Eleven kilometres of wide, steep, exposed sand in the north with resorts spaced far apart; turtle nesting in the cool months.
Mai Khao · 11 km · Lifeguards: Yes · December–March · Revision 5. Sept. 2026
Mai Khao Beach is 11 km of sand in Mai Khao, open to the south-west monsoon, lifeguarded in daylight, in front of the resorts, reached by road free of charge. Best months to swim: December–March; rip-current risk from May to October: high. Good for quiet, sunset, nature.
Mai Khao is the longest beach on the island — eleven kilometres from the runway end to the Sarasin bridge — and the emptiest: wide, steep and exposed, with large resorts spaced far apart and nothing between them. Even in the high season the shore-break is stronger than at the sheltered bays to the south, because there is no headland; the sand drops away quickly and a swimmer is in deep water within a few metres. The water is clear and the swimming is fine on calm days, but this is not a paddling beach for toddlers at any time of year. From May to October the surf is heavy, the rips strong, red flags are the norm and the resorts steer guests to the pools; the resorts post their own lifeguards in front of their frontage. Sea turtles nest along the beach from roughly November to February, which is why it is national park and why lights and beach furniture are controlled.
Quelle: Thai National Parks — Sirinat National Park (5. Sept. 2026); Phuket Expat Guide — Phuket rip currents and beach safety guide (5. Sept. 2026) · Alle Quellen
| Month | Sea state | Rough days | Sea °C | Best months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | ruhig | 0 | 28.8 | yes |
| Feb | ruhig | 0 | 29.1 | yes |
| Mar | ruhig | 0 | 29.8 | yes |
| Apr | ruhig | 0 | 30.7 | — |
| May | leichte Dünung | 4 | 31.0 | — |
| Jun | leichte Dünung | 8 | 30.1 | — |
| Jul | rau | 13 | 29.9 | — |
| Aug | rau | 9 | 29.9 | — |
| Sep | rau | 12 | 29.2 | — |
| Oct | ruhig | 2 | 29.5 | — |
| Nov | ruhig | 0 | 29.8 | — |
| Dec | ruhig | 0 | 29.0 | yes |
Quelle: Open-Meteo (ERA5), 2015–2026 (island rough-sea days, 2015–2025, damped for a beach that is open to the south-west monsoon); 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–June. Rough: July–September. 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.
Mai Khao Beach is open to the south-west monsoon, which decides its year. It takes the south-west swell directly, so it follows the island's marine normals exactly: a calm sea in October–April and rough-sea days in May–September, when red flags fly on rough days and the rip-current risk is high. Lifeguards patrol in daylight, in front of the resorts; a red flag means the sea is closed to swimming, and the guards will whistle swimmers out. Caught in a rip: float, swim parallel to the beach until the pull stops, then in. 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 Mai Khao, and the emergency number is 1669. Jellyfish drift in after storms on the whole coast; vinegar is the first aid.
Facilities belong to the large resorts (JW Marriott, Anantara, Sala and others); the public stretches have nothing.
road · free
Access roads from the highway to the resorts and to the park's Mai Khao section; long walks between.
Hotels in Mai KhaoAirport transfer to Mai KhaoLiving in Mai Khao
Access roads from the highway to the resorts and to the park's Mai Khao section; long walks between. There is no entry fee. The beach is 0.3 km from the centre of Mai Khao as the site defines it. The airport-transfer page compares taxi, ride-hailing, minivan and the Smart Bus to Mai Khao; the index has no published taxi median for the area yet. 8 km separate the airport from Mai Khao by road. The nearest other beaches in this catalogue are Nai Yang Beach (6.3 km), Nai Thon Beach (10.6 km), Banana Beach (11.9 km), Layan Beach (13.5 km).
Facilities belong to the large resorts (JW Marriott, Anantara, Sala and others); the public stretches have nothing. Loungers, where present, are rented by the day from licensed operators in zones set after the 2014–2016 clean-ups. There is little natural shade on the sand. Food and drink are available at or just behind the beach. Nearby in the things-to-do catalogue: Splash Jungle water park (2.7 km), Similan Islands day trip (91.2 km). Hotels, villa rents and the cost of a day in Mai Khao are priced on the area page from the index.
In December–March, yes — the sea is calm on the island's marine normals. From May to October the rip-current risk is high: the beach takes the swell directly and flies red flags on rough days. Lifeguards are on duty in daylight, in front of the resorts. Red flag means no swimming; in an emergency call 1669.
December–March. The sea is calm here in October–April and rough in July–September, on the island's marine normals (Open-Meteo (ERA5), 2015–2026) applied to a beach that is open to the south-west monsoon. Sea temperature runs 28.8–31.0 °C through the year, so it is never the deciding factor.
Access roads from the highway to the resorts and to the park's Mai Khao section; long walks between. Entry is free. Mai Khao is 8 km from the airport by road.
Loungers, Restaurants, Toilets, Showers, Parking; not natural shade. Facilities belong to the large resorts (JW Marriott, Anantara, Sala and others); the public stretches have nothing.
Concierge
Villa, Yacht, Helikopter und private Touren als ein Programm, mit datierten Preisreferenzen und einem Ansprechpartner.
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