The Best Snorkeling Beach in Phuket, Thailand

A Visit to Ao Sane Beach

During our month in Thailand, we were able to explore many of the 44 beaches around Phuket. Our absolute favorite for snorkeling was Ao Sane beach on the south end of the island.  While smaller than the more well known beaches like Patong, Karon, and Kata, it still has enough sand to spread out on. Note that the sand here is much coarser than elsewhere in Phuket. There are rocks and corals just off-shore that abound with tropical fish.  And if you get hungry, there’s a nice restaurant right on the beach.

(Disclosure: Ao Sane Beach didn’t make our Top Three list because, while the rocks provide great habitat for the fish and thus great snorkeling, even a little bit of weather means aggressive waves and unsafe swimming conditions. Check the forecast before you make the trip to this remote beach.)

How to Get to Ao Sane Beach in Phuket, Thailand

Ao Sane used to be called a secret beach, but with the internet these days it is hard to keep a secret!  However, its remoteness keeps it from becoming overly crowded.  It is located to the far south of the island, next to Nai Harn beach.  

To reach Ao Sane, you need to drive to the entry of Nai Harn beach and then continue down the road, actually going through the parking lot of The Nai Harn Resort.  The road continues on the other side of the resort and winds along the rocky coastline until you reach the parking lot for Ao Sane.  The road crosses a small bridge and continues on to the Baan Krating hotel, but for access to the beach you need to park before the bridge.  The road is paved the entire length from The Nai Harn Resort to the Ao Sane parking lot.  However, it is definitely exposed to the weather and has some rough patches.  Drive carefully!

Walk downhill from the parking lot and you will see a ramp and set of stairs leading you down to the beach.  There are a lot of large rocks along this beach, dividing it into three coves.  The first cove nearest the restaurant was the most popular and had the gentlest waves.  The middle cove is wonderful during high tide but inaccessible during low tide due to the numerous sharp corals.  The far cove requires a medium-length swim or a scramble over rocks.  

Snorkeling at Ao Sane

We saw a huge variety of fish at Ao Sane!  Another beachgoer commented that there were more fish here than on her recent trip to the Phi Phi Islands.  There were so many colorful fish darting around! I am by no means an expert in tropical fish identification, but here are some of the more memorable ones:

My favorite fish was the Moorish Idol.  I initially thought they were angelfish – a common mistake.  In fact, Moorish Idols are the only type of fish in the family Zanclidae.  We saw several of them, generally swimming by themselves.  The bright yellow against black stripes really caught my eyes, and combined with the long trailing dorsal fin made them a beautiful fish to watch.

What to Bring When Snorkeling in Thailand

There are not many changing stations at the beaches in Thailand, so we wore our swimsuits under our clothes when our day involved a beach.  I have a terry cloth swim cover-up that doubles as a towel which I usually wore as well.  In our beach bag, we brought a towel, a water bottle, goggles, snorkels, and sunscreen.  Joe used a carabiner to secure his motorcycle keys to his swimsuit.  We also had a second bag that we’d leave locked in our motorbike seat, containing a first aid kit and our wallets, as well as a second water bottle. Sometimes we’d leave our phones in the motorbike, but if we wanted to take pictures we put them in our bag on the beach while we swam.  We did keep an eye on our stuff and never had any issues.

Snorkeling Beach Packing List:

• Beach Towel or Beach Mat
• Goggles – use the toothpaste trick to avoid fogging
• Snorkel – we highly recommend a version with a splash guard and a purge valve
• Sunscreen – be sure to use zinc oxide or titanium dioxide sunscreen. Don’t trust the “reef-friendly” label on sunscreen as this label is not regulated. Learn more here.
• First-Aid Kit – because you should always be prepared
• Plenty of Drinking Water

Optional Items to Bring When Snorkeling

• Swimming Fins – While these look like they’d be a lot of fun, we ultimately decided they are an unnecessary and very bulky item to bring along.  The swimming fins do allow you to move quickly through the water with minimal effort.  But snorkeling is mostly floating on the water looking down at the amazing sea life below – there is no urgency to get anywhere.  
• Waterproof Pouch – We each have a waterproof pouch that we can use for valuables if we are in an area that seems a bit “fishy”.  I am not confident enough to use this with my phone, but it does work well for keys, money, and credit cards.
• Watershoes – The best snorkeling is around rocks and coral, and these can be sharp!  Watershoes protect your feet better than sandals.

The Restaurant at Ao Sane Beach

After a day of snorkeling at Ao Sane, you are sure to get hungry.  There is a small beachside restaurant serving a variety of drinks and Thai dishes.  The menu looks extensive, but when we went we were told many of the dishes were “out”.  However, what was available was tasty and fresh.  Prices were on par with other restaurants we had eaten at – our total meal for two was 630 baht ($18.50).  The view was nice and there were plenty of tables in the shade.  There was a bathroom that was usable, but if you’re able to wait there are better public restrooms around Nai Harn Beach.