Banana Beach

Banana Beach is a curving bay of white sand on Phuket’s northwest coast, tucked between rocky headlands below the coastal road that links Bang Tao and Nai Thon. For years it was one of the island’s quieter beaches, reached only on foot down a steep jungle trail or by longtail boat, but that has changed: in late 2025 the old hilltop trail was closed off and a new parking area opened at the north end, along with a beach club.

The water is still the main draw and remains excellent – calm and clear inside the protective headlands, with good visibility for swimming and some snorkelling around the rocks at either end. The sand is soft and the bay backs onto green hillside, so it photographs as well as it ever did.

What has gone is the sense of having the place to yourself. There is now a beach-club restaurant and bar with rows of numbered sunbeds, music, and food and drink service, plus a parking fee of around 100 baht. It is busiest in the middle of the day when day-trippers and tour vans arrive; come early on a weekday if you want the calmer, emptier beach the older guidebooks describe.

The best weather runs from November to March, with calm seas and little rain. Reach the bay by car or motorbike to the north-end car park, or by longtail boat from a neighbouring beach. Bring water, sunscreen and cash for parking and the beach club; there is shade under the trees at the back of the sand if you would rather not rent a bed.