Where the plane lands over the beach. Low-flying planes on Maho Beach, photo and video. Features of the air harbor

Mai Khao beach(Mai Khao, Mai Khao, Mai Khao) or "beach where planes land", as tourists call it, is located near Phuket Airport. You probably already understood that this beach is very good not only for our usual pastime: sunbathing and swimming, but also for amazing pictures against the backdrop of planes taking off or landing.

Mai Khao beach. The same beach with airplanes

The main highlight of Mai Khao Beach is the planes flying low over it that are landing. The strip starts right a few meters from the coast line and planes are flying very low overhead! As far as I know, there are only two beaches in the world where planes land and fly so low overhead: Phuket and California. So if you are in Phuket, do not miss the unique opportunity to take breathtaking pictures and videos.

In fact, it is a very interesting experience when you have a huge Boeing flying 20 meters above your head. After it lands, it can reverse the turbines and then hold on to your hats and caps and get ready to stand on your feet! You will be blown by a powerful jet of air! All in all, it's a very cool experience and I highly recommend visiting Mai Khao Beach.

In addition to airplanes flying overhead, Mai Khao Beach has another feature. Not palm trees grow along the beach, but coniferous trees! To say we were surprised to see them is an understatement. The minus of coniferous trees is needles. And since there are no sunbeds on this beach, and after the scorching sun we wanted to seal in the shade, we went to the trees, where we sat on our towels. As you probably already guessed, after such a rest, we had to sweat a lot, shaking off our towels from sticky needles.

In addition, Mai Khao Beach is a high breaking wave. Jumping in a wave, each time trying to jump over its crest - well, sheer pleasure. If you don’t make it in time, then the wave covers you with your head and throws you towards the shore like a fluff ... While having fun, we almost lost our sunglasses. You probably think: what kind of stupid person goes to sea with glasses?! and I'll tell you that it's me. haha)

Mai Khao beach. How to get there?

A beach with airplanes is one of those that you can visit on your own. If you are not on Mai Khao beach itself, then there are a couple of options for how to get to this intriguing beach with airplanes:

• First: You rent a motorbike and enter the name in Google Maps: Mai Khao beach and calmly drive to this point. There are several hotels along the coast where you can leave your bike for free. We just did exactly that. Leaving your motorbike, you will still need to walk literally 500 meters along the beach towards the airport. The only negative is that the road from there took about 50 minutes and during this time the butt turned into a pancake.
• Second: The second option is much more convenient, but slightly costly. You can order a taxi that will pick you up from your hotel and take you to the beach with airplanes comfortably under a light air conditioner. Our friends grouped up and took off for a taxi, because it's more economical, isn't it? You can order a transfer using this link.

I also saw groups in contact where you can order a car that will take you to this beach and then wait for you for an hour, after which it will take you back to the hotel. But, unfortunately, I can’t recommend this method, there were cases when the driver just left and left the guys on the beach and then they overpaid for the car.

Where is Mai Khao Beach located? How to get there

This map is clickable and if you are logged into your Google account, you can save the location and it will be displayed in your Google Maps application on your smartphone.

To get to Mai Khao Beach, you need to bypass Phuket Airport. And do not try to turn left immediately after the airport - you will run into a dead end and lose time. You need to exit on the main federal highway 402 and a few hundred meters after the airport, take the first turn to the right. This will be the road 3033 . On it you need to move as far as possible towards the sea. This will be Mai Khao Beach. You can easily find all these roads on Google Maps.

Hotels on Mai Khao Beach

Mai Khao Beach is not so rich in hotels and almost all of them are not very cheap. What can not be said about in general - they are very diverse, for every taste and budget. The most popular hotels in Mai Khao are:

• Grand West Sands Resort & Villas Phuket– a chic 5* hotel with a water park near the airport (about 8,000 rubles per night for 2 people)
• Maikhao Dream Villa Resort & Spa— large and beautiful villas right in the pine forest, and the beach is literally a minute away (from 28,000 rubles for a one-bedroom villa with a private pool per night)
• Maikhao Palm Beach Resort– excellent service and literally 2 minutes to a beautiful beach (from 6,000 rubles for double occupancy per night)
• Orchidilla Phuket Mai Khao Beach Houses— budget complex with holiday houses, with a kitchen, a living room and a bedroom (from 4,000 per night for a house with a private garden)
• Maikhao Beach Residence– a small cozy and budget hotel (the cost per night starts from 5,000 rubles for double occupancy)

1. If you want to take good photos, it is best to go to Mai Khao Beach in the morning. At noon, the sun will be right over your head and it will be difficult to take a picture of a landing plane without illuminating the frame. And in the evening the sun will be right behind the plane and this is not the best lighting for photography.
2. There is practically no infrastructure on Mai Khao, so I strongly recommend taking a towel or sunbed with you, as well as water and something to eat.
3. Due to the fact that this article will most likely be read by Russian people, I want to warn you that it is forbidden to fry meat and burn fires on the beach ... otherwise we know you, yeah)
4. The sun bakes like hell on the beach, so be sure to bring a panama hat and sunscreen. From the sun's rays, you can hide in coniferous trees, but keep in mind that they are not rubber. There will be plenty of people like you who want to.
5. If someone, like me, needs a fresh shower after the sea: there is a shower at the entrance from the beach to the hotel

There are many unique places on our planet, and one of them is located in Phuket - this is a beach located in the immediate vicinity of the landing strip. In this area of ​​the sea coast on the beach of Mai Khao (Nai Yang), you can capture taking off and landing planes in a photo or video and enjoy an unusual view.

Moreover, today there is such a direction in photography as spotting. This hobby has become an exciting hobby for many fans of shooting unusual situations and objects. Selfie fans who visit this country are sure to choose a beach on the coast in Phuket, where planes land overhead.

In fact, air transport lands 100 meters from the coastline, due to the perpendicular runway. The beach segment, which is located in front of the airport, is an open and unguarded place. Thus, any traveler can visit here. Everyone will agree that the sight of an airplane taking off overhead and the power of this iron machine, weighing several hundred tons, simply fascinate and make the heart beat faster.

Pay attention! Remember that landing an airplane is a complex technical process. When visiting this beach, you should be extremely careful, because the warm air currents from the turbines of air transport can literally knock you off your feet.

Location of Mai Khao Beach

If you flew to Phuket, then it will not be difficult to find Mai Khao beach. As mentioned above, it is located in close proximity to the airport in the northeast of the island.

The beach itself is a rather long sandy strip, the length of which is 11 kilometers. Previously, this was a favorite nesting place for leatherback turtles, which laid their eggs here. Today it is a developed part of the sea coast with a familiar, but rather modest infrastructure for tourists.

We also note that the place where the beach is located, relaxing on which you can enjoy the chic spectacle of taking off planes, is located within the borders of the Sirinat National Park. Therefore, in addition to the main attraction, tourists will be able to get wonderful impressions from exotic landscapes, unique flora and fauna, which Thailand is so famous for.

Beach Features

Near the beach, travelers will not find cafes and restaurants familiar to most resorts. Nevertheless, this area does not lose popularity, because its main advantage is that tourists and vacationers can capture how the plane will land.

• There is no special rescue service on the beach;
• The shore itself is not suitable for relaxing and swimming with children due to the problematic uneven bottom, which is unsafe for kids;
• On this beach, as a rule, there are few umbrellas and sunbeds, such equipment is provided on the territory of hotels;
• When going to the beach, be sure to take sunscreen with you, since there are no protective canopies on the coast.

We can say that the beach is not the best place for those who are used to comfortable rest, shopping, nightlife and entertainment. However, it is a popular part of the island for thrill-seekers.

During the day in Mai Khao is almost always crowded, everyone wants to catch an unusual shot. If you need a professional photo session, it is better to arrive before 9 am or after 19 pm. Planes will also fly low over the beach, but other tourists will not be present in the pictures.

Favorable weather, when the sea is calm, lasts in this place from November to April. At this time, it will be easier to photograph a low-flying airliner against a cloudless sky. Although hotel prices are lower from May to October.

It is not possible to see flying planes every day, this is directly related to weather conditions. After all, depending on the wind, airliners choose their landing approach. But the plane takes off in only one direction - over the beach. Liners fly so low that you can feel the heat of the turbines and the vibration of the air from their work. Gusts of wind sometimes blow away tourists' clothes and slippers, and also raise heaps of sand and shells into the air. Guards constantly drive away the most curious from the fences behind which the airport begins. Therefore, it is better not to go directly to the fence.

How to get to Mai Khao

Although the beach and the unusual airport are located nearby, it is impossible to freely move from one to the other. There are several ways to get to this place on the coast in order to capture airbuses flying near.

The best option to get from the airport to the beach is a taxi (highway 402). Public transport is rare. From the highway, the path lies through the Sirinat National Park or the Centara Hotel. Please note that for vehicle owners there is an entrance fee to the park, which is about 100 baht.

Another option is to go through the water park located in the southern part of the island. If you arrived on a rented transport, then you will have a place to leave it. The water park has parking. Also here you can order a transfer to the beach with cargo and passenger aircraft flying to Phuket.

As mentioned above, Mai Khao Beach is not the best place for shopping and entertainment. Although it is possible to do some shopping in the turtle village here (food, drinks, souvenirs). The main attraction is the view of how planes land.

The nearest entertainment center is an hour's drive from the beach. Note that due to the fact that Mai Khao is part of the national park, this beach is closed to all types of boats equipped with engines, including scooters.

That is, Mai Khao is an ideal place for people who love thrills (photos of planes close up), as well as those who come to relax and enjoy exotic nature, taking long walks along the seashore or enjoying the bright and juicy landscapes of the national park.

Climate and attractions

On the beach, travelers can not only take pictures of the planes taking off, but also enjoy the natural features of this island.

Vacationers can take advantage of small shops located along the coast. As a rule, near each of them there is an open area with a couple of tables where you can sit with friends and drink soft drinks.

Another interesting attraction of this island with a unique beach where planes fly is the fund for helping homeless cats and dogs (Soi Mai Khao, 10). As a rule, visitors to this place are couples with children who want to play with animals. The conditions for keeping pets here are very decent, and the entrance is free, and tourists can watch exotic animals at any time.

In 2017, Phuket entered the top three among the islands where tourists prefer to spend their holidays. Here you can see not only how airliners fly or fly away, but also a lot of other attractions.

Mai Khao is a place where you can get a lot of impressions from airliners flying overhead. But for a leisurely holiday on the sea coast, it is better to choose other beaches on the island.

Video

There are places on the planet where planes land very close to people, and where they can be captured on a photo or video camera. This occupation in the common people is called spotting, although spotting is a whole hobby and photographing flying cars is only part of it. So, for spotting, the beach with airplanes in Phuket is great, where I somehow went. I am not a spotter myself, but I liked it - I felt how a multi-ton colossus flies over your head, very unusual impressions. Still, I don’t like classic sights, but something like that.

If you are in Phuket, you must go. There it is not long to walk along the beach, and it will be interesting if you have never seen anything like this before.

On the map, you could see that there is Sirinat 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 Sirinat, he is nothing. And what is strange, there is enough garbage on its territory, what kind of national park is it then ... Visually it resembles just a small forest through which Thais scurry about on bikes and cars on their own business. Yes, there are a couple of places for picnics, but they look so-so. For me, it’s better to go to that part of Nai Yang Beach (), where there is no national park and there is no car traffic.

So it's not worth going to the national park itself. However, if you want to get to the beach with airplanes, 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 side of Nai Yang (and for some reason many people walk this way), but visually it seems that it will be much faster with Mai Khao.

In short, if you go from Nai Yang, then you will need to cross the Sirinat National Park. The fastest way to do this is in its northern part, where it is closest to the airport. The entrance and parking place will be approximately near this hotel (you can see the name and location at the link). Then it remains to walk 1 km on the sand.

Entrance to the park 100 baht. But they take, as far as I understand, only for transport, not from foot.

On the Caribbean Sint Maarten (the southern Dutch part of the island of Saint Maarten) you can sunbathe under the wing of an airplane: liners flying over Maho Bay are the main attraction of the coast. The snow-white strip of the beach rests on the runway of the airport Princess Juliana, giving the opportunity to all vacationers in the resort to enjoy amazing landscapes. Airplanes flying directly overhead seem to be within reach. Huge liners, descending, literally knock tourists off their feet: gusts of wind are so strong that warning signs are installed on the coast. Smaller replicas of the signs reading "Low-Flying Aircraft May Cause Injury" are the island's most popular memento.

The schedule of the nearest landings can always be found in cafes, bars, hotel lobbies and beach restaurants, so keeping an eye on the approach of liners is a simple task. The largest number of planes land here in the morning and in the afternoon.

When choosing Maho Bay as a holiday destination on Sint Maarten, be careful: planes fly here really often, and daily engine noise - after photographing a couple of dozen planes - can interfere with a pleasant stay. Be sure to hold the children by the hand: the gusts of wind when the liners approach are quite strong. To protect the health of babies, it is better to use earplugs. When landing air giants, you should not hold onto the fence of the airport: debris and gravel rising into the air can seriously injure you.

You can also watch the takeoff and landing of aircraft from the windows of the hotels surrounding Maho Bay.

Sint Maarten lies on the southeastern periphery of the "Caribbean hurricane belt" and is subject to typhoons, most likely between July-August and October, so travel during this period is best avoided.

How to get there

Sint Maarten is located in the Windward Islands group of the Caribbean. Most planes land at Princess Juliana Airport, one of the most popular in the region. The most convenient way to get to the island is with transfers in the cities - New York, Philadelphia and Miami. In the high season - from November to May - you can also fly direct flights from Toronto.

Sint Maarten is operated by Windward Islands Airways International N.V., also known as. It flies internationally from Princess Juliana airport to the neighboring islands of Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Barthelemy, Nevis, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda.

Location

Maho Bay with the beach of the same name is located on the southwestern coast of the island, located in the northern part of the Windward Antilles group (Leeward Islands, Islas de Barlovento).

For those who are afraid to fly :)

1. Princess Juliana International Airport, Fr. Saint Martin

This post has been translated and compiled specifically for Pikabu.ru (you finally go to it :))), just kidding :) in fact, we are growing and prospering)

Princess Juliana International Airport serves Sint Martin, the Dutch part of Saint Maarten. It is the second busiest airport in the Eastern Caribbean. The runway is only 2,180 meters long, barely enough for large airliners. Pilots have to land very low, right over Maho Beach.

That's why this place is so popular with planespotters. It is difficult to believe in the authenticity of the pictures of giant liners flying at a height of 10-20 meters above sunbathing tourists, however, they are real. Despite difficult take-off and landing conditions, not a single accident has been recorded at this airport so far.

And here is the video of the landing:

2. Huancho 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 due to the size of the runway.

Juancho Airport occupies a fairly 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 to indicate that the airport is closed to commercial aviation.

The threat is the location of the airport. On the one hand, high mountains, and on the other - the sea and sheer cliffs. The danger is that when landing or taking off, the aircraft may go off the runway.

3. Courchevel Airport

Courchevel is the largest ski resort in the world, located in the French Alps. Courchevel Airport is notorious in aviation for its short runway, 525 m (1,722 ft) long and 18.5% incline. You have to land and take off on a slope to set the required speed.

Who can land here? Well, Pierce Brosnan would make that small list. It is this airport that is shown at the beginning of the movie "Tomorrow Never Dies". For the rest, the only way to get here is by private planes, helicopters, charter flights. Pilots go through extensive training to land in the CVF.

You can skip right to the 4th minute, before that there are a lot of conversations and a flight. And landing, judging by the video, is really very difficult ...

4. Gustav III Airport, St. 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 less than twenty passengers and are designed to give vacationers a glimpse of the island from above. A short runway runs down the slope and ends right at the beach. Airplanes take off over the heads of tourists, everywhere there are signs prohibiting being at the end of the runway.

And here crash aircraft at this airport

5. Barra International Airport

Barra Airport is the only airport in the world where planes land on the beach. The airport is located on the wide beach of Tri More, on the Isle of Barra, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. If you want to get here on a commercial plane, you can book tickets from British Airways, there are flights to Barra from Glasgow and Benbecula.

The airport literally floods with 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, as the airport is not designed for night flights. You probably don't want to walk along the beach at Barra Airport, unless you're a fan of aviation. For such cases, signs are placed everywhere: “When the windsock is up and the airport is working, it is forbidden to be on the beach.”

landed right on the beach)) looks 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 because of the short runway surrounded by high mountains and the ocean. This arrangement and the length of the runway makes landing very difficult for even the most experienced pilots.

Previously, the runway was only 1400 m long, but after a plane crash in 1977, it was decided to increase the length of the runway by 400 m. reinforced concrete pillars about 70m high

For the expansion of the new runway, Funchal Airport received the Outstanding Structures award from the international association IABSE. In Portugal, this award is considered the "Oscars" of engineering.

7. Lukla Airport, Nepal

A huge mountain on one side, and a kilometer cliff on the other. And this is at an altitude of 2900 m, not so much depends on you.

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 summit Mount Everest. The airport is very popular, as in the city of Lukla, many begin climbing Everest. You can read more about this airport