Beaches | Attractions | Shopping | Nightlife | Seasons | Get Around | Map | Hotels
Phuket has a wide variety of beaches, long, short, crowded and non crowded, shallow water or deep. The one thing they have in common is the warm and clear water. This variety is one of the factors why so many different kinds of people can enjoy the same island. So no matter what kind of beach life you want you can find it here.
The quiet places are found on the northern part of Phuket and also in the very southern part.
In between these places along the west-cost you have the action filled Patong Beach and mid size beaches such as Karon Beach and Kata Beach to smaller places as Kata Noi and Kamala Beach that might be a good option for families with young children.
From north to south the most main beaches are:
Nai Yang
One of Phukets smaller locations situated close the airport and about 30 km (20 miles) from Phuket Town. This peaceful and quiet place has a nice beach with lots of Casuarina trees making it easy to get shade if wanted. Here you will be able to eat or relax with a drink from any of the small vendors right by the beach. The surroundings comes with a somewhat limited shopping and restaurants. The north of this beach belongs to the Sirinath National Park and the beach is protected making it very natural. In the south end there are some hotels and restaurants. Parts of the beach is also protected from waves by a long reef which also attracts a lot of marine animals. The beach is about 3 km (1.8 miles) long but going north is changes name to Mai Khao Beach which is more than 10 km (6 miles) long making it the longest beach on Phuket. This beach is protected since big turtles arrive here once a year, in the winter, to lay their eggs in the sand.
Nai Thon
A small village with a very nice and wide beach, about 1 km (0.6 miles) long. This is a place for people who want to relax and does not demand a lot of shopping close by. Along the beach road there are restaurants and people who only been on Phukets big locations would never guess that this is a beach at Phuket. The distance to Phuket Town is about 30 km (20 miles)
Bang Tao
A beach area at about 5 km (3 miles) just about 15 km (9 miles) north of Patong. The northern part of this beach is actually called Layan and offers no restaurants or other things. This part of the beach is very empty. Bang Tao beach offer a wide range of restaurants and since it is very stretched out the atmosphere varies a lot depending on where you are. In some places you will not find that many restaurants to choose from without having to walk a quite long distance. This area doesn’t have a lot of the classic bars, the reason for this is that the area houses mostly Muslims.
Surin
This beach is 750 meters (0.5 miles)long. The water gets deep pretty fast here making big waves occasionally rolling in. This beach are located just minutes from the main road making it possible to see the local people daily life and eat at small restaurants or stay by the beach where you have plenty of bars and restaurants.
Kamala Beach
Kamala village is set just 10 minutes drive from Patong and has a beach almost 2 km (1.2 miles) long which is perfect for families. The nightlife is very calm even if there are some bars on the main road and at the beach road. If you want a more hectic nightlife the option is to go into Patong.
During high season the beach turns into a cozy place and Kamala is one of the few places where family bars and restaurants are still being found right on the beach.
Patong
The nr one place in Phuket regarding density of tourists. Here you will find a huge amount of bars, restaurants and stores offering all you can think of. Patong also have some shopping malls, one at the beach road in the north end and one on the road away from the beach called Jungceylon. Here you will also find a lot of big brand names. The section at Jungceylon called Robinson have a wide range of brand clothing and accessories. Also many restaurants are to be found like Sushi and other specialty restaurants. Patong can suit both the young party animal and the family looking for a time in an energetic environment. The distance to Phuket Town is about 10 km (6 miles) and to the airport about 30 km (20 miles).
Karon
This beach is almost 3 km (1.8 miles) long. It is situated alongside the road between Patong and Kata. The beach is very wide and sometimes can have big waves. Across the street from the beach there are a lot of restaurants and shopping tents. If going to the roads leading up behind Karon beach in the northern end there are plenty of more shops and restaurants. The very southern end of Karon beach is leading up to the shopping and restaurant area that belongs to Kata. From the edge of Karon to Patong it is about 4 km (2.7 miles). Karon do offer a limited nightlife but for party people Patong is only a few minutes away.
Kata
This is one of the most popular destinations on Phuket for people who want a little bit of everything, or even more than a little since range of stores and restaurants are actually really good yet not to much. The beach here is about 1.5 km (0.9 foot) which might give it a different feeling than the big beach areas. There aren’t any big road behind this beach but only a small one with a lot of trees separating the beach and the road. The beach is also situated some steps down from the road which makes it even more safe if having young children. On the other side of the road there are some hotels so there aren’t any commerce going on here.
The areas with restaurants and shopping are set on two different places. One in the north which is a few hundred meters up from the beach. This area reaching all the way down to Karon beach making these to places grown together. Here you find restaurants and also many other stores. In the other end there is another center and between these to there is a bigger road with bars, restaurants and resorts along the sides. This other center does also offer many restaurants, hotels and other stores and also reaches towards the even smaller Kata Noi. From the beach you have to go a few 100 meters (300 foot) if you are in the ends to reach any of these two centers, from the middle section you have to go a little further since you have to go around the hotel areas. This might give Kata beach an even more quiet feeling.
Kata Noi
This beach is situated just above a km (just under a mile) from Kata. This beach, about 700 meters (2200 foot) long and is even more quiet then Kata Yai. The beach is wide and spacey with limited shopping and restaurants.
Nai Harn
This beach is about 600 meters (2000 foot) long situated on the southern Phuket about 15 km (10 miles) from Phuket Town but less than 3 km (1.8 miles) to Rawai. Nai Harn offers a limited variety of restaurants and shopping. Further south a few km (miles) is Ya Nui beach a tiny beach just 150 meters (450 foot) long offering a very paradise feeling with great snorkeling opportunities. Some time ago Nai Harn beach belonged to a temple and was very deserted. Today is another story and beach does now have many visitors.
Rawai
This old fisherman area offer plenty of sea food restaurants along the 1km (0.6 mile) beach. This beach is not one of the most famous but well worth a visit, many boat trips to the surrounding islands depart from here. In Rawai you also find the Phuket Sea Shell Museum, the home of fantastic pieces of sea shells, corals and much more. Rawai Beach is not the place you go to for a swim due to very shallow water. However Ya Nui Beach and the bigger Nai Harn Beach is just a few minutes away. Rawai had plenty of stores and even a lot of special stores as wine shops and delicates stores. The area is some what scattered and you never feel crowded here while you stroll or drive around among the locals.
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