Phuket Thailand Area Advice Guide

Phuket is the major Thai beach destination and has widely varying areas for different tastes; we order these below by approximate overall tourist numbers. With all Phuket tourist areas we would point out that shopping is far better done in Phuket Town which has several large department stores, many specialist Thai stores, plus the inevitable t-shirt, etc. tourist stores, but at a much lower price than the tourist areas. We recommend you ask your hotel if they can have a metered cab come and collect you to take you there. Getting a metered cab in Phuket Town on the street itself is not a problem.

Filled with go-go bars (where western men pick up a Thai girl for a fee and for the night), discos, regular bars, mass tourism quality souvenir shops, by the 100g priced (to hide the high cost) seafood restaurants, frequent US navy shore leave visits, the tuktuk mafia (where they prevent better, cheaper, safer, air-conditioned taxis from operating) and tour group hotels; Patong is primarily a young persons and bar girl seeking male destination not really suitable for families or discerning travelers. Most hotels are the other side of the beach road. The beach is sheltered by headlands so the waters are generally quite calm, but unlicensed and uninsured jet-skis and other motor driven craft have a habit of regularly injuring or worse a tourist or two. Hawkers (beach salespeople) walk up and down the rows of sun-loungers touting their wares making it very hard for you to relax. There is a large gay “krak-toy” (lady boy) area in the center on Soi Bangla. Some family groups do however enjoy and make good use of Patong's other facilities mostly further north, towards the southern headland or in large hotel complexes separating them from the central adult entertainment areas.

Karon has a go-go bar, regular bar and souvenir element similar to Patong in its center. The rest of Karon Beach is generally given to very large tour group hotels which some families may well be suited to. Most of the hotels are the other side of the often busy coastal road. The beach is generally free from hawkers and jet-skis, although they do exist. The very long beach has no headland shelter so it is not often suitable for swimming due to the resulting waves. The tuk-tuk mafia again prevent metered taxis from picking passengers up here.

There are actually two Kata Beaches, Kata Noi and Kata Yai which are separated by a headland. Kata Noi is very similar to Karon, Kata Yai is much more secluded, sheltered sea wise) and has more of a village feel to it. Both Katas are suitable for families with few Thai girl “venues” to make the parents blush.

This is where many of the better luxury hotels are located, exclusively so, which means you will only be able to walk to shops and restaurants within the hotel community at controlled (very high) prices. Many of the hotels are actually separated from the beach by beach shack vendors selling everything from suits to seafood. If your hotel is set back from the beach, they will recommend you use the beach lakes that separate the various hotels. Unfortunately these have less air, so are hotter, and are spoiled by jet-ski noise and a few hawkers.

Actually a Muslim village, but do not let that put you off as it brings benefits such as less crime, no go-go bars, etc. Kamala has developed considerably over the last few years but still retains a village atmosphere with some very good restaurants, some on the beach.

Has both a luxury and a sprawling tour group hotel with very small rooms. Nai Harn (the center section) is a popular choice for local expatriates as there are very few hawkers, you can rent a beach lounger and buy cold drinks from the attendant at reasonable prices, plus there are a large number of restaurants nearby. The furthermost beach section from the hotels is a hang out for the local gay community. Nai Harn can have some very dangerous undertows which makes allowing children in the sea and even your own swimming out of your depth something to consider carefully.

Nice clean and relatively undeveloped beach with some lower cost room options, making it the beach of choice for many backpackers who want to see the sea and avoid Patong.

The beaches are not that good but the views to the islands are spectacular. Here you will find a range of beachfront and hillside hotels with some stunning views. Chalong Bay is a major dive operator location. As these beaches are on the sheltered side of Phuket, the sea is generally very calm and there are fewer strong winds. Although Phuket is now protected by an effective tsunami warning system, the sheltered side of the island only suffered raised sea levels / small amounts of flooding in the 2004 tsunami, those with a phobia about such things but who still yearn for a beachfront location may sleep better here. This area has a good number of very good restaurants and bars, several actually on the beach.

Do not travel to Phuket as a sex tourist; it is an illegal, very dangerous and ultimately abusing act any human being will surely come to regret in the fullness of time.

We donate all of our direct reservation earnings from the hotels and villas on our site to a charity in one of the most deprived areas of Thailand, which helps keep poor even homeless children off the streets and out of child labour and the sex industry. When you book with and then stay and pay a hotel or villa directly via our site you are basically making a donation to a very worthy cause at the same time, thank you (see our charity page).

If you would like to correct anything you believe is wrong or out-of-date here or provide extra text that could help others get the best out of Phuket, please feel free to contact us. If you would like more tourism information on any aspect of travel to / holidays in Phuket, please visit our associated Thailand Travel Forum.

If you have a favorite hotel or villa in Phuket which does not have a direct reservations facility with us, please feel free to either contact us with a name and email address for that hotel / villa or ask them to visit our site and register. The more hotels and villas in Phuket that join Travel Ethos, the more we can help needy children in Thailand.