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Thailand | Phuket | Phuket Beaches

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Phuket Beaches

Phuket ranks amongst the top world dream island destinations. This worldwide popularity is earned largely by the natural beauty of Phuket's west coast beaches. From white sand, brown sand, shady, sun-ravaged, windy, sheltered, busy and deserted beach – Phuket’s home to almost every types of beach, all waiting to be explored.

South Coast Beaches of Phuket
Patong Beach | Kamala Beach | Laem Sing Beach | Pansea Beach | Surin Beach | Mai Khao Beach
Nai Yang Beach | Nai Thon Beach | Nai Thorn Beach

Everywhere on Phuket Island is beautiful but the south part of the island is straight out of a tropical daydream. The southern coastline is blessed with magnificent mountains covered with lush jungle forest that stretch out to meet the azure blue sea and are framed with white powder sandy beaches and fringed with coral reefs. When you see a photograph of Phuket, it is likely to have been taken in the south part of the island. The southern beaches offer superb vistas and some of the most glorious sunsets in the world. The South Coast Area covers the part of the island that lies south of Relax Bay on the west and then across the island to include the Cape Panwa area. Many of the best hotels and restaurants in Phuket and some of the most beautiful beaches in the world are located here.

North Beaches of Phuket
Bang Tao Beach | Karon Beach | Kata Beach | Rawai Beach | Chalong Beach

By taking a tour or Beach Safari of the northern beaches of Phuket you will certainly be leaving the crowds behind. The north part of the island is less developed and gets only a tiny fraction of the visitors to Phuket. Many of those waiting to be loaded like cattle on to a boat and shipped off to Phi-Phi Island or one of the other tourist Islands seeking a remote island experience would be well advised to keep their feet dry, and drive for an hour to the north end of Phuket. Miles of unspoiled beaches, and good food await you. The rugged beauty of the northern beaches can only be enhanced by the feeling of having them all to yourself.

As you travel north you will encounter beaches dominated with casuarina pine trees rather than palm trees. These unusual trees are like a natural beach umbrella and offer cool shade from the blistering tropical sun, and a if you listen carefully they make slight singing sound as they sway to the call of the offshore breezes. Expect a quiet enchanting experience if you break away from the herd and visit the north end of the island.

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Patong Beach
Patong Beach is an astonishing combination of breathtakingly beautiful white sand beach edged by the glittering Andaman Sea, and the most concentrated area of tourist accommodations, shops, nightclubs, restaurants and attractions. If you want action, this is where you will find it.

Deevana Patong Resort Spa
Deevana Patong Resort & Spa is located in a peaceful Patong beach on 12 acres of secluded tropical gardens.

During the day enjoy all the beach-type activities from sunbathing to beach volleyball. Pirate's Cove mini-golf is near the south end of Patong on Rat Uthit Rd. Restaurants abound featuring every type of cuisine from seafood, noodle and rice vendors along the beach promenade to French cuisine at Le Croissant on Bangla Rd, Mexican food at Viva Mexico south of Soi Post Office, Indian food at Tandoor on Soi Kepsup and Italian at Da Maurizio's up on Kalim Bay.

At night the area rocks with music ranging from Tommy Doyle's piano keys at Baan Ram Pi and the neighbouring sounds of a jazz band down into the heart of Patong near the intersection of Thawiwong and Bangla Rds over to Rat Uthit.

Sun Hill Hotel Phuket
SunHill Hotel is located on a forested hillside at the southern end of Patong, on the west coast of Phuket island.

For real night action head for the area around Bangla Rd and Soi San Sabai. For dancing there's the disco clubs like the Banana Discotheque and the famous transvestite show is found at the Simon Cabaret or at UFO. Soi Sunset has clubs that don't even get started until midnight.

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Kamala Beach
Kamala has changed a lot and became a small beach resort with all the facilities for perfect holidays, but still peaceful and friendly.

Kamala Beach Hotel & Resort
Kamala Beach Resort - An award winning beach resort superbly located on the beautiful Kamala beach, on the west side of Phuket island.

In spite of the large Park entertainment center in the north end of the valley Kamala has maintained its small fishing village atmosphere. If you take the first left turn at the bottom of the grade you will come to a small bridge continue to the left and you will find two isolated small beaches. The little lanes and meandering small roads that branch off lead to beautiful beach houses and cottages and several low rise condominiums.

This end of the beach offers a peaceful tranquil environment with crystal clear water and coral reefs just a few meters offshore. Back to the bridge and a right turn brings you to a small fishing village strung out along the beach going north. Intermixed with small houses is the occasional store and restaurant.

The atmosphere at Kamala is very relaxed and a very pleasant location for those looking for a quiet beach for sunning or taking a long lazy stroll along a mostly deserted beach. The little shops selling food are quite good and the prices are low enough that you can eat Thai style; by eating a little food from a large number of stalls. The Kamala Valley is a popular rental area for those who are staying a few months or more on the island.

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Laem Sing Beach
Is 20 minutes north of Patong, and is the first stop on our beach safari. The beach is not visible from the road but the small parking area is located about half way up the grade at the north end of Kamala Beach look for the small handmade signs. This is one of the undeveloped beaches frequently missed by visitors who are unaware of its location. Its a five minute walk down a fairly steep path to reach this remote little beach. The natural beauty of this beach is enhanced by the fact it sits well below the highway which lends a serene and quiet feeling that is not always present on other beaches in Phuket. The interesting rock formations along Laem Sing Beach offer some the best snorkeling opportunities on the island. Noted during recent visits was an increase in the number of beach venders and the occasional sighting of jetski activity, but it is still a pleasant little beach get-a-way well worth going out of the way for.

Pansea Beach
Is a small secluded quiet beach that has a special feeling and many agree it is the finest beach on the island. Although it runs for only 250 meters it has fine white sand that glistens in the light and reflects off the clear blue sea. It has lively coral reefs and artistic rock formations embellish both ends that seem to frame the beach into one idyllic vision of a tropical beach paradise. Beauty has its price and in this case the natural beauty of this small protected natural bay attracted the famous Chedi Resort and the ultra-exclusive Amanpuri Hotel. This upscale resort plays host to the international celebrity set who don’t mind paying the ultra-high prices charged for privacy. Pansea Beach seems to be an exception to the law in Thailand that all beaches are public, because these hotels are allowed to run off all outsiders.

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Surin Beach
A kilometer north of Laem Sing Beach lays the popular Surin Beach. As of now this beach has not been developed and it is a quiet and peaceful bay lined with a row of stately Casuarina trees.

A tropical beach with pine trees rather than palm trees may seem out of place to many but the local Thais flock to this beach on weekends and holidays and bask in the shade provided by these unusual trees. The middle of the beach front is occupied by a dozen Thai beach-style mini restaurants serving up sizzling seafood to hungry visitors. Surin Beach is usually the second stop on the north beach safari and a good place for lunch because the next beach stop does not serve food.

For the careful swimmer Surin offers some good snorkeling opportunities at both ends of the beach but during the rainy season the water visibility is not very good. Big waves that are common on Surin beach during the monsoon season have caused a steep drop from the shore to the water line and can create dangerous undertow conditions. During high tide when the swells are big and running swiftly good surfing conditions exist here and are becoming an increasingly popular sport. There are no vendors renting surf boards at the beach yet but that may change in the future. Good surfing conditions can make for hazardous swimming and care must be taken with children and non-swimmers.

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Mai Khao Beach
is a mostly deserted beach where sea turtles comes to lay their eggs. To get here look for the sign to JW Marriott Phuket Resort on the high-way north of Phuket International Airport. Then follow the road past the 5-star resort and soon you will be on the beach. Mai Khao's golden sand stretces many kilometers along the Andaman Sea and is Phuket's longest beach.

Spanning over a half kilometer along the beach, the luxurious 5-star JW Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa is the only resort that I know of in the area. Adjacent to the Sirinath Marine National Park and protected sea turtle nesting area.

Nai Yang Beach
Noted for its impressive forest of tall casuarina trees, and as a picnic spot for Thais. Mobile food and fruit venders gather around the perimeter of the park and do a brisk business especially on weekends.

As throughout southern Thailand if you find a beach that is popular with local Thais it will also have a wonderful selection of grilled seafood stalls and other Thai munchies and Nai Yang Beach is no exception.

During low tide swimming can be good and a large coral reef a short distance offshore harbors a considerable variety us sea life and seashells are known to wash ashore here, especially after a monsoon storm. Nai Yang Beach has a very different feeling than beaches to the south. Nai Yang is usually the last beach stop on the north beach safari.

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Nai Thon Beach
Nai Thon beach is located 15 minutes south of the International Airport in a green valley surronded by high hills. Nai Thon is a sleepy village with a few resorts, restaurants and a diving shop lining the beach road. Even with the arrival of the new Naithonburi Beach Resort, the beach is never crowded with lots of space between the one row of sunbeds lining the beach.

Nai Thon has excellent water quality like neighbor Banana Rock and Nai Thorn beaches, but sadly the beach itself has too much debris and garbage. Part of the problem in keeping the beach clean is that it is fringed by casuarina trees covering the ground with a carpet of pine needles.
It is a shame for Phuket as a major tourist destination that this very fine beach is not cleaned perfectly every day!
Nai Thon has a lot to learn from Freedom Beach!!!

The 5 Star ITC Master Dive Center AQUA DIVERS Nai Thon Dive Resort is located directly on the beach, less than 50m (150 ft) away from the waterline.

A new blacktop road will take you winding along through rubber plantations and hills overlooking the Andaman Sea where coral reefs show clearly beneath the azure blue water and waves breaking over magnificent rock formations offers yet another breathtaking scene as you make your way along this 15 minute journey to one of the most beautiful and isolated beaches on the island.

As you descend the last hill you will find a peaceful, quiet cove, beautiful along its length, and well sheltered from wind and waves and offers wonderful swimming. Both ends of the beach are flanked with rocky headlands jutting out to the sea. Corals and rich marine life are drawn to the rocks and they offer excellent fishing.

There is a small fishing village across the road from the beach with some small bungalows and a few small restaurants. There is seldom more than few people on the beach but if you want total solitude backtrack down the road south keeping a sharp lookout and you will find two small beaches.

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Nai Thorn Beach
Nai Thorn is one of the best and least crowded beaches on Phukets west coast. The beach is beautiful where the water is clean and crystal clear. A smaller sister beach to Nai Thon to the north. Nai Thorn was a public beach until last year. But in 2005 Andaman White Beach Resort has closed down the stairs leading down to the beach and told the vendors to leave so Andaman could reserve this beautiful beach for their guests.

Going with a boat is now the only way you can visit the beach. But don't expect to be welcome and I doubt there will be any sunbeds or drinks available for others than the guests of Andaman White Beach Resort.

Bang Tao Beach
BangTao BeachIs a 8 km long sweeping crescent shaped bay with a gentle slope and absolutely pure white sand and is fringed with rows of casuarina trees. The constant but gentle breeze on this bay has made Bangtao Beach very popular with windsurfers and it plays host to several international competitions each year. The main entrance to Bangtao beach is 2 km north of Surin Village and marked with large signs from the sprawling Laguna Phuket complex that takes up most of the middle of the bay.

Best Western Bangtao Beach Resort
Best Western Bangtao Beach Resort - located directly on the white sand beach of Bangtao bay also known as Laguna Beach, Phuket.

This remarkable complex of five luxury resort hotels integrated into one into what appears to be small city by the sea. The Banyan Tree Phuket, The Allamanda, Dusit Laguna, and the Sheraton Phuket all employ the same low rise village style architecture that are uniquely designed to blend with the vastness of the old tin mine which is what this area used to be. The old tin mining lake is now a beautifully landscaped lagoon that serves as a watersports center.

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Karon Beach

Best Western Phuket Ocean Resort
Best Western Phuket Ocean Resort is situated at Karon beach on the hillside ...

Karon Beach is a long gently curving beach of small sparkling white sand dunes, crisp clean water and a few evergreen trees.As you circle the roundabout, you can go east through the village and you will be on the main highway running east and west across the island, or you can continue south along the road to Kata beach and the rest of the south coast beaches.

In the past years, many resorts and large hotels opened almost everywhere, with unique views on the bay. Recently paved, the long beach front offers an excellent walk to choose among the many restaurants serving seafood. Among the most famous are the Karon Sea Sand , Karon Beach Resort, or Phuket Orchid Resort.

Karon Beach Resort
The only hotel that is truly on the beach in Karon Bay. Karon Beach Resort is nestled in a quiet corner...

Of course, shops, tailors and souvenirs florishe almost anywhere, convinience stores and bars. From the circle, the road going inland is now the "hot spot" of Karon beach with dozens of bars, some with girls, some other more trendy. Many restaurants are also open here, with a large choice of cuisines, including mexican and steak houses.

During the months of June through September, the strong south-west winds brings surf from the open sea. Karon Beach and Relax Bay Beach receive continuous big waves and experienced surfers head out to challenge them. The southern end of Karon Beach has the most surf activity and there are surf stations with boards for hire. Near the south end of the beach is the famous Dino Park Mini-Golf located and the south end is also a perfect spot for children snorkeling at high tide when lots of fish swim close to the beach in crystal clear water. One of the amusing thing in Karon is the noise of the sand when you walk on the beach... try it!

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Kata Beach
Kata Beach is the biggest of two beaches called Kata: Kata Noi and Kata Yai (Noi means small, Yai means big).

Kata Beach Resort Phuket
Kata Beach Resort is one of Phuket's finest and the views of Kata Bay and Crab Island is...

Kata is a broad and curving beach with soft white sand, an evergreen small island out in the bay named Poo and lush green hills in the background. The 1,5 km long beach is located in a protected bay with calm crystal clear water, and since the sea are shallow longer out than the beaches at Kata Noi and Karon it is more child friendly.

As one of the finest and most popular beaches in Phuket, sunbeds fills up quickly and are limited to two rows. So come early if you want a sunbed in the most popular areas of the beach.

There are plenty of water activities along the beach like Hobie Cats, windsurfing, jet skies, parasailing, banana boats and so on. The annual Phuket Surfing Contest is taking place on this beach in September when the waves are large. In raining season or low season (May-Oct) the sea are often rough on the west coast, and great care should be taken. If the red flag is up, swimming should not take place!

Katathani Thani Resort Spa
Katathani Thani Resort & Spa stretches along 850 meters... in the secluded cove of Kata Noi beach.

One of the best shallow coral reef on Phuket Island is to be found north of Club Med, around 70-80 meters off the beach stretching toward the small Poo island.
The sea can be very clear at the reef with 5 - 15 meters visibility, but avoid swimming near the cliffs where there are too much sediments. If you are lucky you can spot a sea turtle swimming along the reef, definitely a highlight of any day.

Avoid standing on rocks when snorkeling since it's easy to overlook a perfect camouflaged poison stonefish that can be found at Kata Reef.

Kata Beach Resort
Kata Beach Resort is one of Phuket's finest and the views of Kata Bay and Crab Island is breath takingly beautiful.

Nightlife is now quite active in Kata Center, a large choice of restaurants and bars open their doors all day, but it looks more lively at night. Choice of food is large, from Scandinavian, Indian, Pizzerias or English, but of course seafood and Thai food restaurants as well. Many bars are still in the old "phuket way", with girls calling you when you walk down the street, but lately some more original bars opened with a friendly cozy style, like the "Cafe del Mar". Shop till you drop with hundred of souvenir shops, tailors and dive shops opened till late. Kata is a small village, half way between the hyper active nights of patong beach and some other remote beaches.

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Rawai Beach
Rawai Beach lies around Cape Prom Thep from Nai Harn and is a working beach. Here you will find traditional long-tail boats and modern speedboats for hire. Also along here are many Thai beach restaurants where you sit on mats along the water's edge eating grilled chicken, fish, clams and mussels, whatever's the fresh catch of the day.

On the weekends many of the local Thais come here to picnic and vendors roam up and down selling everything from sausages and dried squid to ice cream, fresh fruit, sodas and shaved ice treats. At the east end of this beach there are a number of shops selling sea shells and other tourist items.

A sea gypsy village is located here also but it is not recommended to visit these people who are in the process of being supplanted by tourism. A couple of hotels and bungalow resorts are found along Rawai with their accompanying restaurants.

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Chalong Beach
Chalong is the main gateway to the southern end of the island. From Chalong Circle five roads lead out: north to Phuket (ChaoFa Rd East and ChaoFa Rd West which goes past Siam Safari and Wat Chalong), east just a bit to Chalong Bay, south to Rawai and Nai Harn and west past the BaanChang Safari and PaintBall/Shooting Range/Cobra Show and across the mountains to Kata/Karon.

There is a main pier here although it is currently under major construction until 2000-01 as well as an Immigration Check-point for incoming yachts. Many of the dive operators depart from here.

Chalong is a centre for many of the resident ex-pats on the island and has the flavour of a combination Thai-European village. There's a great local early morning market and in the evening near the circle is a vendor market featuring all sorts of curries and Thai foods. Local buses heading to all points of the southern end of Phuket pass around the circle and there's a motorcycle taxi stand there as well.

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