Ao Makham is a working bay rather than a resort one — a deep-sea port at one end, fishing boats, and a community that lives here rather than visits. It is also, quietly, where you get sea views with a coffee for a third of what the same view costs on the west coast.
The cafés and the piers
Two jetties sit on the water here: Visit Panwa and Coco Pier, both of which are as much places to sit and eat as places to catch a boat. Along the bay you will find Pha Lae Le, Moonstone, Celeb House and Kope de VAN — a genuine cluster rather than one lonely café, and all of them looking straight out over the water.
This is the part of the route where you stop moving. Nobody comes to Ao Makham to tick something off.
The paramotor field
Near the deep-sea port, by the Phu Chom Dao viewpoint, there is a paramotor airfield — and it is almost completely absent from English-language guides to Phuket. Flights run in two windows and last around 15 to 20 minutes, climbing to roughly 1,500 feet.
| Paramotor flights at Ao Makham | |
|---|---|
| Morning window | About 6:00 – 8:00 |
| Afternoon window | About 17:00 – 18:30 |
| Flight time | Around 15 – 20 minutes |
| Height | Up to roughly 1,500 feet |
| What you see | Phi Phi on a clear day, Promthep Cape, Big Buddha, the whole east coast |
The beach
Ao Makham has its own beach, and it is a local one — people from the surrounding community rather than hotel guests. It is not the reason to come, and if you want a swim on this side of the island, Ao Yon around the headland is the better bay by some distance.
Sunrise, not sunset
The whole of this coast faces east, which most visitors treat as a disadvantage because they have been told Phuket is about sunsets. It also means the early morning here is genuinely beautiful and completely empty — the light comes up over the water and across the bay while the west coast is still in shadow. The morning paramotor window exists for the same reason.
Getting there
Ao Makham is in Wichit, next to Cape Panwa, past Phuket Town — about an hour from the airport with clear roads, up to 1.5–2 hours in heavy traffic, and a long way from the west-coast beaches. This is the district most of our drivers live in, so an early start here is straightforward to arrange.
Pair it with
It works best at either end of a half day around the cape: the paramotor and the tower early, or the cafés here at the end after a swim at Ao Yon and the aquarium at Cape Panwa.
Frequently asked
Where is Ao Makham in Phuket?＋
Ao Makham is a bay in Wichit district on Phuket's south-eastern coast, next to Cape Panwa and past Phuket Town. It is about an hour from Phuket Airport with clear roads — allow 1.5 to 2 hours in heavy traffic — and it is on the opposite side of the island from Patong.
Can you do a paramotor flight in Phuket?＋
Yes. There is a paramotor airfield at Ao Makham near the deep-sea port, by the Phu Chom Dao viewpoint. Flights generally run 6:00–8:00 in the morning and 17:00–18:30 in the late afternoon, last around 15–20 minutes and climb to roughly 1,500 feet. Times shift with the wind.
What is there to do at Ao Makham?＋
Sea-view cafés and restaurants along the bay including Pha Lae Le, Moonstone, Celeb House and Kope de VAN, the Visit Panwa and Coco Pier jetties, a local beach, and the paramotor airfield near the port. It is a place to sit and eat with a view rather than a sightseeing stop.
Is Ao Makham good for swimming?＋
It has a beach, but it is a local one and not the main reason to come. For swimming on this side of the island, Ao Yon around the headland is calmer, shallower and better suited to it.
Keep reading
Written by the IslandTransfer team in Phuket and last reviewed on 20 July 2026. Things change here — if you spot something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.