This chapter focuses on the beaches of West Coast Phuket and the coastline between the Sarasin Bridge and Ranong. It covers the two degrees of latitude on the Thai coast from just south of Phuket to the border town of Ranong in the north. The chapter encompasses the four west coast provinces of Phuket, Phang Nga, Takua Pa and Ranong. Many diving companies use the port of Thap Lamu to service the offshore islands of the Similans and Surin, while Ranong Town is the gateway to the Mergui Archipelago.
The most beautiful beaches
West Coast Phuket offers some of the clearest water and most beautiful beaches in the region. Consequently, here you find the biggest concentration of hotels and beachside activity in the Andaman Sea. Resulting advantages to any visiting yacht are obvious. but the buzzing jet skis and ski boats may offset the lure of restaurants, nightlife, shopping, etc.
In the southwest monsoon, West Coast Phuket anchorages are totally exposed, with a short swell (as much as three metres), a beach break, and the occasional strong onshore squall. There are no recommended anchorages on Phuket’s west coast during the southwest season.
Perfect shelter in the northeast
The wind usually shifts to the northeast monsoon in late November. However, westerly squalls can come up as late as Christmas. Once the northeast monsoon season is in, though, these anchorages offer perfect shelter in depths of 4-12 metres on a sandy bottom. Recommended anchors are Rocna, Bruce or Danforth, due to the harder sand lying just below the surface.
Not the only ones
Anchorages mentioned in this chapter are by no means the only ones on Thailand’s west coast. Indeed, during the northeast season, the entire west coast generally provides good shelter. Later in the season, a low northwesterly ground swell can make the more open anchorages a little uncomfortable. However, this does not generally mean they become dangerous.
Exhilarating sailing
Northeast offshore breezes provide strong conditions in relatively calm seas, a condition making for exhilarating sailing up and down West Coast Phuket.
Recent government regulations
Recent government regulations regarding use of public beaches has limited the availability of sun loungers, umbrellas and beachfront restaurants. These regualations have made the beaches more natural and beautiful to look at, but not less comfortable for the pale-skinned tourists. It’s an issue that divides the tourism industry; we would be unwise to try and predict future policy, but it has certainly changed some of the popular beaches to date.
Check out the anchorages from Phuket to Ranong
>>> Click herefor a complete list of anchorages in Southeast Asia Pilot.
Note that this website may not reflect the most recent updates to the printed book and the eBook. While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is accurate, the charts of anchorages are based on personal experience and satellite imagery and are intended as a guide only. They should not be used for navigation. Please refer to Official Hydrographic Charts of the respective countries.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We believe you'll be OK with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Or you can go to 'cookie settings' and choose which cookies to allow.
Privacy policy
Cookies are small text files that can be used by websites to make a user's experience more efficient. The law states that we can store cookies on your device if they are strictly necessary for the operation of this site. For all other types of cookies we need your permission. This site uses different types of cookies. Some cookies are placed by third party services that appear on our pages.
Necessary cookies help make a website usable by enabling basic functions like page navigation and access to secure areas of the website. The website cannot function properly without these cookies.
Marketing cookies are used to track visitors across websites. The intention is to display ads that are relevant and engaging for the individual user and thereby more valuable for publishers and third party advertisers.
Preference cookies enable a website to remember information that changes the way the website behaves or looks, like your preferred language or the region that you are in.
