Phuket Island is a dream destination for many overseas visitors who leave the island wanting to experience even more while others can leave feeling disappointed, particularly when it comes to the much-hyped beaches portraying silky white sands & azure blue waters. For some their expectations shattered after after booking a location & selecting an area with the wrong atmosphere or a beach that fails to meet their needs. For most being close to the perfect beach is a priority, as much of their time will be spent in the sun enjoying water based activities including swimming, snorkelling & all manner of water sports.
Salt Water Soothes The Soul
The first step in planning the perfect Phuket Island holiday is to find a beach that suits your needs. Families with young children for example, prefer calm waters in sheltered bays providing plenty of shade. Adrenaline junkies like beaches where water sports are on offer such as jet ski hire, parasailing or speed boat rides.
Relax. Repair. Rejuvenate.
The Phuket Beaches Guide 2018 packed with 44 pages & listing all 38 beaches on the Island, is an excellent holiday planning resource which lists every single beach on Phuket Island, each with its own unique features & benefits to help travellers decide where to stay & which beach is the best for them. For those without the knowledge a holiday in heaven can soon become the 'holiday from hell'. So sit back, enjoy the following content & dream of planning the perfect holiday away in 2018.
Phuket Island's North Western Beaches
The beaches dotted along the Northwest coast of Phuket is considered to be some of the best beaches on the island (& the world). These 'picture perfect' locations feature squeaky white powdery sands which gently undulate into clear, almost fluorescent azure blue seas. A number of these beaches are typically less developed than many other beachside locations & are highly prized by those with deep pockets as many exclusive 5 star resorts are situated on prime beachfront land. The beaches are unspoilt, with many considered to be 'private' beaches - from the perspective of the resort owners & managers. A little more on private beaches below for the uninitiated.
Phuket Island's South Eastern Beaches
Beaches located on the south eastern side of Phuket Island are for the most part lacking in both beauty & ambience in comparison to the north western beaches. For example in the Cape Panwa & Chalong Bay areas most beaches are muddy with a rocky seabed. Most activity in the area is carried out by local fisherman who harvest the rich variety of shellfish & other sea life which often breed nearby. Due to the limited number of visitors there is little by way of activities on offer however some spectacular views can be seen from a number of vantage points. If a holiday away from the crowds is what you're looking for then the South Eastern Region is well worth considering - after all there's always the hotel swimming pool.
'Private' Beaches
In Thailand there is technically no such thing as a private beach. Developers purchase the land adjacent to a beach making it 'exclusive' to resort guests & virtually inaccessible to anyone else. Mongkol Ruengwutchanapuech, a Master of Law (Australia) & Barrister at Law (Thailand) at the International Law Office (ILO) Phuket explains this phenomena best as follows:
"It is illegal to cross over the private land to gain access to the beach, but it is perfectly legal to arrive at the beach by sea. If there is a beach that is accessible only by sea the land owner cannot force you off of the beach, but they won’t be nice to you. The term 'private beach' is one of the most powerful phrases in terms of tempting a prospective guest to stay in a resort, but resorts should be well aware that there is no such thing from a legal perspective. Generally speaking, land use in Thailand is divided into two categories. The first is land for private use, whereby a landowner has the right to use the land & prevent it from being encroached on by any intruder."
"The second category is land for public use. As the name suggests it is exclusively reserved for common use of the public. The beach is considered public domain. Consequently, no resort staff are entitled to bodily force or behave in any manner with the aim of intimidating any beach-goer to stop using the beach. It is a criminal offence. However accessing the beach is another question entirely. Although the only convenient way to access the beach is to pass through the resort. To be frank, the resort is not under any legal obligations to open the access way to public use. This is a legal loophole. There is no statute or judgment precedent that deals directly with this crucial issue."
The Phuket Beach Guide 2018 lists every single beach on Phuket Island - a total of 38 beaches in all incorporating public, private & 'closed' beaches.
To download a free copy of this 44 page definitive guide to Phuket Island's beaches in 2018, simply click on the thumbnail above.