Ao Bang Tao Beach

Bang Tao is a study in contrasts, with the luxurious resorts and villas along its 6km (4 mile) stretch of beach just a few minutes' away from the town of Cherng Talay, where many villagers still make their living as their ancestors did - by fishing, farming and rubber tapping. The northern tip of the beach, so far untouched by development, is still an area where visitors might find that they have the beach to themselves. Apart from going to the beach and a few bars and restaurants there's not much that you need to leave your resort for.

Taking up a huge area in the middle of Bang Tao beach, Laguna Phuket, one of Asia's largest resort complexes, comprises Sheraton Grande, Dusit Laguna, Laguna Beach, Allamanda, Laguna Holiday Club and Banyan Tree Phuket resorts, and some are open to outside visitors as well.

Bang tao bay (Ao Bang Thao) on Phuket’s northwest coast is a popular tourist destination on an 8km stretch of white sandy beach. The greater Bangtao area still maintains a mixed local village atmosphere of Buddhist, Chinese, and Moslem residents milling about daily markets. The beach area also retains a local flavour with simple Thai food stalls and vendors set among cosy guesthouses of Bang Tao.

The stunning beach at Bang Tao has also attracted international resorts such as Banyan Tree and Sheraton Grande Laguna and the Laguna Resorts area is now a centre of many chic boutique resorts, villas, spas, restaurants and designer stores. A new commercial cluster village (beyond the gates of Laguna resorts complex) offering boutique shopping and entertainment -- with day spas, antiques, decor and designer fashions alongside English pubs, global cafes, wine cellars and funky bars -- adds a cosmopolitan edge to the area.

The Bang Tao area has something for everyone. Beach lovers are in their element with plenty of sun loungers and beach vendors selling everything from fresh coconut juice to sarongs. Quieter beaches can also be found with few facilities.

Laem Sing Beach

This was once one of those secret beaches only the locals knew about. Sadly, it has now been well and truly discovered. We don't know how that happens - maybe some idiot put it on a website.

During the high season, this small beach is crammed. It is easy to see the attraction. It is an absolutely beautiful beach. A 300-meter stretch of beautiful sand framed by two headlands and ringed by trees. A few rock formations on the beach add character to the setting.

During the high season, the sun loungers are lined in rows three to four deep. The rent is 50 baht each.

It is a good bathing beach with golden sand sloping smoothly into the sea. However with the crowds, have arrived jet skis and banana boats.

This beach has some of the best snorkeling in Phuket right off the beach. The headlands and rock formations are home to corals and many fish. Particularly the southern end of the beach where you will see lots of fish feeding around the rocks.

There are two restaurants at the bottom of the hill and two bars to the south end of the beach. One of these bars has a regular party on Sunday nights.

This is another beach that has dangerous currents during the rainy season.

How to get there: There are a couple of tracks down to the beach. You will see the parking area on the coast road between Kamala and Surin. The locals organise the parking and charge 20 baht for motorbikes and 40 baht for cars. It is an unofficial parking charge to keep an eye on your vehicle - it is a small price so don't worry about it. From there you have a slightly demanding climb down to the beach

View point

From this point can be seen the bays Kata Noi, Kata, Karon, and also Koh Poo Island. It is one of the island's best views. A large public sala, or shelter is there for visitors, and several vendors sell food, drinks, and souvenirs in the area when the weather is nice. The Viewpoint is between Kata and Nai Harn. Spectacular view of the three famous beaches, the Kata Noi, Kata and Karon (far distance) can
be best seen from the top of the view point.

Access to the view point location is through the well paved winding road which leads to Nai Han
beach or Rawai beach.

Hat Surin

Hat Surin (Surin Beach) is a quiet beach backed by hills on the west side of Phuket. It lies above Patong and Kamala, just to the south of Ao Bang Thao, and is backed by sharp hills dotted with upscale residences and resorts.
The best thing about Hat Surin is that it has that laid back village atmosphere and is a far cry from the madness of Patong, which incidentally is just a 20-minute drive away if you feel the need to party. Hotels are relatively cheap in Surin, bar the top-enders, and there are many cheap beachside restaurants to eat at, along with a line of cafés set back off the beach.

The beach itself is nice with clear water and dazzling sands, while the paradisiacal Pansea Bay lies just to the north and Laem Singh to the south at the foot of a cliff. Chilling out at the beach in Hat Surin seems to be the order of the day here. During the day, we weren't really able to see much of the island South of Hat Surin, though the drive to the Ao-Poh pier was quite scenic, with the views alternating between lush jungle and small rice paddys, crop field and tropical orchards. The scenery on Phangnga Bay is impressive and at times down right stunning; it was particularly interesting to be able to watch flying fish skip, and sometimes even bounce, across the calm waters of the bay in the wake of our boat. Of course, it's practically a requirement that you make your way to the coast as sunset approaches to really appreciate the beauty of Phuket.