District
The island's quiet northern end: eleven kilometres of national-park sand, planes low over the runway end, nesting turtles and resorts with no strip between them.
Mai Khao is Phuket's northernmost subdistrict, in Thalang district: 51.5 km² and seven villages, from Ban Mak Prok in the south to Ban Tha Chatchai at the bridges. It borders Phang Nga province across the Pak Phra channel to the north and east, Thep Krasatti to the south and the Andaman Sea to the west. By our map the airport stands on its southern edge, with Sakhu just beyond the runway.
The coast is one long beach. Mai Khao runs about 11 km from the end of the runway north to Sai Kaew, mostly inside Sirinat National Park, so casuarinas and wetland stand behind the sand instead of buildings. There are no jet skis, sunbeds or vendors except at the runway end, where people gather to watch airliners land just overhead, and sea turtles still come ashore to nest between November and February.
Inland, Mai Khao is a district of villages and plantations along Thep Kasattri Road, the island's only road to the mainland, which crosses the channel on the Sarasin and Thao Thep Kasattri bridges. About 13,800 people live here (2023). Large resorts stand back from the beach, with a shopping village, a water park and a few local restaurants among them; Phuket Town is about an hour's drive south.
Mai Khao and Sai Kaew make one shore of some 14 km from the runway to the bridges; away from the resorts you can walk for an hour and meet only a few people fishing.
Most of the shore is Sirinat National Park, so there are no bars, sunbeds or touts on the sand; the big resorts keep to their own stretches.
At the south end, airliners pass low over the beach on their way to land. It happens when they approach from the sea, which depends on the wind.
Leatherback and other sea turtles nest between November and February, and hatchlings raised by the turtle foundation are released around Songkran in April.
The terminal is 5 to 20 minutes from most of Mai Khao, and the road from the mainland enters the island at Tha Chatchai, at its northern end.
Toh Daeng at Baan Ar Jor has a Michelin listing for Phuket family recipes, and the seafood places near Sai Kaew serve fried sea cicadas, a local speciality.
On the sand
Coarse golden sand under casuarinas for about 11 km, with no vendors or sunbeds past the runway end. The sea shelves steeply, so it is a beach for walking more than swimming.
Family
At the runway end, airliners come in low over the beach. Whether they land from the sea side depends on the wind, and the beach is widest at low tide: check both first.
Nature · dry season
Sea turtles nest on Mai Khao between November and February; the turtle foundation and the resorts release young turtles around Songkran in April. Contact the foundation before visiting.
On the sand · dry season
Fine white sand carries on from Mai Khao for some 3 km to the channel and the bridges. The beach drops steeply like a bowl, so people come to walk, eat seafood and watch the sunset, not to swim.
Nature
At the end of the lane beside the Administrative Court, tall casuarinas lean together over the sand like a tunnel: the council's newest photo spot in the national park.
Culture
A tin-mining family's three-storey mansion, long a ruin by the highway, restored with its antiques and Chinese-style furniture. Daily 10:00 to 22:00, 200 THB; Toh Daeng, its restaurant, has a Michelin listing.
Culture
A small working temple known for Vipassana meditation, with a bird sanctuary towards the beach where egrets gather. Free; cover shoulders and knees.
Family
Slides, a wave pool, a lazy river and a toddler zone, daily 10:00 to 18:30. Adults 1,050 THB, children 5 to 11 750 THB, under-fives and over-65s free (2026).
Family
The shelter of the charity that rescues Phuket's street dogs and cats. Guided tours at 10:00 and 13:30; visitors cannot walk round alone, and volunteers can help for a day or longer.
Shopping
A low open-air shopping village beside the JW Marriott and Anantara: craft and brand shops, chain restaurants, a supermarket, cash machines and currency exchange. Daily 10:00 to 23:00.
Food and drink
Near Sai Kaew, Krua Saikaew, Rimpan and Ta Tuay cook fresh seafood for Thai families at weekends; order chakachan tod, fried sea cicadas from this shore.
Food and drink · dry season
M Beach Club at the JW Marriott (noon to midnight), Sand Box at the Renaissance and Micky Monkey between the resorts, the cheapest drink on this stretch.
Culture
The Sarasin Bridge was the first to join Phuket to Phang Nga; the 650 m Thao Thep Kasattri Bridge beside it, built in 1992, now carries the traffic in and the Sarasin the traffic out.
On a dry-season weekday, walk Mai Khao before 08:00, when you may have the whole beach to yourself.
Join the Soi Dog Foundation's 10:00 guided tour of its shelter. Soi Dog Foundation
Phuket family recipes at Toh Daeng, then a look round the restored rooms of Baan Ar Jor. Baan Ar Jor
Watch airliners land over the runway end, or spend the hot hours at Splash Jungle. Mai Khao Airport Viewpoint
Seafood at Sai Kaew, then walk north along the sand until the bridges fill the skyline. Rimpan Seafood
Dinner and the only shops near the resorts, open until 23:00. Turtle Village
Buddhist temple
Viewpoint
Museum
Attraction
Attraction
Beach bar
Restaurant
Restaurant
Restaurant
Seafood restaurant
Seafood restaurant
Restaurant
Seafood restaurant
Restaurant
Restaurant
Restaurant
Restaurant
Seafood restaurant
Café
Community mall
Water park
Adventure park
Golf course
Golf course
Riding stable
The beachfront belongs to large resorts and the national park. Behind them, along Thep Kasattri Road and the Mai Khao lanes, are condos and condotels, townhouse estates near the airport, village houses and pool villas. Listings in 2026 run from about 15,000 THB a month for a condo to 150,000 THB for a large villa.
16 homes for rent in Mai KhaoNovember to April: the sea calms, though shore break is common in November and December; March and April are usually the calmest and clearest months. Turtles nest from November to February, and the beach is at its emptiest on weekday mornings.
May to October: the open Andaman swell brings rough water, rip currents and frequent red flags to Mai Khao and Sai Kaew. The beaches are for walking between showers; the water park, the museum house and the resorts fill the day.
Mai Khao suits families who come for space, planes, turtles and a water park rather than for swimming: the sea shelves steeply and the waves are often up. The resorts' pools and kids' clubs and Splash Jungle fill the gap.
Mai Khao lies around the airport at the island's northern end, on Thep Kasattri Road, the main road from the bridges to Phuket Town. Public transport serves the airport terminal only, so most people drive, ride or take a taxi or app car.
Parking. The resorts have car parks; the public beach lanes have little roadside space, and Sai Kaew's roadside and restaurant parking is easy.
By 07:00 on a dry-season weekday you may have kilometres of beach to yourself.
A flight-tracking app shows the next landing, and landings over the beach depend on the wind, so check before you drive out.
Away from the resorts there is nowhere to buy anything on the sand for a long way.
Walking in from Nai Yang passes the national park's gate: 200 THB for foreign adults and 100 THB for children (June 2026).
From November to February, no torches or fires on the sand at night, and never approach a nesting turtle; tell a ranger.
Its sand drops steeply into deep water; enjoy it from the shore and the seafood huts.
Soi Dog's visitors join the 10:00 or 13:30 guided tour; there is no walking round on your own.
Its cash machines, currency exchange and supermarket are the only ones close to the beach.
Wat Mai Khao asks for no short skirts, shorts or sleeveless tops.
At the island's northern end, in Thalang district, around Phuket's airport. It runs from the runway north to the Sarasin Bridge, where the road from the mainland enters the island. Phuket Town is 45 to 60 minutes south by road.
Only on calm days in the dry season, best in March and April. The beach shelves steeply and faces the open Andaman, with rough water and rip currents from May to October.
At the south end of Mai Khao Beach, just beyond the runway. Planes pass low over the sand when they approach from the sea, which depends on the wind; a flight-tracking app helps you time it.
Between November and February. Leatherback turtles laid eggs here in 2024, and young turtles raised by the foundation are released around Songkran in April.
Yes: most of Mai Khao is 5 to 20 minutes from the terminal, with resorts, local restaurants and Turtle Village's shops close by.
By car, taxi or ride app, about an hour. From the airport terminal, Smart Bus route 1 also runs to Patong for a flat 100 THB (2026).
The beach is part of Sirinat National Park. Walking in from Nai Yang you pass the park's gate, which charges foreign adults 200 THB and children 100 THB (June 2026).
Listings in October 2026 start at about 15,000 THB a month for a one-bedroom condo; townhouses near the airport ask 20,000 to 25,000 THB, beachfront condos 47,000 to 70,000 THB and pool villas 65,000 to 150,000 THB.