Living in Bangjo, Phuket: A Family Guide to the Green Side of Bang Tao
Bangjo is the green, hillside part of greater Bang Tao on Phuket’s west coast. It sits in Si Sunthon, in the Thalang district, just inland from Cherngtalay, with forested mountains behind it and the beaches of Bang Tao and Layan a short drive away. For international families relocating to Phuket, living in Bangjo offers space, privacy and a calm daily rhythm, with some of the island’s best schools and lifestyle destinations close by.
This guide covers what Bangjo is like, who it suits, and what daily life looks like for a family that moves here. It is written by the team at Easy Living Phuket, a boutique real estate and lifestyle company that has helped international families settle on the island since 2016.
Where Bangjo Sits in Greater Bang Tao
Greater Bang Tao is the name locals give to the whole district around Bang Tao Beach. It takes in Cherngtalay, the Laguna Phuket resort area, Pasak, Manik and Bangjo. Each pocket has its own character.
Bangjo is the inland edge. The land rises here towards a ridge of green hills, and the mountain backdrop is what gives the area its feel. Roads are quieter, gardens are larger and evenings are cooler than on the coast. It is a residential area where families live year round.
The beach is still close. Bang Tao Beach and Layan Beach are each around 15 minutes by car, so a morning swim before school or a sunset walk after dinner is easy. Families get the calm of the hills and the life of the coast in the same week.
HeadStart International School
For most relocating families, the school decides the address. In Bangjo, HeadStart International School is part of the neighbourhood.
HeadStart opened its Cherngtalay campus in August 2023 on 24 rai of land in the Bangjo area. It follows the British curriculum with Cambridge programmes and takes children from age 2 through to Year 9. The campus has a 50 metre swimming pool, a children’s pool, a sports hall, dance studios, art and music rooms and a dining hall. It has grown from one class per year to three since it opened, and older students continue at HeadStart’s main campus in Chaofah.
Many homes in Bangjo sit within a few minutes’ drive of the campus. A short school run changes daily life. Parents are home with coffee before the heat builds, and afternoons are free for the beach, the pool or sport.
Other choices are close too. Kajonkiet Cherngtalay School is nearby, and UWC Thailand and British International School Phuket are each a short drive away. Phuket has 19 international schools with more than 5,000 foreign students, and enrolment grew 51% over the three years to mid 2026, according to Sansiri.
Blue Tree Phuket, the Neighbourhood’s Weekend Place
Blue Tree Phuket is Bangjo’s meeting point. It is an open air lifestyle village set among lawns and forest, about five minutes from much of the area.
Children have adventure play areas with trampolines, ziplines and climbing nets, plus a separate play space for younger ones. Parents have padel courts, fitness and Muay Thai studios, yoga and forest trails for running and walking. There is a skate park, a supermarket, cafés, restaurants and boutiques, and on weekends the lawns host markets and live music.
For a family new to the island, Blue Tree is often where friendships begin. Children meet at the playground. Parents meet at the padel court or over coffee. Within a few weeks, Bangjo starts to feel like home.
The Homes in Bangjo
Bangjo is known for private pool villas. Most projects are small, gated collections of single storey or two storey family homes with gardens, pools and salas, the traditional Thai open pavilion used for shade and outdoor dining.
The area is drawing well known names. Sansiri, one of Thailand’s longest established listed developers, chose Bangjo for The Tales Story One, its first luxury pool villa collection in Phuket, designed by the team of Edward Tuttle. Boutique developers have also built hillside and garden villa collections here, many designed around family life.
Several homes in the area sit in our LTR qualifying collection, for buyers planning around Thailand’s Long Term Resident visa, a ten year visa that can include a spouse and children under 20. The rules change from time to time, so we check the current terms with each client before they commit.
You can browse the homes we currently represent in the area on our Bang Jo property page.
Beaches, Dining and Laguna
Greater Bang Tao gives Bangjo families a full coast on their doorstep. Bang Tao Beach runs for several kilometres along the Andaman Sea and faces west, so every evening ends with a sunset. Layan Beach, to the north, is quieter and framed by green headlands.
Porto de Phuket and Boat Avenue are around ten minutes away. They are the two open air dining and retail districts that anchor social life in Cherngtalay. Boat Avenue opened in 2012 as Thailand’s first container mall and still hosts a Friday evening market with street food, live music and local makers.
Laguna Phuket is a short drive further. It began in 1984 on the site of a former tin mine and grew into one of Asia’s best known integrated resorts, with hotels, golf, lagoons and a long stretch of Bang Tao Beach. Its annual triathlon, first held in 1994, is the longest running in Asia.
World Class Healthcare
Healthcare is the other decision that shapes a move. Bangkok Hospital Phuket and Bumrungrad International Hospital Phuket are each around 16 kilometres from Bangjo. Bumrungrad, one of the best known private hospital groups in Asia, is investing THB 4.3 billion (about USD 129 million) in a 150 bed hospital in the north of the island, near the airport.
Laguna Phuket also has a wellness clinic run by BDMS, Thailand’s largest private hospital group, for check ups and preventive care closer to home.
A Day in Bangjo
The morning starts early, with birdsong from the hills and a short drive to school. Parents are back by the pool before nine, ready for a call with London or a quiet hour of work.
Lunch is often Thai. A bowl of noodles at a roadside kitchen, a plate of grilled fish, a papaya salad made to order. Afternoons bring the school pick up and an hour at Blue Tree or the pool at home.
By late afternoon the light softens over the mountains and families drift down to the coast. Children swim, parents catch up with friends, and the sun drops into the Andaman Sea. On Fridays the evening ends at the market on Boat Avenue.
Getting Around
Phuket International Airport is around 30 minutes from Bangjo by car. It handled an average of 290 flights a day to 71 cities in 36 countries in 2026, according to Sansiri, so trips home and visits from family stay simple. Most residents drive or use the island’s ride hailing apps, and the main roads into Cherngtalay make the coast easy to reach.
Who Bangjo Suits
Bangjo suits international families who want space, privacy and a garden, with a good school a few minutes away. It suits parents who work remotely and want a calm home office, and couples who host children and grandchildren through the year.
It also suits buyers who want to live in greater Bang Tao with a quieter, greener setting than the coast. The mountains, the forest trails and the larger plots give Bangjo a character all of its own.
Finding Your Home in Bangjo
At Easy Living Phuket we curate. We choose the projects we recommend with care, we work with a network of trusted legal, visa, financial and insurance specialists, and we help families compare homes, schools and neighbourhoods before they decide.
If you are planning a move to Phuket and would like to see what is available in Bangjo, browse our Bang Jo homes or start a conversation with Asa Marsh, our Managing Director. For more on the Sansiri villas in the area, read Asia Lifestyle Magazine’s feature on The Tales Story One Bangjo.
