Life in Kingdom of Thailand: A Beach Exploration Guide for Phuket Island in Southern Thailand

Phuket | Beach Map | Photojourney

Patong Beach Phuket Thailand Nightlife Night

Patong beach at low tide can be a beautiful place to kick back and relax in the cool evening hours!

Phuket has been a premier tropical vacation destination for Western tourists for about 60 years. This southern province, slightly smaller in size than Singapore and itself Thailand’s largest island, boasts beautiful tropical beaches, international-class resorts, and easy access points to islands situated in the transparent aquamarine waters of the adjacent Andaman Sea. For Bangkokians, Phuket is also synonymous with a sister-province across Pgang Nga Bay called Krabi, as well as the popular islands between of Koh Yao Yai, Koh Yao Noi, and Koh Phi Phi. Phuket is a land of fantasy. A vacation to Phuket can take the form of whatever the visitor desires: secluded beaches for the whole family to enjoy, resorts situated in large coves with good surfing waves, touristy beach towns with scenes and experiences similar to Pattaya- all can be found within the province. And for those who prefer short excursions off the mainland, day trips to various islands and snorkeling, scuba diving, boating, and adventure sports await.

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But as a visitor, what should you see? Where should you visit? Online hotel searches yield many tempting results from around the entire island of Phuket. This proves to be unhelpful if you’re unfamiliar with the surrounding region. This post will focus on Phuket beaches and consist mostly of pictures to help potential visitors make better decisions for their stay. Tiger and Bird have also compiled a list of public beaches for Phuket and put them together with a handy map that you can download and save. See below!

Beach Exploration Guide Phuket Thailand Tigernbird

This Phuket beach guide was put together by Tiger and Bird to help you with planning your trip. Please note this is a full resolution image that you can download.

Sandy beaches are located on the western side of Phuket, openly facing the Andaman Sea. First is the expansive Mai Khao beach (1), stretching from the northern tip of the island down towards the airport. This is followed by Naiyang Beach (2) near the airport. The runway for Phuket Airport is adjacent to a portion of this beach, making for great Instagram shots with planes taking off and landing in the background! Nai Thon Beach (3) is a small, sandy beach that borders a national park. Not too much to see here but can be fun to visit for a very local experience!

High end luxury resorts and several clubs are congregated around Bang Tao Beach (4) in the expansive Laguna Phuket resort complex, home to Angsana, Banyan Tree, and Dusit Thani among other villas and hotels. For western tourists looking to experience the tropics with an international feel, this is the place to be.

Patong (7) was originally a sleepy beach town that has over time transformed to have an atmosphere similar to Pattaya. There is a walking street lined with bars, massage shops, and eateries that stretches from the beach to the Central and Jungceylon shopping malls. The town is also filled with many small and large resorts, restaurants, and street venders selling their wares. The crescent shaped Patong Beach is still quite beautiful, but the entire area from town to beach is perennially filled with tourists and other visitors. Hey, if that’s your thing, this can be a great place to be! For a better experience, consider staying in a resort among the hills to the north or south and avail yourself of the shuttles to Patong during the day and evening hours.

The beaches in the south of Phuket - with the exception of Patong Beach - tend to be less crowded and have a more authentic and local atmosphere (Surin, Kamala, Karon, and Kata beaches fit this bill). Southern Phuket also has some large hills separating the towns and beaches from each other, so make sure you’re comfortable driving in that kind of terrain if you’re renting a car!

Weather Tip

Keep in mind that the peak tourist season lasts from late November to early February. During these tropical winter months, the temperature is less extreme (33C, or ~90F) and the humidity drops significantly with virtually no rain. During the monsoon season, April through August, the number of visitors and prices for resorts drop significantly. This comes with the occasional storm and the regular evening downpour, however.

Transportation Tip

For visitors who wish to visit multiple beaches and resorts on the mainland and are comfortable driving on the left side of the road, Tiger and Bird recommend renting a car. The prices can be quite affordable and this option allows for a great deal of autonomy to explore nearby beaches and towns. Visitors planning to spend most of their time at or around a resort or beach will find this an unnecessary convenience, however.

Resort Booking Tips

Call the hotel ahead of your stay to discuss which rooms or booking options have the best view. For higher-end hotels, the staff can tell you which villa or room may be best suited for your stay- details which you can then include in your online booking request.

Consider booking the more expensive resorts of your stay during weekdays; on the weekends, hotel prices can go up a good 30% to 50% as you compete with local tourists escaping Bangkok!

Island Hopping Tip

Visitors planning multi-day trips to the islands of Koh Yao Yai, Koh Yao Noi, and Phi Phi or crossing the bay to Krabi may want to position themselves near Phuket Town for easy ferry access. You can negotiate with the hotel to hold larger, heavier bags until your return (often free of charge if you spend another day or two at the hotel upon your return!).

Phuket: A Tiger and Bird Photojourney

Below is a selection of photographs from multiple trips to Phuket across the years that may give you a better idea of what to expect on your visit! Since we tend to plan last-minute for local trips and dislike tourist crowds, we usually visit during the offseason.

Big waves after storm Patong beach Phuket Thailand

Patong beach at high tide after a stormy night

Bang Tao sandy beach with aquamarine waters Phuket Thailand

White sand aquamarine water at Surin Beach in Phuket, Thailand

Surfing on big waves at Kata beach in Phuket, Thailand

Picture 1. Bang Tao Beach. The Laguna Phuket resort complex has a great, relaxed international atmosphere with an expansive beach to boot! Picture 2. Surin Beach. In the background is a local hotel and villa complex. Around the point, and accessible only by boat or by following a small path, is the isolated Haad Laem Sing beach. Picture 3. Kata Beach. A popular spot for tourists enjoying the waves or trying some surfing.

Aquamarine waters and sandy Kamala beach in Phuket, Thailand

Picture 4. Karon Beach. Beautiful, expansive beach popular with tourists in the high season. The road nearby has small shops and a more local feel. During the low season, can be a wonderful spot to relax or enjoy the waves after a passing storm.

tropical beach with aquamarine water in Phuket, Thailand

Beach frontage road in the south of Phuket, Thailand

Swimming and surfing in big waves in Phuket, Thailand

Picture 1. Escaping from the beaten trail can be fun! This is a typical local beach with street vendors selling snacks nearby. Picture 2. A road near a local beach. Small shops are always located a short song-taew drive away (the song-taew is the red truck in the picture; it has been fitted with two rows of benches and drives up and down the road, picking up people along the way and dropping them off at their desired location for a nominal fee). Picture 3. A tourist heading out into the ocean with some surfers in the background at Kata Beach

Jetskiing in the aquamarine waters off of Phuket, Thailand

Jetskiing is just one of many activities visitors can enjoy while visiting Phuket

Walking Street in Patong beach town in Phuket, Thailand

Patong Town. Walking Street has become more gentrified and now attracts curious visitors of all types and ages

Dusk settling over the ocean at an upscale restaurant in Phuket, Thailand

Hillside resort facing the Andaman Sea. Now this is what we’re talking about! Why not kick back and enjoy the best of both worlds, visit beaches and towns during the day and relax in the surrounding hills by night?

And that’s a wrap, folks! Switching things up once again to provide more useful information than simply an overview of one of Tiger and Bird’s trips. If you have the opportunity to visit Phuket, we hope this beach guide will provide you some useful ideas and trips to make your trip that much more magical!

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