A Beach Exploration Guide for Phuket Island in Southern Thailand

Phuket | Beach Map | Photojourney

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.

Exploring the Resort Town of Hua Hin

[Top]   [Monkey Mountain]    [Shopping]   [Activities]

Northern side of Hua Hin beach

Brilliant, white sand beaches under a burning sun. Thai-style resorts interspersed with high-end luxury hotels near sleepy towns. An authentic seaside vacation in the tropics. Hua Hin is all these things and more- a look back to what Thailand’s coastal resorts may have been like twenty or thirty years ago, but with the addition of modern conveniences, if desired. Lesser known than its nightlife-crazed sister city of Pattaya across the Gulf of Thailand, Hua Hin is often the preferred destination for a quiet weekend away from Bangkok for long-term expats and Thai locals.

Day Trips to the Chonburi Shore

[Bangsan Beach]   [Rong Payaban Kao Road]    [Fisherman Markets]

Thai youngsters playing in the waters by Bang Saen Beach watch the last glimpse of the sun as it melts into the ocean

Sometimes Tiger and Bird enjoy a simple day trip to get their monthly beach fix. After all, why commit an entire weekend to a sleepy beach town when you can get to the beach and back to the big city all in the same day? Or perhaps a busy schedule will only accommodate a day away from the City of Angels. Apparently, many Thai tourists from Bangkok and Rayong adopt a similar view and choose to visit the 4.3km-long (2.7mi) Bang Saen Beach near the small beach town of Chonburi, a convenient one-hour drive from the eastern edge of the capitol city. But be aware! One result of its rising popularity is that the beach becomes very crowded on weekend afternoons.

Pattaya Resorts: Where to Stay!

[Top]   [Family Friendly]   [Peaceful/Romantic]   [Pattaya Beach]

Dusk settles at the Centara Grand Mirage in Pattaya

Tiger and Bird typically do not recommend places to stay while visiting various regions of Thailand, since there are often many good options available to choose from. A friend of ours, however, informed us that Pattaya has too many hotels and asked us for a few recommendations- and hence this post came to be!

Let’s suppose for a minute that you’re not one of those tourists who always likes to stick to one brand of hotel while traipsing off on overseas adventures. We have friends who will always swear by Hilton and travel from one Hilton hotel to another the world around. These folks would probably want to stay at the Hilton Pattaya Hotel. But what about the rest of us, those like Tiger and Bird who enjoy new experiences while on vacation? Then, the city of Pattaya becomes a confusing mess of hotel and hostel offerings from the greater region, some of which may or may not be close to Pattaya beach.

Tiger and Bird have selected nine five-star resorts, located around Pattaya beach, to be featured and recommended to you here. These resorts are sorted into the categories of “Family Friendly”, “Peaceful / Romantic”, and “Pattaya Beach”, one of which hopefully corresponds to the type of vacation that you plan to enjoy while visiting Pattaya.

Pattaya Beach: Daytime Activities

[Top]   [Outdoor Adventures]   [Indoor Activities]

Pattaya Beach shoreline in the morning light

Pattaya has long reveled in its reputation as a beachside party town, attracting those individuals seeking dusk-till-dawn parties, go-go bars and general redlight district activity. Indeed, when Tiger first arrived in Thailand in 2011, many Thai people encouraged him to NOT visit Pattaya, and instead go for a more local area: "check out Huahin. Or, if you must head towards Pattaya, visit Chonburi or Jomtien instead!"

Perhaps Pattaya's infamy is well-deserved. Perhaps it is not. A tourist's experience in a place is really up to the choices said tourist makes - what to visit, where to eat, what activities to try - and these days, visitor demographics are changing (China is on the rise!), with many families also choosing Pattaya as a vacation destination. On top of this, the city has been trying to improve its image to attract "higher quality" tourists. For now, the effort appears to be slowly paying off.

Today we'll look at what activities are available around Pattaya beach during daylight hours! But first, some history and general information.

South of Hua Hin: Beaches and National Parks

Playing in the surf on Khao Kalok beach

Bangkok is situated around 20 miles (32km) from the tip of the Gulf of Thailand, if one were to follow the Chao Phraya river to the point where it meets the sea. However, the most famous beaches near the capitol are often cited as being found in either Pattaya to the southeast or in the sleepy town of Hua Hin to the southwest. The experiences are like night and day. Pattaya is a fully developed miniature city, replete with a strong expat community and numerous first-world amenities like luxury hotels, shopping complexes, and touristy excursions. Hua Hin is more of a quiet place; oh, it also has luxury hotels and plenty of white-sand beaches, but it feels more untouched and more authentic than its sister city across the gulf.

Anyone who visits Bangkok will hear of both Hua Hin and Pattaya. Today, however, Tiger and Bird would like to talk neither of these places and look to another region, more local, and less known, immediately to the south of Hua Hin. Where, you ask? Why, we are talking about the region of Pranburi.

Thailand: Skylanterns and Jomtien Beach!!

Sky lantern launch by some college students beside the Gulf of Thailand

What is a sky lantern? Well, for a start these are sometimes also referred to as "Chinese" lanterns and were featured very prominently in Disney's "Tangled," the story of the long, blond-haired princess Rapunzel. Click here to see one of the clips from the film!! A sky lantern is simply a paper lantern with a candle inside. When lit, the lantern acts similarly to a hot-air balloon and can rise up until, like a star, it twinkles brightly in the distance. Releasing these lanterns is often-times seen as good luck, and they can be seen all year-round in Thailand. Once a year, however, in the mountains area of northern Thailand and during the Yi Peng festival, thousands of paper lanterns are lit simultaneously, unleashing a myriad of shining stars into the heavens. In the late night hours, the crowds vanish and left on the beach are the locals, students and residents, enjoying the cool of the night and the light breeze from the ocean. Sabai sabai (Sabai is a Thai word that can be roughly translated to mean, relax, take it easy... a hakuna matata sort of mood). Nightfall found us lounging on Jomtien beach, talking and lazily watching a group of students light and launch sky lanterns from further down the beach. A link to a video of the historic event - my first sighting of a sky lantern launch - can be found at the end of this entry!!! But the question is how did we end up here?

Thailand: Pattaya, Jomtien, and Private Beaches

Royal Cliff Hotel and Resorts in Pattaya, Thailand

My trip to Pattaya was peaceful, relaxing, quiet, and undisturbed.... the Thai word that sums these feelings up would be "sabai, sabai." Roughly equivalent to the "Lion King's" Swahili phrase "hakuna matata." I was able to spend the day at the beach along the ocean, and at night go for a relaxing swim in one of many pools. The general mood? Tranquil. The food? Exquisite. The atmosphere? Wonderful (can't beat dining literally at ocean's edge!!!). I love giving this description of my vacation, because people familiar with the area typically stare at me in confusion and bewilderment.