Rawai

A bustling, laid-back area in south Phuket popular for delicious, local seafood.

Rawai was probably our favourite area during our time in Phuket, unfortunately we were only here for 3 nights but wished we had spent longer. It feels like you are in ‘real’ Thailand; food markets, longtails lining the beach, local restaurants and delicious seafood. It is much more our style and way of travelling to experience an area authentically that has not just been built up for tourism and what tourists want like the Laguna area. It has a very laid back vibe and the area is popular with expats.

We stayed in the beautiful Vijiit Resort, a gorgeous, lush escape along the coast from Rawai beach. The Vijiit helped us to see the area easily by providing a free shuttle bus to the main points of interest; Rawai Fish Market, Nai Harn beach and Promthep Cape, an excellent sunset viewing point.

Rawai beach is not a beach that you would choose to spend the day on sunbathing and swimming but there are many beaches close-by to visit, like Nai Harn. Nai Harn beach was probably our favourite beach on the island, and we visited A LOT of beaches! It has a good, chilled vibe and it was lovely to sit and watch people walking across the beach greeting each other, children playing together and dogs running up and down. It is lined with coconut trees with a few local restaurants behind the street, next to the car park, offering great food and drinks. It is clearly an area where people live and know each other.

Rawai fish market was close to the Vijiit hotel, only a 5minute drive to the end of the road to Rawai Pier. Dylan and Elis enjoyed wandering down the pier, bothering the fisherman and watching in awe as a group of local Thai kids were jumping off the pier and precariously swimming up to the rocks. To the left of the pier is Rawai Fish Market where you can buy freshly caught fish on one side of the road and get a restaurant to cook it on the other.

If you walk all the way through the fish market you will come to a row of traditional fishing houses where fishermen still live in small shacks, living off the sea with the small beach behind lined with long-tail boats. This area was packed with kids running up and down the alleyways chasing chickens, women chattering and men sleeping. Sadly, lots of market stalls were closed but people were very happy to see tourists coming back and were asking questions about ‘Sandbox’ and why we would want to come back to Phuket. They were very happy to have us there, not quite believing that we too, were delighted to be there!

If you walk to the right of the pier past some small restaurants and shops you come to a long road running along the beach with restaurants, bars and shops. This area, along with Laguna/Bang Tao area, was an area which was still looking alive and functioning well, there weren’t that many places shuttered up and there were many supermarkets and convenience stores open. The whole area has a lively atmosphere to it. We stopped at a few bars along the way overlooking the longtails, watching the sun going down.

There are many islands nearby that you can visit, we did a boat trip to Coral Island which was simply spectacular. There are also other islands like Bon Island and Buddha island – we didn’t visit but there are many tour companies that can let you know what is available. In low season it was tricky with the weather to organise too many boat trips.

Rawai is not an area where you will find acclaimed chefs, trendy cafes or a variety of international cuisine. The restaurants all have the same traditional, wooden aesthetic, cheap beer and delicious food – exactly why we loved it!

We are always happy to answer any questions you have about travelling to Phuket during Sandbox. Please reach out to us by email thewanderingwhites@gmail.com or on Social Media. Follow us on Social Media for our Instagram stories, posts and Tweets whilst we are here in Phuket.

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