Phuket Beaches - Nai Yang

Well, yesterday was a bit grey, but rather than sit at home moping, we headed out for a drive. The kids had already been to the beach on Saturday and got a good dose of sun, so we were not too bothered by the grey skies. From Kathu we drove to Nai Yang beach. There are two ways you can go - first is head for the bypass and airport road, quick but not pretty. Phuket has some big, busy roads and you do need to drive on some of these to reach the quiet places! We chose the quick way and decided to head home the slow way, via all the other beaches on the west coast.

Coming from the south, you pass the Heroines monument, go through the town of Thalang (where you find many temples and a museum), and then you have 2 choices to reach Nai Yang by turning left either on a small side road, or waiting until you reach the airport road. We chose the small road which heads through quiet countryside, lots of rubber plantations and fields of pineapples before arriving at the entrance to the newly refurbished Indigo Pearl Hotel which is way down the south end of Nai Yang. Then follow a narrow road and you'll come to the beach.

Nai Yang is a beach of two halves. The South end has other hotels aside from the Pearl, such as Nai Yang Beach Resort. It is quite crowded down here with little restaurants right on the beach - crowded but quiet. You can sit down right by the sand and enjoy a drink. We drove through this busier area and parked among some trees for a little walk on the beach. I was not happy to see that the headland to the south now has a new development growing - must be a hotel. I always did like the view that way, but this blot spoils it. The beach is quiet, but yesterday was not a beachy day. Too cold. Didn't stop my kids playing with sand, though...





We then headed to the other end of the beach which is protected National Park land. Quiet, clean, no food stalls or restaurants except a few tiny stalls selling eggs and drinks. There were lots of longtail boats in the water, and local kids splashing around. It's a popular area with locals.





One more thing about Nai Yang - great for plane spotters! The airport is just to the North and planes normally land over the ocean, so you can see them coming in. My son (2 years old) is a plane spotter and was happy to see a few gliding in over the sea. Despite the proximity, there is no noise. We heard engines roar a couple of times when planes took off (but they take off to the east so we didn't see them) and my son thought it was thunder.



From Nai Yang, we took the quiet road to the south, heading for Naithon beach, then on to Layan Beach. The road is great down here, winding through the jungle with views over hills and occasionally over the ocean. A very nice part of Phuket. We did stop at Layan briefly (see photo below) and wandered on the beach near the Bundarika Villa, one of only 2 hotels on this beach (the other is Layan Beach Resort). I hope in the next couple of weeks we'll go to Naithon again, if the sun shines. As we left Layan the rain started so rather than drive on more winding roads we went back to the main road, stopping off at the Chili restaurant for some great food. Need some sun to get the best from Layan beach which is a beautiful spot.

Recommended Hotels around Nai Yang:

• Nai Yang Beach Resort
• Phuket Airport Hotel
• Indigo Pearl Hotel
• Naithonuri Beach Resort
• Layan Beach Resort
• Bundarika Villa