Spotting is the name given to photographing aircraft landing at close range. In Phuket, the beach with airplanes is a real attraction. People come there not to swim, but to capture impressions and take unusual photographs. On the map this beach is marked as Nai Yang. Very close to Mai Khao Beach. I didn’t see any special marks or designations where one beach ends and another begins.
How to get to the beach with planes in Phuket
You need to go towards Phuket airport. You don’t need to get to the airport itself; it’s better to follow the signs to Sirinath National Park and park your car there, and then walk along the sea in the shade to the beach with the airplanes.
Taxi cost 1000 baht one way. Plan to visit the beach for several hours. If you wake up late, the whole daylight hours will go away.
Is the beach with planes worth 2000 baht and a whole day? It's up to you to decide. We spent a wonderful day full of impressions, walked around Sirinath Park, saw enough planes, and saw a piece of another Phuket. But it was not possible to take super photographs. The weather was gloomy. Good for walking, but not so good for photographs. Well, we are not such professionals as to catch amazing shots at once.
Well, we tried :))
Maxim and I walked to the beach along the sea from the Sirinat National Park. Everyone usually scolds him, saying there’s nothing to do there. We liked.
When planes land on the beach
If you have the time and desire to see a slightly different Phuket, head to the beach with planes early, right in the early morning. There are many people who want to photograph themselves against the backdrop of an airplane. Chinese, Europeans, Russians, families, couples, large groups, with small children - there are so many spotting lovers here! At the height of the day, you will need to try very hard to get a good shot!
They say there are gaps in the plane schedule. You can sit waiting for two hours and not catch a single plane. We were lucky, the landings came one after another.
Beach safety with planes in Phuket
The runway is literally a few meters from the beach. There are barriers, but it’s still better to take care of safety yourself.
When the plane takes off, the turbines create a wave of hot air. It literally knocks you off your feet and covers your eyes and nose if you stand with your back to the sea, facing the plane. It is better at this moment to sit on the ground and cover the child with a towel. Hats, panama hats and caps fly away just like that! Either put them away or hold them with your hands.
And this plane is getting ready to take off
But you can watch landing planes from any angle, even standing, lying down, or jumping. It's fun!
Mai Khao, Mai Khao, is a beach that is famous for the fact that planes fly very low here, right above your head, otherwise this beach is called the beach with planes in Phuket. There are only a few such beaches in the world where the airport landing and runway are located right next to the beach. Moreover, the beach itself is usually not closed, and people calmly swim in the sea while watching planes take off and land above their heads. What's unusual about this, you say? Yes, on small islands you can often see planes taking off and landing, often the landing strip is right in the sea, but rarely in these places you can walk, sunbathe and swim freely. This is what makes Mai Khao Beach in Phuket so unusual. Looking from the side is one thing, but standing above low-flying planes is completely different - usually, emotions just go wild.
Mai Khao - beach with airplanes in Phuket - how to get there?
There are 2 options for stopping a vehicle if you are driving on your own by car or moped. Both of these options are located on opposite sides of the airport.
- 1 option— get to the Sirinath National Park and park the moped in a parking lot in a crowded place. In this case, you will need to go to the north of the island 500-600 meters through Sirinath Park, and entrance to the park is paid. Cost - 100 baht per person.
- Option 2- enter the name of Mai Khao beach in Google maps and drive to this point, see the detailed route at the bottom of the page. There are many hotels on the coast and you can leave your moped here for free. We used this option. After you park the moped, you will need to walk the same 500-600 meters along the path near the beach to the south towards the airport. The paths are good, and walking in the shade of coniferous trees is very pleasant.
Hotels that run along the beach - Grand West Sands Resort & Villas Phuket , Orchidilla Phuket Mai Khao Beach Houses, Coriacea Boutique Resort . If you are traveling with small children and want a good 5-star hotel with a beach 50 meters away, then these options are for you.
If you are staying near the beaches of Patong, Kata, Karon, then it will take about 50-60 minutes to get to the beach with planes on your own by moped. The path is not close, and it is best to leave either early in the morning or at sunset, since while waiting for the planes to land and take off, you will have absolutely nowhere to hide from the sun. We wanted to leave early in the morning from our hotel in Patong Oscar Boutique Hotel early, but as always, it took us a long time to get ready, in the end we arrived at the beach at 13:00, it was very hot, we were able to stay on Mai Khao for only an hour, but we didn’t have that much time It was enough, we saw enough of the planes and took various photos from different angles.
Flights to Phuket
Mai Khao - description of the beach with airplanes
Mai Khao Beach is the longest beach in Phuket, its length is 11 km. Some people like this beach, some don't. It all depends on the time of year you decide to come here. During the season, Mai Khao beach is clean, there are no waves, and the water is clear. The only negative is that there are no sun loungers, as well as various bars and cafes. You can only eat in the restaurants of hotels located along the beach. During the off-season there are big waves on Mai Khao, garbage washes up on the shore, it’s not a very pleasant sight, however, I only saw it in photos on the Internet.
I liked the beach with airplanes in Phuket so much that I wanted to come here again during our stay on the island, but, unfortunately, it didn’t work out. We already had a very busy program.
Beach with airplanes - how to take good photos? My emotions.
It’s easy to just get to the beach with planes and wait for these same planes; it’s more difficult to choose the right angle and place so that the entire size of the landing plane is visible. After spending about an hour on Mai Khao beach, we realized that planes always land in the same line and there is not much space to take beautiful photos, but there are always people.
For me, the best angle was to simply stand in front of the plane, while my husband squatted down and took photos and videos practically from the ground. This angle allows you to fully show yourself and the entire aircraft behind you. You can also take photos from the side, as if you were touching the plane with your hand. The most important thing here is not to freak out in the heat and wait for the next plane to land. We were very lucky - planes landed literally every 5 minutes. Sometimes I didn’t even have time to plunge into the water to cool down before the small dot of the plane was again visible from afar.
Don’t forget about your safety - planes taking off and landing bring a hot wave of air, even hotter than the sun. The first time, when the plane was flying behind me, I couldn’t resist, I looked at it and the sight of a huge colossus flying right at me made my knees automatically buckle, I wanted to bend down and hide :) Inside, in my soul, everything rises, and you you don’t understand why you are here at all and what you want to do. The second time I was already bolder, and then I got so used to it that I no longer noticed the size of the planes rushing towards us. The most spectacular are, of course, Boeing and Airbus. Qatar Qirways, Air Asia and other planes landed next to us.
Coniferous trees on Mai Khao beach
A distinctive feature of Mai Khao beach is that along the beach there are not palm trees, but coniferous trees! This is the first time I have seen such a combination in Asia, it really looks very unusual. The downside of coniferous trees is, of course, needles. Since there are no sun loungers with umbrellas on Mai Khao beach, after an hour of actively photographing airplanes in the direct sun, we found a place in the shade of coniferous trees, laid down our towels and relaxed with pleasure. As you might have guessed, after this it was very difficult to shake off the needles from the towels.
Since we were on the beach with planes at the peak hour of the sun, there were few people, they went to their hotels for lunch and rest. Along the beach we found a couple of swings, which we enjoyed swinging on; it felt like we were on some kind of uninhabited island. People seem to have all died out. In general, we really enjoyed our time on Mai Khao beach.
There are places on the planet where planes land very close to people, and where they can be captured on photo or video camera. This activity is popularly called spotting, although spotting is a whole hobby and photographing flying cars is only part of it. So, the beach with airplanes in Phuket is great for spotting, where I once went. I’m not a spotter myself, but I liked it - I felt like a multi-ton colossus was flying over your head, a very unusual experience. Still, I don’t like classic sights, but something like that.
It is located in close proximity to the beach, so vacationers on this beach had the opportunity to see planes landing and taking off. To be honest, I don’t know the name of this beach, because somewhere here it turns into. Therefore, in some reports they write that this is Nai Yang, in others that it is Mai Kao. But, in fact, this is not important, because the main thing is the planes!
The airport's runway is located perpendicular to the coastline and planes land and land 100 meters from the shore. The section of the beach opposite the airport is free to visit and is not guarded in any way. You can come there at any time and feel the full power of the aircraft for yourself. It’s an interesting feeling, I’ll tell you, to see several hundred tons flying right above you. But that's not all! I didn’t know about this, somehow it never occurred to me. When the plane takes off, or rather stands at the start, powerful air currents come from its turbines directly towards the beach, and if you fall under them, it practically knocks you off your feet. But if anything happens, there is somewhere to hide - behind the concrete blocks on which the fence stands.
If you're in Phuket, be sure to go. It’s a very short walk along the beach, and it will be interesting if you’ve never seen anything like this before.
On the map you could see that there is Sirinath National Park near the coast and the airport. Usually in national parks there is something interesting or at least beautiful: jungle, trails, views, mountains, waterfalls, etc. But there is nothing in Sirinata, he is nothing. And what’s strange is that there is a lot of garbage on its territory, what kind of national park is this then... Visually it just resembles a small forest through which Thais scurry about on bikes and cars about their business. Yes, there are a couple of picnic areas there, but they don't look so good. For me, it’s better to go to that part of Nai Yang beach (), where there is no national park and no traffic.
So it’s not worth going to the national park itself. However, if you want to get to the beach with planes, you will have to cross it.
Visiting information
Phuket beach, where planes land, can be accessed from two sides: from Nai Yang and from Mai Khao. I walked from the Nai Yang side (and for some reason many people walk this way), but visually it seems that from Mai Kao it will be much faster.
In short, if you go from the Nai Yang side, you will need to cross the Sirinath National Park. The fastest way to do this is in its northern part, where it is closest to the airport. The entrance and parking space will be approximately near this hotel (you can see the name and location using the link). Then you only have to walk 1 km along the sand.
Entrance to the park is 100 baht. But, as far as I understand, they only charge for transport, not for people on foot.
For those who are afraid of flying :)
1. Princess Juliana International Airport, o. Saint Martin
This post has been translated and compiled specifically for Pikabu.ru (you should finally go to it :))), just kidding :) in fact, we are growing and thriving)
Princess Juliana International Airport serves Sint Maarten, the Dutch part of the island of St. Maarten. It is the second busiest airport in the Eastern Caribbean. The runway is only 2,180 m long - barely enough for large airliners. Pilots have to land very low, right over Maho Beach.
That's why this place is so popular among plainspotters. It is difficult to believe the authenticity of the photographs of giant airliners flying at an altitude of 10-20 meters above sunbathing tourists, however, they are real. Despite the difficult take-off and landing conditions, not a single accident has been recorded at this airport.
Here's a video of the landing:
2. Juancho Airport - Irauskin, Saba Island
Juancho Airport is the only airport on the Caribbean island of Saba, Netherlands Antilles. It is widely known among experienced pilots for its runway size.
Juancho Airport occupies quite a large part of the small island of Saba. Some experts are of the opinion that the airport is one of the most dangerous in the world, despite the fact that no accidents have occurred here. There is an X on each side of the runway, indicating that the airport is closed to commercial aviation.
The location of the airport poses a threat. On one side there are high mountains, and on the other - the sea and steep cliffs. The danger is that the plane may go off the runway when landing or taking off.
3. Courchevel Airport
Courchevel is the largest ski resort in the world, located in the French Alps. Courchevel Airport is notorious in aviation due to its short runway, 525 m (1,722 ft) long and with a slope of 18.5%. You have to approach and take off on a slope to set the required speed.
Who can land here? Well, Pierce Brosnan would be on that short list. This is the airport shown at the beginning of the movie Tomorrow Never Dies. For others, the only way to get here is by private planes, helicopters, and charter flights. Pilots undergo extensive training to land at the CVF.
You can skip straight to the 4th minute, before that there is a lot of talking and flying. And judging by the video, it’s really very difficult to land...
4. Gustav III Airport, Saint Barthélemy
Gustav III Public Airport is located in Saint-Jean on the Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy. Most passenger planes, such as the Twin Otter, carry fewer than twenty passengers and are designed to give vacationers a view of the island from above. The short runway runs along the slope and ends right at the beach. Planes take off over the heads of tourists, there are signs everywhere prohibiting standing at the end of the runway.
And here crash plane at this airport
5. Barra International Airport
Barra Airport is the only airport in the world where planes land on a beach. The airport is located on the wide beach of Tri Moor, on the Isle of Barra, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. If you want to travel here by commercial plane, you can book tickets with British Airways, with flights to Barra from Glasgow and Benbecula.
The airport is literally flooded by high tide once a day. If you arrive in the evening, you will notice several cars in the parking lot with their headlights on. This is additional lighting since the airport is not designed for night flights. You probably won't want to walk along the beach at Barra Airport unless you're an aviation fan. For such cases, signs are placed everywhere: “When the windsock is raised and the airport is operating, it is prohibited to be on the beach.”
landed right on the beach)) it looks so unusual)
6. Madeira Airport (Portugal)
Madeira International Airport, also known as Funchal Airport and Santa Catarina Airport. It operates national and international air services on the island of Madeira. Madeira Airport is considered one of the most dangerous due to its short runway, surrounded by high mountains and the ocean. This arrangement and length of the runway makes landing very difficult even for the most experienced pilots.
Previously, the length of the runway was only 1400 m, but after a plane crash in 1977, it was decided to increase the length of the runway by 400 m. In 2003, the runway was completely rebuilt, almost doubling the original length due to an external structure over the ocean, which is located at 180 reinforced concrete pillars about 70m high
For the extension of the new runway, Funchal Airport received the Outstanding Structures award from the international association IABSE. In Portugal, this award is considered the "Oscar" of engineering structures.
7. Lukla Airport, Nepal
A huge mountain on one side, and a kilometer-long cliff on the other. And this is at an altitude of 2900 m, not much depends on you here.
Lukla Airport is a small airport in eastern Nepal. In January 2008, the Nepalese government announced that the airport would be renamed in honor of Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to reach the summit of Everest. The airport is very popular as the city of Lukla is where many people begin their climb to Everest. You can read more about this airport
Incredible facts
The most incredible airport is located on the island of Sint Maarten in the Caribbean Sea. The strange thing about this airport is that planes, coming in to land, fly a few meters above the beach with tourists vacationing there, and the runway itself begins very close to the coast.
Looking at the photos of Boeings and Airbuses landing, it may seem that this is just a joke for those who like to play with Photoshop, but the reality is this: the island’s territory is so small, and there are so many people who want to come here, that you have to save space.
The slightest mistake by the pilot and you could end up in the water.
Planes are landing, disturbing the serene rest of vacationers.
The airport was built to serve the island of Sint Maarten. In the eastern Caribbean, this airport is the second busiest.
The runway is very small and starts just 12 meters from the beach, being only 2180 meters long.
Fortunately, there have been no reports of any accidents in the area of this dangerous airport.
Those who are afraid of thrills will prefer another, less “nervous” place to relax.
1) Airport on the Caribbean island of Saba. The runway of this airport is located in a rather strange place: there are cliffs at both ends. However, it costs an experienced pilot nothing to land the plane in the right place if there is at least some kind of runway.
A similar situation is observed on Madeira island , where there is a break on one side of the strip. Some time ago, this airport was notorious because it had a too short runway, which was sandwiched on one side by mountains and on the other by the ocean. Later the strip was expanded and doubled in size by installing a bridge with columns on one side.
Mountain Airport
2) Courchevel Airport (France). Courchevel is the name of a ski resort in the French Alps, which is visited annually by hundreds of thousands of tourists. The easiest way to get to these places is to take a plane.
Do you think it is impossible to build an airport in the mountains? It is possible, although a little strange. Courchevel Airport has a very short runway - only 525 meters long, with a slope of 18.5 degrees!
3) Barra Airport is the only airport in the world where planes land directly on the beach. The Isle of Barra is one of the islands of the Outer Hebrides archipelago, which belongs to Great Britain.
There is virtually no runway in these places, and planes land directly on the beach. Due to the tides, once a day this strange airport is literally submerged under water. Needless to say that relaxing on this beach is prohibited?
Unusual airport on the island
4) Kansai International Airport The Japanese city of Osaka occupies an entire island. Since the Japanese cannot boast of large spaces, and every piece of land matters, they had to build an airport, first building an island for it.
The artificial island consists of two parts, the length of most of it is 4 kilometers, and the width of the island is 2.5 kilometers. This island is a true masterpiece of engineering. Unfortunately, due to global warming and rising sea levels, this artificial island is in danger of being flooded.
