Mai Khao, Phuket: buying property beside the airport and Sirinat National Park

Mai Khao is the subdistrict at Phuket’s northern tip, with Phuket International Airport inside it and a beach inside Sirinat National Park. Houseviser carries only four public listings there, all ready and all for sale, so a buyer here chooses one building and one title more than an area. Houseviser treats Mai Khao as one map point plus the listings tagged to it, and distances in this guide are straight lines from that point. Mai Khao and Nai Yang area guide — Phuket's quiet north coast covers Mai Khao and Nai Yang together; Buying property in Phuket — complete guide for foreign buyers and Phuket districts overview — every area compared for foreign property buyers give the wider picture.

What is Mai Khao like to live in?

Three fixed things set daily life: a long national-park beach, an airport inside the subdistrict, and a very short list of homes.

Mai Khao beach is the longest in Phuket province. It runs without a break from Nai Yang past the airport to Sai Kaeo beach. Visitors do not favour swimming here, because the seabed is fairly deep and steep. The beach is one of the richest sand-crab habitats in the province.

Between November and February sea turtles come to lay eggs on Mai Khao and Nai Yang beaches. Leatherback turtles formerly nested on a stretch of beach in the park: 166 eggs were laid between 1999 and 2013, and none have been observed there since 2013.

The airport is about 2.4 km from the map point. Aircraft sound at a given home depends on where it stands and which way its windows face.

The park is rainy all year, with the heaviest rain from May to September.

What property is for sale in Mai Khao, and what does it cost?

Houseviser’s Mai Khao listings are four ready homes: three apartments and one house, all for sale. On 5 November 2026 all four were public, completed in 2019 (three listings) or 2021 (one). None was under construction or off-plan, so you can see the building before you pay.

In the 1 November 2026 snapshot, Houseviser’s 3 sale apartments in Mai Khao had asking prices from THB 700,000 to THB 11,500,000, with a median of THB 1,800,000. One house was listed at THB 19,000,000. Both groups are below Houseviser’s five-listing low-sample line.

The four listings span 20 m² to 504 m² of built area and THB 700,000 to THB 19,000,000. The apartment median covers three units of very different sizes.

• One pin. All four listings carry the location’s own map point, so none shows where a unit stands relative to the beach, the airport or the park boundary. Ask for the real address.
• Few buildings. Two of the four sit in one project, so the set covers a few buildings, not the whole subdistrict.
• Mixed tags. Two listings carry a freehold tag only (the house and one apartment) and two a leasehold tag only (the two smallest apartments).
• Land. Houseviser’s record gives the house 1,150 m² of land. That is the listing’s record, not a verified title area.

An ownership tag is the seller’s description; the title decides. A freehold tag on a house does not mean a foreign buyer can hold it. The rules are in Freehold vs leasehold property in Thailand — what's the difference and which to choose, Foreign property ownership in Thailand — what you can and cannot own, The 49% foreign quota in Thai condos — how it actually works and Can a Thai company own property, and does a foreign holding company change that?.

What is the rental market in Mai Khao like?

Houseviser has no rental listings in Mai Khao. On 5 November 2026 none of the 4 public listings was for rent, and none carried a rental-programme tag. A buyer who wants rental income builds the case from the building itself.

For short-term rental, gross rent is the nightly rate × occupancy × 365. For a long-term lease, it is the monthly rent × 12. Net yield is that gross minus management, fees, tax and repairs, divided by the price. Rental yields in Phuket — what investors actually earn uses the same formula.

• Rent. Ask for signed comparable leases from the same building, with dates. An advertised rent is not a signed one.
• Who manages. If a manager or a pool runs the letting, read the contract. Rental pool and guaranteed return programs in Phuket — how they actually work explains how pools split income.
• Long lets. For a yearly tenant, Long-term rental contracts in Thailand — landlord and tenant essentials covers the lease terms.
• Exit. Ask who the next tenant or buyer is likely to be, and what a resale took in this building.

What are the pros and cons of buying in Mai Khao?

Who is Mai Khao right for?

Mai Khao suits a buyer who wants a ready apartment or house near a national-park beach at the northern tip of the island, and who flies often: the airport is about 2.4 km from the map point. It also suits a buyer who is happy to choose from a very short list and read each title and each building. And it suits someone who puts a long national-park beach ahead of services on foot.

Who should not buy in Mai Khao?

For some buyers Mai Khao might not be the right fit:

• A buyer who wants a wide choice. Houseviser had 4 public listings here on 5 November 2026.
• A buyer who wants a proven rental yield. None of the 4 is for rent.
• A family that needs an upper-secondary or international-school route. The tambon has none.
• A buyer who wants a swimmable beach all year. The seabed is deep and steep.
• A buyer who wants daily services on foot.
• A buyer who needs a freehold title to a house or condominium unit and has not checked the quota and the title.
• A buyer who is sensitive to aircraft sound.

Mai Khao vs Nai Yang: which is better for a buyer?

Nai Yang offers more listed choice; Mai Khao offers a shorter list of ready homes for sale. The two map points are 4.8 km apart, and both beaches belong to Sirinat National Park.

Nai Yang has rental listings to compare; Mai Khao has none. All four Mai Khao listings are ready, so you can see a finished building.

Nai Yang, Phuket: buying property and living beside Sirinat National Park covers Nai Yang alone, and Mai Khao and Nai Yang area guide — Phuket's quiet north coast covers both together. For the wider north-versus-south choice, see North vs South Phuket property — a practical buyer comparison.

Where is Mai Khao in Phuket?

Mai Khao is a subdistrict (tambon) at the northern tip of Phuket island, in Thalang district. It covers 51.51 km². Phang Nga province borders it to the north and east, Thep Krasattri tambon of Thalang lies to the south, and the Andaman Sea to the west. It has 7 villages and 13,944 residents in 10,415 households, as of 31 January 2026.

Thalang is a district in the north of Phuket province. Takua Thung district of Phang Nga lies to its north, across the Pak Prah Strait. Phuket International Airport is in Mai Khao subdistrict, 32 km north of the city of Phuket. The bridges to Phang Nga sit at the northern edge of the tambon.

The tambon’s east coast is mud and mangrove and its west coast is sand beach. It includes Sirinat National Park land and state-treasury land.

Distances from the Houseviser map point, in straight lines:

• Phuket International Airport: about 2.4 km
• Nai Yang: 4.8 km
• Sarasin Bridge: 7.8 km to the north
• Layan: 11.0 km
• Thalang: 11.5 km
• Bang Tao: 14.4 km
• Patong: 26.2 km
• Phuket City: 28.3 km

Each neighbour distance runs to that location’s own map point, not to a beach or a town centre. The coordinate of Mai Khao beach is 1.8 km from the Houseviser point. A straight line is not a road. The main road, Highway 402, runs from the Sarasin Bridge south to Phuket City.

What are infrastructure, healthcare and schools like in Mai Khao?

The three public hospitals named here are all outside Mai Khao.

• Thalang Hospital, a public hospital run by the Ministry of Public Health, is 12.7 km away.
• Patong Hospital is 26.2 km away.
• Vachira Phuket Hospital is 27.5 km away.

Patong and Vachira Phuket are larger hospitals. All three distances are straight lines, not drive times. The Healthcare Accreditation Institute’s lookup, in the Links section, shows a hospital’s accreditation.

Local services start with the Mai Khao Subdistrict Administrative Organisation (SAO), the local government. Its website lists, among its services, a child development centre and an older-people’s school. For questions about a plot (roads, permits, local rules), the SAO office is the first place to ask.

Six schools stand in Mai Khao tambon: five Thai public schools and one private school, with levels from kindergarten up to lower secondary. None is international and none goes above lower secondary. The tambon covers 51.51 km², so a school inside it is not necessarily near a given listing. Phuket international schools and family districts guide covers the island-wide picture.

What should I check before buying property in Mai Khao?

Check the title, the park boundary and the real address before anything else.

1. Ownership and title. Confirm the ownership type against the title deed with a lawyer. Read Freehold vs leasehold property in Thailand — what's the difference and which to choose, Foreign property ownership in Thailand — what you can and cannot own, The 49% foreign quota in Thai condos — how it actually works and Can a Thai company own property, and does a foreign holding company change that?. For a condominium unit bought with money from abroad, see FET — the bank paper that proves your condo money came from abroad.
2. Outside the park. Have a lawyer confirm against the title document and the Land Office record that the plot or building stands on titled land outside Sirinat National Park. Where the boundary is in question, ask the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
3. Real address. All four listings share one pin. Get the unit’s real address and look at it on the ground.
4. Building papers. For a resale unit, ask for the completion certificate and the building registration. For an unfinished building, read Off-plan payment schedules in Phuket — what is normal, what is predatory, Off-plan vs resale property in Thailand — risk profiles, payment schedules, when each makes sense and Off-plan investment risks in Phuket — what foreign buyers actually face.
5. Building rules and fees. Ask the building’s juristic person (the owners’ management body) about rules on pets, renovation and letting. Ask for the common-area fee, the management fee and the last year of bills, including utilities. See Property management fees in Phuket — what to expect for short-term and long-term rental.
6. Short-term letting. Confirm the legal status of the specific building. See Short-term rental in Thailand — Hotel Act 2004 reality and Phuket enforcement and Is Airbnb legal in Thailand? Not for most condos and villas.
7. Routes. Drive to the hospital, school, airport, shops, pharmacy and clinic at the hours you will use them, including night and rush hour.
8. Site visits. Stand on the balcony and in the bedroom when flights arrive and leave, and again at night. Visit in both halves of the year and look at the sea in more than one season.
9. A house. Check the land title and who may legally hold it.

Links

• Mai Khao Subdistrict Administrative Organisation (local government, Thai)
• Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (Thai)
• Department of Lands
• Phuket Province official site
• Phuket International Airport, Airports of Thailand
• Thalang Hospital (Thai)
• Patong Hospital
• Vachira Phuket Hospital (Thai)
• Healthcare Accreditation Institute, hospital accreditation lookup
• Sirinat National Park, English Wikipedia