sea.

Ya Nui has many submerged rocks with sharp surfaces. Foot cuts are common. Proceed with caution! Better: wear water shoes if exploring the sea life among the rocks.

A rest at a shaded restaurant with Ya Nui beach in the background.

PROMTHEP CAPE
Less than a kilometer from Ya Nui beach is the most southern geological feature of Phuket Island, Laem Promthep, or translated, "God's Cape", which juts from the island into the sea. It is a popular spot for viewing both sunrise and sunset, and has several protected overlooks, a monument to a former king, a lighthouse and a large shrine with hundreds of elephant statues. Tourists, the majority of whom are Thais, flock to the viewpoints for spectacular sunsets every evening.

Promthep Cape and Andaman Sea from an overlook.

Visitors enjoy the vista.

A visitor shows his devotion at the elephant shrine, placing flowers on various statues and putting incense sticks in urns filled with sand.

The walk from Promthep Cape to Rawai beach took about 25 minutes and wound through the rainforest on a two lane paved road, passing many interesting sights of Thai life.

A young man works on a project at his home: building a scale model boat from styrofoam.

This interesting scene includes a wooden mask. Not sure from what country, but I have never seen any like it in Thailand. I have seen somewhat similar ones in Indonesia.

Phuket Island has something for everyone, whether craving the high energy night life of Patong, Kata or Karon beaches on the western midcoast, historic Phuket Town on the southeast, the relatively quiet beaches of Kamala and Nai Yang further north, or for journeys through lush rain forest with waterfalls in the central mountains. For us, the quiet southern beaches were pleasing. Enjoy your Phuket Island vacation, and consider the many other islands in the Andaman Sea and not far away in the Gulf of Thailand. You will not be disappointed.