Tiny cove between Layan and Nai Thon with good snorkelling; a beach club and car park opened at the north end in late 2025.
Nai Thon · 150 m · None · November–April · Revision Sep 5, 2026
Banana Beach is 150 m of sand in Nai Thon, partly sheltered by headlands, without lifeguards, reached by road for 100 THB. Best months to swim: November–April; rip-current risk from May to October: moderate. Good for snorkelling, children, quiet.
Banana Beach is the small cove hidden below the coast road between Layan and Nai Thon that was, until recently, a fifteen-minute scramble down a jungle path and the north coast's secret: a hundred and fifty metres of white sand, clear water and the best easy snorkelling on this stretch of coast off the rocks at both ends. Late in 2025 the hilltop access closed and a new car park opened at the northern end, along with a beach club, numbered loungers and a toilet-and-shower block; the parking costs about 100 THB and packages with loungers a bit more. It is easier to reach now and busier by day with the boat tours that stop for a swim. The headlands give partial shelter, but it takes the green-season swell and has no lifeguards.
Source: phuket101 — Banana Beach, Phuket's hidden cove, now easy to reach (Sep 5, 2026) · All sources
| Month | Sea state | Rough days | Sea °C | Best months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | calm | 0 | 28.8 | yes |
| Feb | calm | 0 | 29.1 | yes |
| Mar | calm | 0 | 29.8 | yes |
| Apr | calm | 0 | 30.7 | yes |
| May | some swell | 4 | 31.0 | — |
| Jun | some swell | 8 | 30.1 | — |
| Jul | some swell | 13 | 29.9 | — |
| Aug | some swell | 9 | 29.9 | — |
| Sep | some swell | 12 | 29.2 | — |
| Oct | calm | 2 | 29.5 | — |
| Nov | calm | 0 | 29.8 | yes |
| Dec | calm | 0 | 29.0 | yes |
Source: Open-Meteo (ERA5), 2015–2026 (island rough-sea days, 2015–2025, damped for a beach that is partly sheltered by headlands); Open-Meteo Marine API (sea-surface temperature, 2022-12–2026-08).
Median monthly mean, west-coast grid point, 2022-12–2026-08 · Open-Meteo Marine API
Island rough-sea days, median per calendar month, 2015–2025; the beach's best months in the figure colour · Open-Meteo (ERA5), 2015–2026
The table above applies the island's marine normals to this beach: median rough-sea days per calendar month from Open-Meteo (ERA5), 2015–2026 (2015–2025, marine fields from 2022), damped by the beach's shelter, and median sea-surface temperature from Open-Meteo Marine API (2022-12–2026-08). Calm months here: October–April. Some swell: May–September. No month is rough here on the model. The sea is 28.8–31.0 °C as monthly medians, warm in every month; temperature never decides a swim on Phuket, the sea state does. The best-months row is the beach's own calm season and is derived, not opinion.
Banana Beach is partly sheltered by headlands, which decides its year. A headland takes the edge off the south-west swell, so on the island's rough-sea months (May–September) the sea here is usually 'some swell' rather than 'rough', and the beach is often usable when the open beaches are red-flagged; the rip-current risk from May to October is moderate, and rips still run off the rocks at the ends on big days. There are no lifeguards, so the judgement is yours. Phuket records around 30–40 drownings a year, most of them between May and October on the open west coast; the hospitals catalogue names the nearest 24-hour emergency room from Nai Thon, and the emergency number is 1669. Jellyfish drift in after storms on the whole coast; vinegar is the first aid.
Since late 2025: numbered sunbeds, a beach club with music, a toilet and shower block and a car park (about 100 THB); the old hilltop path was closed.
road · 100 THB
New car park at the northern end (about 100 THB); entry packages of 100–300 THB reported to include loungers and showers.
Hotels in Nai ThonAirport transfer to Nai ThonLiving in Nai Thon
New car park at the northern end (about 100 THB); entry packages of 100–300 THB reported to include loungers and showers. Entry or parking costs about 100 THB at this revision. The beach is 1.5 km from the centre of Nai Thon as the site defines it. The airport-transfer page compares taxi, ride-hailing, minivan and the Smart Bus to Nai Thon; the index has no published taxi median for the area yet. 12 km separate the airport from Nai Thon by road. The nearest other beaches in this catalogue are Nai Thon Beach (1.5 km), Layan Beach (2.5 km), Bang Tao Beach (5.6 km), Nai Yang Beach (5.7 km).
Since late 2025: numbered sunbeds, a beach club with music, a toilet and shower block and a car park (about 100 THB); the old hilltop path was closed. Loungers, where present, are rented by the day from licensed operators in zones set after the 2014–2016 clean-ups. Natural shade exists behind the beach. Food and drink are available at or just behind the beach. Hotels, villa rents and the cost of a day in Nai Thon are priced on the area page from the index.
In November–April, yes — the sea is calm on the island's marine normals. From May to October the rip-current risk is moderate: a headland softens the swell but rips run off the rocks on big days. There are no lifeguards. Red flag means no swimming; in an emergency call 1669.
November–April. The sea is calm here in October–April, on the island's marine normals (Open-Meteo (ERA5), 2015–2026) applied to a beach that is partly sheltered by headlands. Sea temperature runs 28.8–31.0 °C through the year, so it is never the deciding factor.
New car park at the northern end (about 100 THB); entry packages of 100–300 THB reported to include loungers and showers. Expect about 100 THB for entry or parking. Nai Thon is 12 km from the airport by road.
Loungers, Restaurants, Toilets, Showers, Parking, Natural shade. Since late 2025: numbered sunbeds, a beach club with music, a toilet and shower block and a car park (about 100 THB); the old hilltop path was closed. Other beaches in Nai Thon: Nai Thon Beach.
Concierge
A villa, a yacht, a helicopter and private tours arranged as one programme, with dated price references and one contact.