Buying property in Mai Khao and Nai Yang, Phuket.

It depends on where you are and which way the wind is blowing. Aircraft land into the wind. For much of the dry season they come in low over the sea and cross the beach at the end of the runway, and Phuket101 names December to June as the best months for that. When the wind turns in the monsoon, they approach over the road and take off over the beach instead. The strip of sand directly in front of the runway is off limits under airport rules, and the plane-spotters stand to one side of it.

The noise is documented. In October 2019 Airports of Thailand said it had identified 277 households around the airport as affected by aircraft noise and had paid ฿9.1m to 64 of them. It was also buying out 29 landowners whose plots held 82 households above a Noise Exposure Forecast of 40, at an estimated cost of nearly ฿977m. Residents' complaints were first aired at a meeting in Mai Khao. Before you reserve, stand on the balcony through a busy afternoon of arrivals, and if you can, go back in the other season, when the aircraft use the runway the other way round.

Nai Yang is the bay just south of the runway: casuarina trees along the sand, the national park's headquarters, a handful of hotels and a village atmosphere. It is about 8 km by road from the terminal.

Mai Khao runs north from the airport for about 11 km, Phuket's longest beach, with a few large resorts such as JW Marriott, Renaissance and SALA spaced along it and long gaps of forest between them. There is no beach-road strip. The Splash Jungle water park is just north of the airport. At the island's far tip, the Sarasin Bridge crosses to Phang Nga.

The further north you go along Mai Khao, the quieter the flight path, the longer the drive and the more you depend on the resort you buy into.

Sirinat National Park was created on 13 July 1981 as Nai Yang National Park and renamed in 1992. It covers about 90 square kilometres, mostly sea, from Nai Thon north through Nai Yang and Mai Khao to Sai Kaeo. Sea turtles nest on these beaches from November to February. No leatherback eggs have been seen since 2013.

Park land cannot be sold, and plots next to it deserve extra checks. Your own lawyer should confirm the land document type, that the plot sits outside the park boundary, and that the building permit matches what was built. Our buying guide sets out the due-diligence steps. For coastal height limits, see the Phuket page.

From November to April, mostly. From May to October the south-west monsoon sends heavy surf onto this open coast and the red flags go up. Much of Mai Khao is empty sand with nobody nearby to help. Assume the flags apply to you, and say so in any guest information.

Phuket airport's second phase, taking capacity to 18 million passengers a year, is in design. More passengers mean more movements over the same runway, which matters most to Nai Yang and the southern end of Mai Khao. A new Andaman airport in Phang Nga has reached only the feasibility-study stage, so it should not shape a purchase today.

The buyers are owners who want a short transfer and somebody else to manage the property. Most stock is attached to a hotel, and guests book the resort rather than the area, so the operator's standards decide both your rental income and your resale price. Before you buy, ask how long the management agreement runs and what happens to the rental pool if the brand changes. Our rental yields guide shows how to judge a hotel-managed return.

How long is the drive from Mai Khao to Patong?

Allow about an hour. By road it is roughly 36 km from Nai Yang and 46 km from Mai Khao.

Is Nai Yang a real village or a resort strip?

A real village, with casuarina trees along the sand and the national park's headquarters. It feels far more local than the Mai Khao resorts.

Where is the nearest proper town?

Thalang, inland, for everyday shopping. For a full range of restaurants, schools and services, it is a 20- to 30-minute drive south to Bang Tao.

We have no project in Mai Khao or Nai Yang today. Our closest stock is around Bang Tao: Verdi Villas in Si Sunthon, pool villas from £209,000 (฿9.3m), and Sole Mio on Bang Tao Beach from £340,000 (฿15.1m). If you want to be minutes from the runway, tell us which resort or stretch of beach interests you. We will look at what is for sale there, new and resale, and come back with the management terms as well as the price. Contact the Thailand desk.