Beaches of Phuket

Oddly this blog has barely touched on the subject of Phuket's many beaches, which is rather odd since most visitors come to Phuket for a "beach holiday", and Phuket does have rather a lot of very nice stretches of sand. But I try to keep a personal touch to the blog, and to be honest I’m not much of a beach person. I don't go and sit on the beach. We go (as a family) to the beach now and then to let the kids play, or we might eat by the sea, but if we want a swim we prefer to take the kids to a pool. If we do decide to sit on a beach for a while, we’ll normally avoid the main beaches, preferring to find a quiet spot.

Pretty much every beach in Phuket is on the west coast, stretching some 45km from Mai Khao beach in the north to Rawai in the South. The 3 main tourist beaches of Patong, Karon and Kata are in the southern half of the island. Away from these beaches there are some very secluded spots and many beaches that are largely undeveloped. Some have just a few hotels or resorts, most have long stretches of uncrowded sand. Some are a bit rocky at low tide.



(above) This photo was taken at Cape Panwa on the east side of Chalong Bay - can be rocky at low tide, but one of our favourite little restaurants is right here. As time goes by, I’ll post more information about many of the beaches. This is just a very quick introduction, and may not mention every possible Phuket beach.

Phuket Beaches already featured on Jamie’s Phuket:

Karon Beach

Karon is developed, but nothing like Patong. Still has a quieter feel to it. The beach is long, the sand is fine, and there are accommodation options to suit everyone - 5 star to fan rooms in guesthouses... The beach area has been revamped over the last couple of years, and every time I hit Karon after coming from Patong I think "wow, this is nice". Karon is clean and well looked after, though can be accused of being rather "boring" since much of the beachfront is taken up by resorts such as the Hilton Arcadia, Thavorn Palm Beach, South Sea Resort, Andaman Seaview and many more. There are 2 main "centres" at either end of the beach. The south end is quieter and is only a few minutes from Kata, so is a good location. I work there as manager of Sunrise Divers.



• More about Karon Beach
• Some suggested Karon Beach Hotels
• Karon Beach Hotels - Online Booking @ Agoda.com

Nai Yang Beach

Just south of Phuket Airport, Nai Yang beach has a few nice resorts and part of the beach is a National Park. Some beachfront restaurants close to the Nai Yang Beach Resort, but otherwise very quiet.

• More about Nai Yang Beach
• Hotels near Nai Yang Beach @ Agoda.com
• Batik Seafood Restaurant @ Nai Yang Beach

Kamala Beach

The first beach North of Patong (unless you count Kalim and Nakalay), Kamala is not as developed as the other 3 main beaches and being a largely muslim community has a different feel. When I came to Phuket in 1999 I don’t think there were any bars in Kamala. There are a few now, but even now parts of Kamala beach are more like a local fishing community. There are a few bigger hotels and a smattering of small resorts and guesthouses. The North end of the beach is very quiet. Kamala was the worst hit of Phuket’s beaches on December 26th 2004 and it took a while to get back to normal. Kamala is also home to Phuket Fantasea, one of Phuket’s biggest tourist attractions.



• Kamala Beach - More Information and Photos
• Kamala Temple
• Kamala Beach Hotel Ideas

Laem Ka Beach

One of Phuket’s quiet secrets and not well signposted… located just before Rawai on the road from Chalong. No hotels, no restaurants except a little food stall, just some sand, rocks and a great view. I know it's not as secret as it used to be though.... but still worth a visit.



• More about Laem Ka Beach

Ao Sane Beach

Barely known, Ao Sane is home to some bungalows and the Baan Krating Jungle Resort. To get there you first come to Naiharn beach, and must drive through the Meridien Yacht Club. A quiet spot with a nice view across Naiharn bay. There is one small restaurant serving Thai food. I find it a nice place for a cold afternoon beer.

Ya Nui Beach

A tiny little place just North of Naiharn, Ya Nui has a few bungalows which have been rebuilt following the tsunami which hit this little beach hard. I have never seen more than a dozen people here but it has got more popular recently.

• More about Ao Sane and Ya Nui beaches

Naithon Beach

In between Nai Yang and Bang Tao you find Naithon. The roads in are winding and hilly, and the beach is not very developed. A few small resorts, a few places to eat, a little dive shop ... it's still a quiet spot, though some new hotels are appearing.



• More about Naithon beach
• Naithonburi Resort Review
• More Hotels near Naithon Beach @ Agoda.com

Kata Noi Beach

Kata Noi is the end of the road. Just a few minutes drive from Kata Beach, it's home to the Kata Thani Resort and Mom Tri's Villa Royale, yet retains a quiet feeling, mainly I think because the road goes nowhere!



• More about Kata Noi Beach
• Katathani Resort Review
• Mom Tri's Villa Royale Review
• More Hotels near Kata Noi Beach @ Agoda.com

Rawai Beach

Close to Chalong Bay, Rawai is full of small restaurants and food stalls and is a great place to rent a longtail boat to nearby islands. Not a swimming beach really, but makes a good stop off on a tour of the SW corner of Phuket.

• More about Rawai beach
• Hotels near Rawai Beach
• Boat trip from Rawai Beach to Koh Kaew Yai island

Layan Beach

Layan is very nice - a real beautiful spot at the far north end of Bang Tao. Part of the beach is a national park. There are a couple of resorts here, but they are built off the beach and do not detract from the beauty of the area. Very quiet. We have been a few times recently for little BBQ's.



• More about Layan Beach

More Phuket Beaches...

Patong Beach

Not my favourite place in the world, Patong is the most developed tourist real estate in Thailand, and for the most part has not been made to look really pretty. If you are looking for full on tourism, plenty of accommodation and shopping, loads of restaurants, a shed load of bars and a beach full of beach chairs and umbrellas, Patong is the place to be! I tend to visit Patong only if necessary for business, though there are some great hotels and a few places to eat that I like and even Patong has quiet spots away from the centre of town, such as Tritrang Beach and Paradise Beach...

• More about Paradise Beach
• More about Tri Trang beach
• Recommended Patong Beach Hotels
• Patong Beach Hotels - Online Booking @ Agoda.com



Kata Beach

Of the main beaches, Kata is more popular with younger people, and is a very scenic beach with the island of Koh Pu offshore and with lots of accommodation nearby, but very little right on the beach since most of the beach road is taken up by Club Med. Only at the South end are other places right on the beach, such as Kata Beach Resort and Mom Tri's Boathouse. Kata somehow retains a quiet feel despite being pretty busy. Just over the hill to the south is the even quieter Kata Noi.

• Some Recommended Kata Beach Hotels
• Kata Beach Hotels - Agoda.com - Online Booking



Bang Tao Beach

Home to the Laguna resorts and a couple of other hotels, but Bang Tao village is not close to the beach, so if you stay there you need to drive or take a taxi to find any local life or more dining options. The Laguna hotels are some of the best in Phuket. There are also some other great hotel options in the area - most are quite expensive resorts, though with late booking you can get a very good deal - see LateStays.com - Bang Tao Beach Hotels.

Surin Beach

Was very quiet a few years ago, but has rapidly developed. A lot of new hotels over the last few years such as Twin Palms and the new Marriott Courtyard, and a lot of condos/villas/apartments on the hillsides near the beach. Still, the beachfront is not that busy, and there are loads of small beachside restaurants. We like a small one right at the far North end. Surin is just North of Kamala. In between you find Laem Singh beach which has been touted as a quiet beach for many years and thus is not any more! In 1999 when I came here, Laem Sing was very quiet and made a nice getaway from Patong. Now, if you want quiet, I think there are better options. The black and white photo below was taken at Laem Singh in back in 2000.





OK, that’ll do for now. I have not even mentioned Mai Khao beach, Naiharn beach, Freedom beach ... but like I say, I’m not really a beach bum!

Need a Hotel? Here's some of my Phuket Hotel Recommendations

20th February, 2007

Today's Weather;

Light overcast with expected max high of 31C.
Yesterdays max temp was 29.5C.

There's hardly any wind at all.

Diving conditions are good but visibility was not that great at Sail Rock a few days ago, just about 4 meters. Great thing is though, the fish really gets close to the rock and it's like swimming in fish soup. Loads of Trevally and Jacks.

19th February, 2007

Today's weather;

There's a beautiful blue sky and it's currently 25C with an expected high of 31C.

Yesterdays max temp was 29.5C

See you later.

Sunny greetings from Samui

18th February 2007

Hi,

Today's weather;

It looks a bit overcast, just a little bit. It's 25C and expected high today is 31C.

Enjoy your Sunday.

Aircon in our house

Hi,

Today's weather; It looks very sunny with a beautiful blue sky. Temperature at 7:00 was 24C with an expected max of low 30tees. Yesterday max temperature was 29.5C.

Today I was woken up by the sound of a lot of firecrackers, making a continuous sound. I completely forgot that today is Chinese New Year, so Happy Chine New Year to you all.

One of the nice things of living in Thailand is that one gets to celebrate 3 different New Years. Western New Year, Chinese New Year and in April Songkran, the Thai New year.

As mentioned in yesterdays entry, the temperature is rising and that makes for an interesting observation in our house, when will it become so hot, that we start using the aircon again.

We completed building our house in April 2002 in the North - East corner of the island. Unfortunately we don't have any natural shade covering our house and no insulation under the roof (small detail we forgot to implement, the beauty of building your first own house).

Here's a shot from our house when it was just completed, now we have a lot more landscaping in front and we just are about to complete building a wall around the compound , something to show you in the near future.

We have aircons in our living room and the two sleeping rooms. This time of the year, the night (and day) temperatures are such that we don't need the aircons during the night. As of late October, when the rainy season starts, the actual time varies every year, we stop using them until mid.late February, when it starts warming up again.

It saves on the electricity bill as well every month.

That's it for the day, till later.........

Hi

Hi all,

Here's to my first post on my first blog. It's about the weather in Koh Samui.

In the future I'll try to log in every day with short bursts about the Samui weather and every few days I'll try to give a bit more information about Koh Samui.

In the near future I'll also post information on seasonal weather fluctuations on Samui and in the Gulf of Thailand.

Today's weather; Sunny and warm. Samui is heating up again after the rainy season seems to come to an end (for the time being). It's still slightly windy, but not as bad how it was a week or two weeks ago.

My blog will (hopefully) improve over the coming days, so bear with me for the moment being.

Stay posted and see you soon.

Kata Viewpoint

We took a little drive today from Patong to Karon and Kata, and along the winding road that leads to "The" Phuket Viewpoint (aka Kata Viewpoint). The view is one of the most famous images of Phuket, can be found on just about any website relating to Phuket, and is certainly the most visited viewpoint in Phuket. It's a short ride on a motorbike or in a tuk tuk from Kata beach. We passed half a dozen foreign couples on mopeds between Kata and the viewpoint. If you're staying in Kata or Karon, the viewpoint is a great stop off on the way to places like Naiharn beach, Phromthep Cape and Rawai beach. You can make a very nice afternoon's sightseeing in this corner of the island.

There's really only one view from the Kata / Phuket Viewpoint. Just look North and you can see Kata Noi, Kata and Karon beaches, along with Koh Pu (the little island just off Kata). The little road that passes the viewpoint is not very busy, so you'll notice the peace and quiet. Then find your spot and look at the view to your heart's content.

• Viewpoint location on Google Earth