Layan Beach

Layan Beach is not at all well known, so if you want to find one of the quietest and most beautiful beaches in Phuket, try to find Layan Beach. Hard enough to find it on a map! We first found Layan in January on a rather grey day while driving around the back roads in the North of Phuket. You have a choice of small roads to reach Layan Beach. Last weekend we drove through the Laguna Resort complex, the road turning from good, to bad, to "oh-my-god-i-wish-we-had-a-4wd". The last 100m took about 5 minutes. OK, that's the back route in, you can also go via Naithon, or via Thalang, following a long twisty road through the villages. OK, enough directions. Go find it, or check the location on Google Earth

Seek and ye shall find paradise. Or at least a very peaceful, picture postcard beach. Layan Beach, just North of Bang Tao Beach, has two halves. The southern part is simply stunning if you like blue seas and white sand. The land is privately owned, well cared for and kept simple. We were there at the weekend for lunch in the high season and I counted about 12 other visitors and I reckon half of them were local residents. You'll find a small restaurant, a small collection of beach chairs, palm trees and the sound of waves gently lapping the shore. Too good to be true?







The restaurant has basic Thai food, sea food.. not super cheap, but hey - look at the location. I guess we are used to local prices, so 80 Baht for fried rice seems expensive! It was tasty food, though and if you are coming for a holiday, lunch for a pound or 2 dollars is not going to break the bank! Next to the restaurant is "Beer Conner" :)



Just behind the beach, you have a mix of local life and modern development. This stretch of coast is being invaded by a large amount of villas, sea view apartments, hillside condos...and yet you also find scenes like this...



A little further North, Layan Beach is split by a small island and sand bar, creating a semi enclosed lagoon and a natural paradise. A sign at the edge of the beach says this area is to be made a National Park.. although I read recently in the Phuket Gazette that a marina might be planned for this location. It's a beautiful spot. I'd like to walk out along the sand spit to the island, but not with the little kids - it's quite a hike on a hot day.





You'd hardly know it, but there are 2 small, quite exclusive, very nice looking resorts in this section of Layan Beach. They blend in with the scenery, offering beachside or hillside bungalows. If you like a bit of seclusion, the Bundarika Resort or the Layan Beach Resort might be for you.

• Bundarika Resort
• Layan Beach Resort



Layan Beach is perfect for me and the family as a little getaway for a couple of hours - we like the small scale, the little restaurant, the fact that the beach is clean and hard to find. How we never found it until this year is beyond me.... Well, I guess we are not on holiday so can't be out exploring every day, but it's pleasing that after 8 years here Phuket still manages to surprise me.