Andaman Beach (Sunrise Beach) south - part of fishing village right, hillside bungalows of Viewpoint, far left (image Castaway Resort) - the northern third is out of frame to the right but can be seen in the shot below.
Andaman is the long beach which takes up most of the eastern side of the island. The section in the middle is dominated by the fishing village and is crowded with long tails, fishing traps etc and is the least attractive section, but as you head north it gets real nice. There are about 4 resorts in this direction. ANDAMAN RESORT is the northern most one and has a huge range of bungalows.
The nicest section of beach on the island IMHO is right at the northern tip of the east coast where Andaman beach wraps around and turns west to form a lovely white sand spit which extends outwards a short distance towards Ko Adang.
The northern end of Andaman is nicest - Andaman Resort's restaurant is to the left as are the more expensive bungalows. The traditional fan jobs are under those casuarina trees further from camera. The beach turns hard left towards Mountain Resort at the end - that is mountainous Ko Adang you can see background right.
MOUNTAIN RESORT is situated at the top of a low cliff overlooking this wrap around section at the north end of Andaman beach, and has a rep for being one the most attractive accommodation paces on the island.
I've always wanted to stay here and with The Lady seeking comfort, we went for this in the first half of the latest trip.
Approaching Mountain Resort in our longtail. Guys run down and pick up your luggage. Great clifftop restaurant to right. Clifftop and beachlevel bungalows are most expensive, other bungalows are ranged up hillside in the trees behind. Beachlevel building closest the stairway is the famous Karma Bar - no longer called that and under new management.
There is another stairway up from the beach out of frame to left.The restaurant serves up pretty good food at prices maybe 20% up on budget bungalow average.
Inclusive buffet breakfasts were pretty good, but tended to cool pretty quickly if the heating flames below the dishes blew out in the wind.
Wind was a problem on 2 of our 4 days - the infamous dry season north-easterlies kicked in strongly, so much so that conditions actually became unpleasant in the restaurant. I have spent a fair time in the Andaman and but mostly on sheltered beaches - exposed beaches are fewer but of the 20 odd days I've spent on such beaches only these 2 were windy enough to be unpleasant. However this is something I'm going to study up on more fully - good od WindGuru should be a help.
The nearest alternative restaurant to Mountain is Andaman Resort's, maybe 10 minutes away on the beach. You can keep walking past Andaman Resort and reach the start of the cross island WALKING STREET in about another 10 - plenty of good value restaurants here.
You can walk out the back of Andaman and take a more direct inland route to WALKING STREET and maybe save 5 minutes - you'll need a torch at night. And by turning right when walking out the back you can reach Sunrise Beach in around 10-15 minutes.
There is another stairway up from the beach out of frame to left.The restaurant serves up pretty good food at prices maybe 20% up on budget bungalow average.
Inclusive buffet breakfasts were pretty good, but tended to cool pretty quickly if the heating flames below the dishes blew out in the wind.
Wind was a problem on 2 of our 4 days - the infamous dry season north-easterlies kicked in strongly, so much so that conditions actually became unpleasant in the restaurant. I have spent a fair time in the Andaman and but mostly on sheltered beaches - exposed beaches are fewer but of the 20 odd days I've spent on such beaches only these 2 were windy enough to be unpleasant. However this is something I'm going to study up on more fully - good od WindGuru should be a help.
The nearest alternative restaurant to Mountain is Andaman Resort's, maybe 10 minutes away on the beach. You can keep walking past Andaman Resort and reach the start of the cross island WALKING STREET in about another 10 - plenty of good value restaurants here.
You can walk out the back of Andaman and take a more direct inland route to WALKING STREET and maybe save 5 minutes - you'll need a torch at night. And by turning right when walking out the back you can reach Sunrise Beach in around 10-15 minutes.
