The plane emerged from behind the cloud and began to descend. A couple of minutes later he was already very close, literally fifty meters above his head. The whole picture around suddenly became somehow fabulous and unreal. The turquoise ocean, this deserted beach with yellow sand - and the plane is so close that you want to jump up and reach it with your hand... Today everything is about the beach near the airport in Phuket, a lot of photos, a map and our reviews.
Spectacular beaches near airports are very popular among tourists. Every adventurous traveler tries to take a couple of photos against the backdrop of the blue sea and a giant steel machine in the sky. Tourists at various resorts around the world occupy such patches of sand near resort airports so that, together with hundreds of other people from all over the world, they can enjoy the landing of the plane. Not so in Phuket. The beach near the airport is called Mai Khao - and it is deserted. And such oblivion is completely undeserved, because there is a wonderful pure water, coarse yellow sand and great views.
If you look at the map of Phuket, the airport will be in the upper left part of the map - in the north-west of the island. It's very close to the bridge that connects Phuket to the mainland, but quite far from the most popular resorts- Patong, Karon and Kata beaches. During our wintering we lived in the center of the island in the village of Katu. We went to the beach to the airport by bike, the journey took about 40-50 minutes. At the end of the post there will be a map with marks, you can estimate the distance to the beach from different points in Phuket.
There are two ways to get to the beach. First: park in the southern part in front of the airport and walk closer to the runway for about ten minutes. The second way is better: after the airport, turn onto the narrow road between the airport terminal and the nearest resort and go straight to the northern part of the beach. From there it's a five-minute walk to the strip, no more.
Mai Khao Beach is very long, about nine kilometers long. They nearby beach Nai Yang are members National Park Sirinath. Somewhere in the north of the National Park, sea turtles lay eggs from November to February. There is also a center for the study of amphibians.
The beach area near the airport is good for swimming. The entrance to the water is gradual, there is coarse sand at the bottom, the water is clean and transparent. Not big waves Doesn't interfere with swimming at all. Mai Khao will be quite comfortable for children too.
We were on Mai Khao in February, and there were no jellyfish in the water, unlike, for example, Kamala Beach, where swimming at that time was problematic.
There is absolutely no infrastructure on the beach in front of the airport. Water is sold at a nearby resort, but it is better to bring your own umbrella and bedding. Trees right next to runway no, so you need to build the shade yourself. However, to the north of the airport there is a strip of coniferous trees, and it is quite comfortable there.
Mai Khao Beach is a great place for photo shoots because there are very few people around and no one flashes in the frame.
Now about the planes. Phuket has its own international airport. Charter and regular flights from all over the world arrive here. There are a lot of planes and they arrive often, although during the hottest days you can observe a slight lull. We noted for ourselves that in the morning there is continuous planting. The planes land almost one after another. In the afternoon there is a break of two or three hours, and in the evening takeoffs begin.
Plane landing and takeoff schedules are publicly available information. If you want to plan a good photo shoot in advance, go to the Phuket Airport website and print out the schedule.
Beach hotels near Phuket airport:
The town near Mai Khao beach is quiet and calm, without any stormy nightlife. There is a small market and small grocery stores, a dozen cafes and restaurants. Not far from the airport there is a water park called Splash Jungle. If you want to stay right next to Mai Khao Beach, you can choose from several nearby hotels.
Chic Centara Grand West Sands Resort & Villas Phuket With good reviews from married couples. The hotel has a children's club, a huge swimming pool, and several restaurants. Guests praise the large, spacious rooms and clean, well-equipped area. There is a water park next to the hotel. Room price - from 100 dollars per night.
If you are afraid of airplane noise, you can stay a little further north of the airport. There is Luxury 2 Bedroom Private Pool Villa. Luxury accommodation, it is better to book in advance as the villa is very popular.
Hotel MaikhaoDreamVillaResort &SpaPhuket is in demand among families with children. Swimming pool right on the beach, comfortable sun loungers, spa, gourmet restaurants, large apartments with kitchens. Rates start from $120 per night.
People go here for an indescribable thrill, because literally 10-20 meters above the beach and tourists roar giant airliners coming in to land. A dangerous but fascinating sight!
Maho Beach is very close to International airport named after Princess Juliana.
Due to the short length of the runway (2,180 meters), planes are forced to land as close to the beginning as possible, flying directly over the heads of vacationers at an altitude of 10-20 meters from the ground.
This beach is extremely popular among thrill-seekers and photographers who want to capture the low-flying jumbo jet.
All bars on Maho Beach have the following signs with the schedule of arriving flights:
There are also warning signs that jets of air from aircraft jet engines can be thrown into the sea, injure or even kill. But this stops few people:
On average, only every 4th plane landing here can create a strong gust of wind with its jet engines. Then vacationers have a hard time:
Despite the difficult conditions for landing, not a single crash has been recorded so far.
Extreme sports enthusiasts strive to be right above the landing airliner. And this lands one of the biggest passenger aircraft in the world - Boeing 747:
It's hard to believe that this is not a photo montage, but real photographs:
Source
It is located in the Caribbean, 300 km from Puerto Rico. And vacationers are not attracted here by the warm sand and blue sea. People go here for an indescribable thrill, because literally 10-20 meters above the beach and tourists roar giant airliners coming in to land. A dangerous but fascinating sight! Maho Beach is located very close to Princess Juliana International Airport. 
Due to the short length of the runway (2,180 meters), planes are forced to land as close to the beginning as possible, flying directly over the heads of vacationers at an altitude of 10-20 meters from the ground. 
This beach is extremely popular among thrill-seekers and photographers who want to capture the low-flying jumbo jet. 
All bars on Maho Beach have the following signs with the schedule of arriving flights: 
There are also warning signs that jets of air from aircraft jet engines can be thrown into the sea, injure or even kill. But this stops few people: 
On average, only every 4th plane landing here can create a strong gust of wind with its jet engines. Then vacationers have a hard time: 
Despite the difficult conditions for landing, not a single crash has been recorded so far. 
Extreme sports enthusiasts strive to be right above the landing airliner. And this is one of the largest passenger aircraft in the world landing - Boeing 747: 
It's hard to believe that this is not a photo montage, but real photographs: 
Very close to the runway of Phuket Airport is Mai Khao Beach. This is the longest and most unusual beach on the island. It is above this beach that planes land and take off. This feature attracts many tourists. Here you can take interesting and vivid photographs with an airplane flying overhead. However, despite such tourist entertainment, there are very few vacationers on the beach, it is practically deserted.
The coastline of Mai Khao beach stretches for as much as 11 kilometers. The beach is included national park Sirinath, so there are no popular tourist beach activities here, and on Mai Khao you will not find sun loungers with umbrellas, merchants, shops and cafes. The entire beach is nature reserve. There are practically no tourists here either, only near the runway you can see a small group of people with cameras and cameras who are trying to catch a good shot against the backdrop of a flying plane. But Mai Khao beach is very popular local residents, they have picnics here in the shade of the trees and swim in the sea. Also, locals celebrate the Songkran holiday here (), I have never seen so many Thais on the beach as on this day.
The sand on Mai Khao beach is light yellow, the descent into the sea is quite steep. If you move three or four meters away from the shore, the water will be up to your neck. If you come to the beach with small children, then do not let them go to sea alone, but rather choose another beach. Casuarina trees grow along the entire Mai Khao beach, in the shade of which you can hide from the sun.
You can swim on Mai Khao beach only during the season from November to April; the rest of the time, large waves rise in the sea and swimming in it is not at all safe. But this is a great time for surf lovers.
Beach activities
There are practically no beach activities on Mai Khao. Only near the hotels you can rent kayaks or surfboards. The main attractions of Mai Khao Beach are walking along the shore, swimming in the sea and, of course, landing planes. This is exactly what tourists come here for. You can sit on the beach for hours and watch a huge plane fly overhead with incredible noise. This is an unusual sight, truly breathtaking. I even felt scared for the first time when I saw a plane flying straight at me with a huge noise. It seemed to me that I would be blown away from the beach, but then gradually you get used to it. Also, don't forget to take a few photos with the plane flying in the background.
Planes fly every day every 10-15 minutes. If you want, you can look at the flight schedule, then you will know exactly what planes will be flying and at what time.
Restaurants and shops on the beach
You can dine on Mai Khao Beach at restaurants in nearby hotels. There they will offer you wide choose various dishes, but prices in hotels are usually high.
Also close to the beach is the Turtle Village shopping center, which has a restaurant and bar where you can grab a bite to eat. IN mall you can buy food, souvenirs, clothes and much more. And if you drive a little further from the beach, you will find a J&P store, where the selection of products is much wider.
Hotels on the beach
Hotels on Mai Khao beach are almost all five-star and quite expensive. If you wish, you can stay at the Centara Grand West Sands Resort & Villa Phuket, which is located very close to Phuket Airport. A little further away are the hotels JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, Maikhao Dream Villa, Mai Khao Beach Bungalows and others.
If you want to find a hotel on your own, I recommend using the Hotelluk service, it searches for accommodation in different booking systems and provides the most profitable options.
How to get there?
From the airport to Mai Khao Beach you can only get by taxi, public transport doesn't go there.
From Phuket Town to Mai Khao Beach you can take a bus for 50 baht. However, you will have to walk from the main road, which is about 2-3 kilometers.
If you get to Mai Khao Beach by own car or by bike, you should take Highway 402 straight, then, a few meters from the airport, turn onto the road leading to Sirinat National Park. At the entrance to the park you can park your bike or car. Next you should walk north about 500 meters. Already from afar you will hear the noise of flying planes.
See the map for the exact location of Mai Khao Beach.
There is an unusual airport, considered one of the most dangerous in the world..
Princess Juliana International Airport is located in the Dutch part of the island, and is unique in that its runway starts almost right next to Maho Beach, and since its length is not very long (only 2300 meters), all planes land very low altitude right above the beach.
Staring and taking breathtaking pictures of low-flying aircraft is perhaps one of the most popular activities among the many tourists who gather on Maho Beach during the arrival of aircraft. In many local bars and cafes you can see their arrival times.
But, despite such a harmless event from the outside as the landing of a liner, it can pose a real danger to people standing under it on the beach.
And the point is not even that the airliner can fall on people; by the way, in the entire history of the airport (it has been operating since 1942) there have never been such incidents here. The problem is the jet streams from landing and taking off airliners, which can blow you into the water. The authorities constantly warn about this - in addition to the barbed wire on the fence, adopted for those who want to sit on it, many corresponding shields are placed along the beaches.
In the entire history of the airport, there have been only 3 incidents here, two of them in the vicinity of the early 80s of the last century, and one at the airport itself quite recently - on January 14, 2014.
In 1970, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 passenger plane flying to Sint Maarten from the USA after several unsuccessful attempts landed at the airport in bad weather forced landing straight to the Caribbean Sea. 22 of the 57 passengers and one crew member were killed. It turned out that the airliner ran out of fuel due to several attempts to land the plane, and most of the people died due to the fact that they were not informed by the crew about the upcoming hard landing on water, because of which they did not prepare and did not fasten their seat belts.
The second crash occurred on December 21, 1972 with a small twenty-seater De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft. It crashed at night in the ocean near Saint Martin on its way from Guadeloupe, killing all 11 passengers on board along with the two pilots.
And the third incident occurred a couple of days ago, when a Boenig-747 of the Dutch airline KLM, en route to a parking lot after landing on time, made a left turn instead of a right - because of it, at least 17 cars parked nearby were damaged by its jet stream. They had broken windows and damaged paintwork, but no injuries were reported.
