Phuket’s beaches line the west coast of the island, and in two weeks on a rented scooter you can see all of them. They differ more than the photos suggest. Patong has Bangla Road thumping until dawn, Kata Noi goes silent after sunset, and Freedom Beach has no road at all. Below are ten beaches with the details that matter once you are standing on the sand: waves, shade, entrance fees, food and how to get there. For island hopping from the same base, see the separate guide to the islands near Phuket.
Two things apply everywhere. High season runs from November to April, and the sea is calm on nearly every beach. From May to October the west coast gets swell and rip currents, lifeguards put out red flags, and people drown every year by ignoring them. Getting between beaches is easiest on a scooter at about 250-300 baht a day. A tuk-tuk from Patong to Karon costs 300-400 baht, and Grab works on the island but cars are scarce at the smaller beaches. Flight options are covered in the Phuket flight schedule.
1. Karon Beach
Karon runs for about three kilometers and is the roomiest beach on the island. Even in January you can find fifty empty meters of sand. Its grains are coarse and squeak underfoot, which runners like: every morning someone is doing laps along the waterline. Shade is scarce, with umbrellas for rent only near the middle. Because the bay is open to the sea, low-season waves are bigger here than at neighboring Kata, and in those months surfers replace swimmers. On Tuesday and Friday evenings a food market opens at Karon temple, ten minutes on foot from the beach.
Centara Grand Beach Resort sits on the beachfront with its own water park, the easiest choice for families. Hilton Phuket Arcadia has a large garden across the road from the sand.
2. Kata Beach
Kata, or Kata Yai to be exact, is a bay about a kilometer and a half long with the small island of Ko Pu off its northern end. In high season the water near Ko Pu is good for snorkeling straight from the sand, and masks are rented on the spot. From May to October the bay turns into the island’s main surf break. Several schools on the beach rent a board and give a lesson for 1,500-2,000 baht, and the wave is gentle enough for a first attempt. Restaurants along the road behind the beach serve seafood at lower prices than Patong, and the evenings are quiet.
Chanalai Flora Resort, across the road from the beach, works well for families with children. Higher-end beachfront resorts are in the next bay south, Kata Noi.
3. Kata Noi Beach
Kata Noi lies over the hill south of Kata. It is short, about seven hundred meters, and a single resort occupies most of the frontage, so the sand stays uncrowded even in peak weeks. Its sand is finer and whiter than Kata’s, the water is clear, and the rocks at the southern end are worth a swim with a mask. Cafes on the beach itself are almost nonexistent. For food you climb to the road or walk fifteen minutes over the hill back to Kata.
Katathani Phuket Beach Resort is the resort on the sand, with six pools and direct beach access. Its sister property The Shore at Katathani next door consists of villas with private pools.
4. Patong Beach
Patong is the beach everyone has heard of, and people who go nowhere else judge the island by it. It is about three kilometers long, the sand is ordinary, and the water is cleaner than you expect, but jet skis and parasailing boats make swimming a chore. Infrastructure is the reason to come: the Jungceylon mall, hundreds of restaurants, massage shops on every corner, and Bangla Road, which closes to traffic after nine in the evening and becomes one long open-air club. Stay here if that is what you came for. One tip from experience: photograph a jet ski from every angle before you rent it, because damage claims on return are a well-worn scam.
Holiday Inn Resort in the middle of the beach road is the most predictable beachfront option. La Flora Resort Patong stands at the quieter northern end.
5. Nai Harn Beach
Nai Harn sits at the southern tip of the island, with a lake and a Buddhist monastery behind the sand and hills on both sides that block the wind. In high season it is probably the best swimming beach on Phuket: clear water, sandy bottom, no waves. In low season the red flags go up here too, so it is not a year-round beach. Casuarina trees along the sand give shade from morning to evening, something Karon lacks. There are only a handful of cafes, but food carts park by the car lot in the evenings. Promthep Cape, where everyone goes for sunset, is five minutes away by scooter.
The only hotel on the sand is called The Nai Harn, and every room faces the bay. Other places to stay are across the lake and cost noticeably less.
6. Surin Beach
Surin was the beach of clubs and champagne loungers until 2016, when the authorities demolished everything built on the sand. It has been quieter since, and in my view better: white sand, clear water, casuarinas along the shore and no vendors underfoot. Sunbeds and umbrellas are no longer rented, so shade means finding a tree. In low season Surin has one of the most dangerous rips on the island, and the red flags are not decoration. Restaurants and villas line the road behind the beach, and the area is the most expensive on Phuket.
The Surin Phuket is the standout beachfront property, with cottages on the hillside above the southern end. Twinpalms Phuket Resort is set back from the water but has one of the better beach restaurants on the island.
7. Bangtao Beach
Bangtao stretches six kilometers, the longest beach on the island. Its middle belongs to the Laguna complex of resorts, a golf course and lagoons with free shuttle boats between hotels. The southern end near Cherng Talay village is simpler and livelier, with beach bars, kitesurfing schools in the windy months and the Boat Avenue market on Friday evenings. The northern end is nearly empty. Water here is shallower than at Karon, which suits children, though low-season waves arrive all the same. You can run along Bangtao for an hour in one direction and never see the same view twice.
Inside Laguna, Angsana Laguna Phuket has the most convenient position and a pool more than 300 meters long that winds through the grounds. Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket next door suits guests who want it quieter.
8. Freedom Beach
Freedom Beach sits in a bay south of Patong with no road to it. There are two ways in. First, a longtail boat from the southern end of Patong: boatmen ask around 1,500 baht per boat for the round trip, bargaining is expected, and you should agree a pickup time before you leave. Second, a footpath from the road above the beach: the descent is steep, 20-30 minutes down and noticeably longer up, and not worth attempting in rain. Entry costs about 200 baht, which pays for keeping the beach clean, and it is clean. Sand is white, water is clear, and fish gather around the rocks at both ends of the bay. Bring water and food, because the one cafe is not always open.
No hotels stand near the beach, and that is the whole point. Patong is the nearest place to sleep and the easiest base for a day trip here.
9. Paradise Beach
Paradise Beach lies between Patong and Freedom Beach at Tri Trang cape, and it is a private beach with paid entry. A ticket costs about 200 baht for adults, less for children, and includes a shuttle from the car park on the hill. Inside there are sunbeds, a bar, showers and a ban on jet skis, so the water stays calm even when Patong is roaring. Palms shade almost the whole strip of sand, and a coral patch at the right-hand edge of the bay is fine for snorkeling. Parties are held here regularly in the evenings, and on those days it is not quiet in the afternoon either, so check the schedule at the gate.
Amari Phuket, the nearest large hotel, stands on the same cape at the southern end of Patong, a ten-minute walk from Paradise. Further along the beach road is Patong Merlin Hotel, older but with spacious grounds.
10. Ya Nui Beach
Ya Nui is a small cove between Nai Harn and Promthep Cape, about two hundred meters of sand with rocks and reef at both ends where a mask shows more fish than any other beach on the west coast. Masks and kayaks are rented right on the sand, and a kayak reaches the islet opposite in half an hour. A viewpoint with windmills stands above the bay, good for a look down at the beach and for sunset. Because it is so small, the sand fills up by midday in high season, so come in the morning.
There are no hotels on Ya Nui itself, but the hill between it and Nai Harn has many guesthouses and small resorts such as Naiharn On The Rock Resort, five minutes by scooter from either beach.
Staying in Phuket Town instead
If you plan to visit several beaches rather than settle on one, Phuket Town on the east side of the island is a base worth considering. Rooms cost a fraction of beachfront rates, the old town has the best food on the island, and the western beaches are 30-45 minutes away by scooter or car. Courtyard by Marriott Phuket Town is the newest of the large hotels there, and Royal Phuket City Hotel on Phang Nga Road is an older tower within walking distance of the Sunday walking street. For something smaller, Bhukitta Boutique Hotel Phuket Town and Baan Sutra Guesthouse sit among the Sino-Portuguese shophouses of the old quarter.
Two resorts on the east coast take a different approach and bring the beach to you. The Westin Siray Bay Resort & Spa occupies a hillside on Siray Island next to Phuket Town with its own strip of sand, and Barcelo Coconut Island is reached by the hotel’s boat from a pier east of town. Neither east-coast beach compares with the west for swimming, but both are calm in low season when the western bays are flagged red. For prices, seasons and transport across the island, the Phuket travel guide goes into more detail.
