The Beach at Nai Yang, Thailand

Nai Yang Beach turned out to be quite a surprise on our trip to Thailand. The location is just south of Phuket international airport. That was the main reason we decide to stay here before heading off to other locations.



We had not seen a Thailand beach for many months and we eager to get our feet on the sand. Really any beach would have done. So it came as quite a pleasant shock seeing long stretch of sand.



Situated in Sirinat National Park, which means construction is kept to am minimum and anything built has strict regulations.



While we were there in the low season most of the beach was free from signs of tourism. There were just a few sun-beds at the busier part of town.  Maybe in the high season month the place become more tourist but I hope not.

The north end of the beach seemed the most pristine. There seemed to be nothing there apart from the trees and the sea with the golden sand in-between.



During the evening we has our meal on the beach, luckily the weather was favorable as it was supposed to be monsoon season.

This is definitely our style of beach, very quiet and not any sign of tourist traps anyplace. The hotels, restaurants a a few shops were all close together, just at the edge of the beach, but it never felt crowded in the little village.

Time in Nai Yang and The Beach Day 2

We woke early and refreshed which I guess means the hotel room was on the better side. Our bellies were hungry for some genuine Thai food it seemed we had to do the obvious.

Alas breakfast would have to wait, outside our room was that hotel pool just begging for somebody to take a dip in its cool waters. How could we resist. A quick swim turned in to a couple of hours relaxing beside the pool with the feeling of that tropical sun warming our bodies. Eventually the need for some food and wanting to get out in Nai Yang won. We would only have one day here and sitting beside the pool was not the best thing to do.

The resort was quite large, lots of 2 or was it 3 storey buildings spread around the grounds which felt like a well manicured jungle with the amount of foliage spread around. The slight downside, our quest for lower cost rooms had us placed far from reception and the beach. Still it was only a few minutes walk.

Once outside we had our first views of Nai Yang. It turns out really to be one road running down the side of the beach with the resorts hidden on the landward side. Straddling the road were shops and restaurants, the beach side being most free from any large buildings. It felt like a nice compromise between nature and development with trees growing through roads and inside shops. It was small, not much to see, which for us meant looking for a place to eat wouldn't take long.

We sat down in a beach front cafe, open ended on to the sea and we had a good view of the long sandy beach. It looked remarkably clean and free from any signs of human flotsam washed up along its length. So food was ordered, Breakfast was chicken and noodles with the necessary bottle of cooling Thai beer.

Nai Yang appeared to be near the south side of the beach with a headland blocking us going any further so we chose head in a northerly direction. The further up the beach we went the more natural it became. A few sparse buildings, no deckchairs cluttering the beach, just the sun, the sea, the beach and the trees. Very few people, local or tourists, which made it feel like a personal desert island.

If we kept going at some point we would have reached the airport. Not that we knew it was there. We only noticed one aircraft and that was late at night, only giving itself away by its lights flashing in the distance. After an hour or two of sitting around under a tree and feeling the waves tickle our feet we headed back to Nai Yang. Tanking the road and soon we were back at the resort. As were were travelling tomorrow finding out about transport would be a good idea.

No bus service that we could find serves Nai Yang directly so it would have to be a taxi ride to the nearest bus stop to catch some transport heading north to our next resort, Khao Lak.

Our Enquiries at the hotel indicated that it would be 300THB for the trip but over the road at the taxi stand we were offered 250THB. 50 Baht cheaper but its really only a few pounds or dollars. We had said we would come back tomorrow for the ride and headed for dinner.

Another restaurant on the beach again and you cant get more on the beach than this. Luckily the monsoons were not bringing rain which made it a pleasant evening.

Tom Yum soup was needed and quickly served up. It was tasty but not the best we have had. It could be we are setting our standards a little to high.

A little walk after dinner and with Nai Yang being quite small the walk was short. Back to the hotel and a night time swim in the pool which we still had to ourselves.

Looking back at Nai Yang there is not much there. Nightlife and life in general seemed very quiet with not much happening. There are enough places to eat and drink to have something different every day for maybe a week. The beach was fantastic, clean and not busy. It’s location near Phuket Airport gives it some points as a place to stop off for a few days.

The one thing that we missed out on was actually getting in the water. I guess we never realized how short one day can be and time soon ran out. The waves were quite large and red flags were flying but it was still a missed opportunity.

Maybe Next time.

Tomorrow would be travelling to destination 2. Khao Lak, north of Phuket Island and with a 4 night stay, maybe I’ll get to swim in the sea.

Arriving at Nai Yang, Phuket Day 1

The first stop on our trip would be Nai Yang. We didn't really know much about this place and it was really chosen for connivance.

We left for the Airport with the darkness closing and the rain falling constantly. With that feeling it would be nice to wake up the next morning in a different country with sunshine and a exotic sandy beach nearby.

Landing at Phuket Airport, Thailand, we had no luggage apart from our carry on backpacks which meant getting through customs and immigration was quick.

Our first hurdle, apart from being slightly tired and hungry, was getting to Nai Yang Beach. We were spotted by the local taxi touts and somehow gravity pushed us together. The price was 300THB initially which I thought was a little bit too much. I kept standing on my toes and pointing “look I can see Nai Yang from here”. The other half was meanwhile looking in her purse and complaining about the exchange rate. Final price was around 200THB by taxi to the resort.

It was a short trip, maybe 10- 15 minutes to the hotel. Standing before us at the hotel check in were another couple from the same flight. If we had found them at the airport then we could have split the price of the taxi between us.

Checked in and after what felt like a mile walk to our room, time to relax. It was around 1 a.m. now and our first bit of pleasure was sitting on the porch out side the room feeling the warm air and listening to the sounds of geckoes.

Across a path and no more then 10 steps away was one of the 3 pools in the resort. A dip in the water was tempting but going to sleep won in the end.

First day over, not sure if it can be counted as a day of the holiday, but at least we had landed, had a roof over our head, a bed to sleep in and the rain was not pouring down.

The Andaman Holiday Resorts List

The trip planning began to show some sign of coming together. Flights times were looked at and commute times between the resorts were arranged to allow as much beach times as possible.

We settled on 5 different locations that we thought were worth visiting. For me the beach was the most important factor while the Other Half thought about the quality of the hotels. I would have settled for a bamboo hut with a trickle of sea water for a shower but I had to give in and accept that some comforts were needed.

The flight would land on Phuket Island to start us off. With the landing around midnight a resort close the airport was chosen.

Nai Yang on the west of the island looked good and it was just for two nights. I was not really very happy about going to Phuket but it all turned out much better then I expected. We would have two nights and one day here then catching transport to the second beach.

Khao Lak around 50 kilometers north of Phuket was a hopefully short commute and we had planned 4 nights here. This was an unknown for us but it turned out to have an absolutely fabulous beach or rather beach after beach.

Ao Nang took us back into Krabi Provence. This was a longer section of the journey but we had hoped not to waste more than 3 or 4 hours travelling.

The fourth stop was Koh Lanta. The island was so near that we just couldn’t miss out spending a few days here.

Lastly is was back to Phuket and this time we picked out Kamala to spend a few days before catching the plane back home.

That was our list and as it was really off season we managed to get most of the hotels quite cheap and extra offers of stay 4 nights and just pay 3.

Getting transport between the sandy beaches was still largely unconfirmed. We had a vague idea of connections, a mix of bus and mini van routes. If we got stuck we could always fall back on getting a Taxi although that was not really in the plan.

Hoping for some good food, long quiet sand beaches, warm clear water and tasty spiced food we were ready. All the locations were unknown to us apart from Koh Lanta, so excitedly we set off for the first resort on our list at Nai Yang.