HAT NAI HARN AND LAEM PROMTHEP

Around the next headland south from Kata Noi, HAT NAI HARN -18km Southwest of Phuket town – is generally considered to be one of the loveliest beaches on the Phuket island, given character by a sparkling saltwater lagoon and dominated by the luxurious hotel, the Phuket Yacht Club.

Follow the coastal road 2km south and you’ll get to a small bay which has coral reefs very close to the shore, though the currents are strong and the sewage pipes uncomfortably close. A further 1km on, you reaches the southernmost tip of the Phuket at the sheer headland of Laem Promthep. Wild and rugged, jutting out into the deep blue of the Andaman Sea, the cape is one of the island’s top beauty sports: at sunset, busloads of tour groups get shipped in to admire the scenery – and just to ensure you don’t miss the spectacle, a list of year-round sunset times is posted at the viewpoint. Several reefs lie just off the cape, but it’s safer to snorkel from a boat rather than negotiate the rocky shore.