Rawai Beach

Rawai Beach is known for its seafood and scenery, but not its swimming. Like nearby Ao Chalong, the beach is littered with refuse, there are too many boats, and the shallow water is anything but crystal clear.

Rather than sand and sea, Rawai's main attraction is the food. Along the length of the beach you'll find vendors cooking up a fresh seafood storm. Rawai is best visited as a day trip, and a beachside seafood feast couple with a few cold drinks can easily stretch out to a relaxing afternoon. The prices are very reasonable, particularly at the Pakbang Food Centre toward the eastern end of the beach. Crab, prawns, and fish served with sticky rice and fresh vegetables cost a fraction of what you'd pay in Patong.

Most vendors speak at least a little English and many have simple English menus, but it's easy enough to just point out what you want. Meals are served either on small tables surrounded by recliners or on rattan mats that you can relax on -- all under the shade and well appointed looking out to sea. The only nuisance here is the flies and stray dogs -- they like the food too.

The island directly offshore that you can see from Rawai Beach is Ko Bon. The island is home to a beach reserved solely for the guests at the nearby Evason Phuket Resort (which has no beach of its own to speak of).

Aside from Ko Bon, there's a bunch of other islands close to Rawai Beach, including Ko Kaew, Ko Lon, Ko Aeo and Ko Hae, which is better known as Coral Island. These islands can be visited privately by chartered boat or ask around in Rawai or Ao Chalong to find out about island tours that will take you (and a bunch of like-minded souls) out to a few of them in one hit -- this will almost certainly be cheaper than doing it privately.

 

If you'd rather do your own thing, the longtail boats that clog Rawai beach are your best bet. You can charter a longtail just to go lay on the beach or snorkelling and fishing trips are also available -- and don't forget there's a few hidden away beaches on this part of Phuket's coast that are just as good as the strips of sand on the offshore islands -- so see what the boatman suggests.

If it's snorkelling you're after, the area to the west of Rawai, towards Promthep Cape is about the best.

Hiring a boat will be a private charter, and you won't see any price list. A full-day's sight-seeing and snorkelling should cost around 3,000B, but be prepared to bargain hard.

Orientation
Rawai Beach is set close to Phuket's southern tip at Promthep Cape. While it looks reasonably close on the map Yu Nui and Nai Harn Beach to the west and Ao Chalong to the east are not within easy walking distance. The beach has a single road that runs it's length and all the accommodation options are on the back side of said road.

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