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Laem Ka Public Beach
(5 Minute Walk)
This beach is easily accessible from the Andaman Cove resort, walking distance.
The white sand is brilliant against the blue water, the sand are soft and spotless.
This beach most of the time is quiet and only visited by locals, it is not even
listed on most Phuket beach maps because of it's remoteness. This is perhaps Phuket's
only nice swimmable East Coast Beach. Because it's on the East Coast, it didn't take
on the full force of the 2004 tsunami and remains 100% originally as beautiful as always.
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Laem Ka Public Beach
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Bon Island Private Beach
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Private Beach at Bon Island
(15 minute boat ride)
Every hour on the hour, a long tail boat will depart from the Evason Into The
Beach restaurant pier and make it's way out to Bon Island. This private island
is owned by the Evason Resort and available only to Andaman Cove and Evason
Resort guests. Once there, the Evason staff will provide you with towels, beach
chairs, there's a Hobie cat sailboat and food and drinks. The boat ride is free
both directions. The last boat departing the island back to Evason leaves at 6pm,
so make sure you are on that boat because the island is uninhabited. Also being
an East facing beach, there was no Tsunami damage here.
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Rawai Beach
(15 Minute Walk)
Site of the Chao Ley or Sea Gipsy village, many restaurants and
bungalows, shell handicraft shops, and both fishing and charter
boats to the nearby islands. The beach itself is a rough sandy
granular beach, it's suitable for swimming and many school children
do.. The waters are very
shallow for a hundred meters or so out, so during the low tide,
you can walk out amongst all the coral. Rawai is 7 kms. west of
Chalong Circle. This Southern facing beach didn't get hit by the
full force of the 2004 tsunami so it remains 100% how it has always been.
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Rawai Beach
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Ya Nui Beach
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Ya Nui Beach
(5 Minute Drive)
A secluded beach between Cape Promthep and Nai Harn Beach, this is one of Phuket's
most hidden treasures of a beach. It is a small perhaps 100meter long beach, divided
at a corner by a big rock formation. This beach was severely damaged by the Tsunami.
It used to be a smooth sandy beach with Phuket's best snorkeling, the water was
crystal clear and while snorkeling, you could see plenty of coral and fish. Most of the
coral got washed up on the beach and broken into many pieces. Efforts were made to put
the big pieces of coral back in the water, but it's mostly dead now and coated with
a green algae. Starkly different than before the Tsunami. Hopefully it will come back
to it's full beauty in the upcoming years as it continues to heal.
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Nai Harn Beach
(10 Minute Drive)
A popular swimming beach and yacht anchorage during the dry season. Nai Harn beach
is a fine fluffy thick sandy beach with spectacular views out into the bay. During High
season, the winds blow off the land to the west, so the sea is calm and clear, great for
swimming. But during low season, winds blow West to East bringing in very strong waves
with strong undercurrents making swimming dangerous. The strong under currents also carry
the sand out to sea so about half of the beach gets pulled away and dragged out to sea while
logs and debris from India wash up and litter the shore. This phenomena happens to all
West Coast beaches to one degree or another. Since Nai Harn is one of the more secluded
of the popular beaches and there's nobody there to clean it up or care for it, the high versus
low season difference tends to happen here more than other places. High Season is November
to March, Low Season is May to September.
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Nai Harn Beach
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Kata Noi Beach
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Kata Noi Beach
(20 Minute Drive)
South of Kata is Kata Noi, a smaller beach with only a few hotels and little
other development because the main road dead ends at the mountains. The beach
is superb. Many fish inhabit the rocks and corals both to the North and South
end of the beach, so in high season, snorkeling is pretty nice. The main development
on Kata Noi is the Katathani Hotel which takes up about half of the beach front.
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Kata Beach
(15 Minute Drive)
The smallest of Phuket's three main tourist beaches, Kata is different
in appearance and style from Karon or Patong. The beach itself is broad
and crescent shaped. Club Med is the main hotel that borders the Northern
portion of the beach where as the Southern portion has more tourist shops
, restaurants and hotels so the beach there tends to be more populated.
The waters are perfect for swimming, and at the north end is a coral reef with many
varied corals and fishes which stretches out toward Poo Island, about
.5 km off shore. Facilities for every price range include hotels, bungalows,
tour companies, restaurants, bars and clubs. There is regular bus service to
and from Phuket town during the day.
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Kata Beach
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Karon Beach
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Karon Beach
(20 Minute Drive)
The second largest of Phuket's principal tourist beaches. Large resort complexes
line the road back of the beach, but the strand itself, long and broad, has no
development. The sand is very white, and squeaks audibly when walked on. The
southern point has a fine coral reef stretching toward Kata and Poo Island.
Restaurants, bars, tour companies and other non-hotel businesses are at the
north end, near the traffic circle, and at the south, on the little road connecting
the back road with the beach road. The narrow road between Kata and Karon has a
number of small businesses as well as the Dino Park Mini Golf facility. Karon
is the most up-scale of Phuket's beaches. Regular daytime bus service to and
from Phuket Town.
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Patong Beach
(30 Minute Drive)
Patong is the most popular tourists place in Phuket, with new buildings popping up all the time.
Patong is where you go to have fun with more than hundred bars, discos and nightclubs, or just to meet people from the whole world. There are in fact bigger chance that you meet friends from your home country in Patong than at home.
For snorkeling go to the north end where there are some rocks close to the beach. Best time on the day is at high tides when the fish swim near the beach, but don't expect to see lots of fish. Nobody go to Patong Beach for snorkeling. Try Kata Beach instead!
You don't have to be afraid for jellyfish, since i only saw a few in one year.
There are many places on the beach where you can buy food and something to drink. You can also buy cloths, ice-cream etc. from vendors that are walking up and down the beach all day. But it's very expensive when you compare with how much less you have to pay walking a few meters off the beach.
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Patong Beach
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Kamala Beach
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Kamala Beach
(35 Minute Drive)
Tourists are back too with sun beds lining most of the beach. Along Kamala Beach Hotel the beach was packed with families enjoying the hot sun.
Kamala Beach Hotel looked like there was never a tsunami. Next to the hotel are open air restaurants instead of the shop / restaurant buildings that was damaged by the tsunami.
The beach is as beautiful as ever and the sea at the quiet north end was crystal clear (around 6 meters). The beach along Kamala Beach Hotel had too much waves the day I stayed there so I don't know if the sea is as clear as at the north end.
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Laem Sing Beach
(40 Minute Drive)
There are two parking lots where you can park your bike for a small fee. If I don't remember wrong it should be 20 baht for a motorbike.
Coming from Kamala the first parking lot has a somewhat steep trail. Instead, drive to the second parking lot. Trail down here is not so steep, but longer.
Laem Singh Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches on Phuket Island, so long you don't mind sunbeds. There are also several restaurants under the trees along the beach.
Beach vendors are common at Laem Singh. A few minutes after you have settled down to relax, their radars will have detected you and will approach you with very nice goods. But don't expect to pay a reasonable price for anything they sell on the beach.
The beach is divided in two with lots of rocks in the water at the south end. The north end and most popular part of the beach has only a few rocks in the water.
Snorkeling is best at the south end, with okay snorkeling along the rocks.
Don't waist your time snorkeling at the north end. Walk south!!!
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Laem Singh Beach
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Surin Beach
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Surin Beach
(45 Minute Drive)
Surin is a popular beach packed with sunbeds as far as the eye can see. Some places all the way down to the sea.
Thai and western food are available at the small restaurants that line most of the beach.
At the north end is a palm fringed hill where beach vendors takes a break after their hard work trying to sell you everything from peanuts to Thai silk.
Best snorkeling at the south end with lots of fish around the rocks close to the beach. There are also a few corals but nothing special.
Surin has water activities like banana boat, jet skies, water skies...
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