Bang Tao Beach in Phuket, Thailand
Bang Thao, also known as Bang Tao and Laguna Beach, is a beach on northwestern side of Phuket.
Bang Thao is a large open bay with one of Phuket's longest beaches.
It was once used for tin mining, but has since been developed into a luxury resort.
Most of it is occupied by the Laguna complex, a massive five-hotel development with golf course.
There are, however, accommodations available outside Laguna at the bay's south end.
Dry season swimming is excellent, and at the bay's north end is a smaller bay, almost completely enclosed, at the mouth of which is some fine coral.
Plenty of places to eat, tour companies, and other tourist facilities are available either at Laguna or in the nearby town of Cheong Thale.
Bang Thao is about 25 minutes from Phuket airport and transfers can be arranged for about 600 Baht.
A metered taxi may cost about 50 Baht less.
Metered taxis can be much cheaper, but better if somewhat knowledgeable of the area.
Bang Tao is six kilometres long, with diverse environments
Bang Tao Beach is many things for many people.
Being over six kilometres long, many things happen within in its length.
At the southern-most end one finds the remnants of a small fishing village currently being transformed by tourism.
An anchorage for this community's traditional longtail boats lies in a protected hook of sand here.
Their boats now catch more tourist passengers than fish.
There are some wooden boat repair facilities here, a fancy housing estate and a couple of small beach hotels.
. Virtually all of Bang Tao's resorts are found immediately north of this community, in the southern two-kilometres of the beach – as the beach map shows clearly.
The central and northern stretches of Bang Tao are completely undeveloped, with just a few small restaurants scattered among the trees.
So much unoccupied beach on Phuket's prime west coast seems rather incongruous, especially here in this upmarket part of the island with many elite housing estates.
. The far northern end of Bang Tao is also called Layan Beach.
The kilometres of empty sand here are only now seeing the beginnings of tourism development, with the opening of a modern Beach Club in 2014.
Hotels have been trying to build in this area for years, but disputes over land titles have shut them out – much to the delight of those in the holiday housing estates who would love to see at least one stretch of Phuket beach left in a natural state.
See the video of this quiet beach at the end of the photos here, or additional info and photos at Layan Beach, tranquil and undeveloped.
. There are more true beachfront resorts here on Bang Tao Beach than on any other beach in Phuket.
The central and southern sectors of this beach hold 10 in total, mostly up-market, with a few mid and lower range.
While Bang Tao hosts thousands of visitors, its length is able to absorb and spread them out, resulting in a beach that is never anywhere near as crowded as Patong, Kata and Kamala.
Also, the huge, flat expanses behind this beach are still sparsely developed, with fewer urban hotels sending bodies to the beach than at the famous beaches further south.
Sand: the sand on Bang Tao Beach is much like that along all of Phuket's west coast; fine, white and soft underfoot.
It's great for kids to play in.
The beach is a little narrow, however, and at high tides much of it disappears underwater, leaving only a thin strip of sand high up.
. Water: the water is typical of Phuket's west coast; clear, warm and generally very calm through the high season months, making it quite safe for families with young children.
The far south end with a fishing community, boat anchorage and nearby houses is the only spot we see discoloured water being discharged into the ocean and signs of pollution.
. Shade: the beach is lucky to have a thick line of casuarina trees at the top of the sand providing deep shade.
Many resorts also provide umbrellas, so the options for shade to escape the heat of the day are generally good.
. Density of use: the south end of the beach where all of the beachfront resorts are lined up gets quite busy in the high season.
The photos here show the beach in early January 2014, the very peak of the high season.
The north end of the beach has almost no accommodation, only a few restaurants and is generally very quiet, with long stretches of empty beach.
. Children, family-friendly resorts: Bangtao Beach is one of the most child- and family-friendly beaches on Phuket – perhaps the best.
Many resorts have built facilities for families, and one even has special pricing and packages for children.
See BangTao; family-friendly beach & resorts for more details.
. Hawkers, vendors: hawkers patrol this beach regularly, but they are generally unobtrusive and quite polite.
Tropical fruit is the main offering – because it is popular – but some try to sell clothing and various tourist junk.
Many small, ramshackle stalls along this beach sell all manner of food and beach-related goods – see the photo gallery.
. Noise & tranquillity: the south end of the beach close to the resorts gets somewhat noisy in the high season with so many people and children playing here, but the north end is surprisingly tranquil.
No traffic noise is heard at any part of the beach.
. Jet-skis, watersports, snorkelling & diving: Quite a few jet skis operate off this beach.
Longtail boats are always available, taking guests on snorkelling and fishing trips, or on tours to remoter beaches.
Most resorts can organize diving trips to offshore islands and dive sites, or you can find independent diving companies advertised along the beach.
. Cleanliness, pollution etc: the sections of Bang Tao close to resorts is generally quite clean.
The more remote areas inevitably have plenty of plastic bags, drink bottles and varied junk half-hidden in the grass and bushes.
. Sunsets & sunrises: With Bang Tao facing directly west it offers regular evening spectacles as the red orb of the sun dips below the Andaman Sea.
Beach restaurants and bars all up and down the beach cater to the regular sunset-watching crowd with cold beer and drinks.
. Beach restaurants & bars: there are many non-hotel restaurants up and down Bang Tao Beach, with some even squatting and building illegally on the sand.
The on-sand dining choices are greater on this beach than on any other in Phuket.
. Sharks, jellyfish & stingers: Shark attacks are virtually unknown on Thailand's Andaman coast.
Sharks have been on the human menu for hundreds of years here, and there are few left – and those survivors have lived only by staying far from people.
Occasionally tiny jellyfish, or sea lice, with a sting about as intense as a mosquito turn up on Phuket beaches.
Deadly box jelly fish do exist on the Andaman Coast, but they are exceptionally rare, and there is only one recorded case of a foreign tourist being killed some years ago in Koh Lanta.
. Monsoon season: waves often pound the sand at this time of year, so swimming in the ocean is not always safe.
Rain storms sweep in across the ocean, but they are generally short-lived, leaving most of the daylight hours quite dry.
See the advantages of visiting Phuket during the 'green season' at Beauties of the monsoon season on Thailand's Andaman Coast.
Unlike the many beaches to the south of here, and those immediately north, Bang Tao does not have mountains behind the beach.
It's the only one backed by a wide, flat plain with villages, rubber plantations and the lagoons from abandoned tin mines.
There were some beautiful green rice fields until recently, though these have now disappeared under new housing estates and urban sprawl.
. The largest community in the area is Cherng Talay, a few kilometres in from the beach and adjacent to the entrance to the Laguna complex.
The biggest mosque in Phuket is found here, indicating a large Muslim presence.
This is also a rather contentious community, often at odds with both the locals resorts and the government.
There are also some Buddhists in the area, evidenced by several monasteries scattered along the main road.
. The extensive flat land at the back of this beach has allowed the development of many modern housing estates.
Some are within the Laguna Phuket resort complex, with many private houses and holiday villas overlooking the greens of the Banyan golf Club.
Many foreign expats live here, while a lot of houses have been purchased as holiday homes and are available for rent while the owners are at home overseas.
. Beyond Laguna, which controls most of the prime beach land, many other housing estates have sprung up, selling largely to the foreign market.
Several can be seen on the hills overlooking the north end of the beach.
Such property sales, however, have cooled following a boom in the years following 2000, as foreigners have learned that Thai government restrictions on foreign land ownership are real, have teeth, and the legal juggling needed to put a house securely in foreign hands is not always as secure as promised by agents.
. Before the tourism descended on Bang Tao there was no development near the beach at all, with just a small village of fishermen finding shelter in the protected corner at the far south end of the beach.
As in the rest of Thailand, those who were not fisherfolk shunned the beach and the more arid, salty land along it, and built their communities inland.
How things have changed.
With the coastline now Phuket's magnet for gold, everyone's focus is directed strongly on the beach and any spot with an ocean view.
And beachfront land prices have gone astronomical.
Like us and Join us at Xtreme Collections for more fun and knowledge.