Just north of Patong Bay, starting from about the Novotel Resort Hotel Patong to Thavorn Bay Resort, this area consists of rocky but quiet beaches, and an interesting road leading up into hills with high viewpoints and a few good quality restaurants perched on the edge and top.
 
Some housing compounds are now being built on the hillsides and the whole area is steadily moving upmarket.

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 Laem Singh beach, just north of Kamala, is one of the best capes on the island. You could camp here and eat at the rustic roadside seafood places.
 
The name means Lion’s Point. The beach is in a small, curving bay with rocky headlands at the foot of forest-fringed cliffs and is among Phuket’s most beautiful spots. Look for signs indicating the path down to the beach.

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The beach is a favoured spot for witnessing sunsets. The northern end of Kamala Beach is suitable for swimming. Whilst Kamala doesn’t attract tourists in the same numbers as other places it has a certain niche, those who do come say ‘we like it just the way it is, don’t tell anyone as they’ll all come and spoil it.
 
The photogenic bay. Kamala has lost ground in terms of tourist arrivals to nearby Patong and Hat Surin. As a result, Kamala is a pretty good deal. 
 
Resorts are new and the beaches are quieterthan almost anywhere else on Phuket – make the most of it now, before it gets rediscovered

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Naiharn Beach   :  18 km from town

South of Kata Noi and north of Promthep Cape, Naiharn is not Phuket’s longest beach, but it borders the most gorgeous lagoon on the island. The middle of the beach is dominated by the Samnak Song Nai Han monastery, which has obstructed excessive development and is the reason that the beach is generally less crowded than other spots on the southern part of the island.
 
A wide variety of water sports can be enjoyed, but swimmers should be alert for the red flag which warns of dangerous currents during the monsoon season from May to October. One can walk to nearby Promthep Cape to observe sunsets, which are often fiery and spectacular 

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Kata Noi Beach   :  17 – 20 km from town

South of Kata is Kata Noi, a smaller beach with only a few hotels and little other development. The beach is superb. Many fish inhabit the rocks and corals along the beachless shoreline stretching south.
 
How to get there : Take the narrow beach road up over the hill from kata

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Kata Beach   :  17 – 20 km from town

Kata is our pick for Phuket’s best beach. Don’t confuse unpretentious with not being prestigious. Kata has a burgeoning surf culture (the surfing is best from April to November). The ocean is littered with surf virgins and pros trying to hang ten.
 
Beautiful Kata is a scenic gem, its clear water flanked by hills, and picturesque Bu island sits offshore.
 
Kata retains a village feel at its northern and southern ends and is perhaps more family-oriented, its beach is much more peaceful than Patong.

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Karon Beach   :  17 – 20 km from town

The second largest of Phuket’s tourist beaches. Large resort complexes line the road behind of the shoreline, but the long, broad beach itself has no development. The sand is very white, and squeaks audibly when walked upon. The southern point has a fine coral reef stretching toward Kata and Bu Island.
 
Restaurants, bars, tour companies and other non-hotel businesses are at the north end, near the traffic circle, and at the south end, on the little road connecting the backroad 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 facillity. Karon is the most up-scale of Phuket’s beaches. There is a regular daytime bus service to and from Phuket Town.
 
You’ll find most of the restaurants in the village of Karon which now also features a string of mainly top-end resorts. Luckily, most are tasteful and set far enough back from the sand to blend into the background hills. During the monsoon season, the surf is too rough for swimming here, so you’ll have to head to Kata for that as well 

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Patong Beach   :  15 km from town

The most popular beach, beautifully curved and sparks with frenetic electricity. The steamy streets seethe with souvenir shops, girlie bars, pricey seafood restaurants, and dive shops. Travelers pay homage to the neon gods, dancing the night away to booming sound systems in sweaty, pulsating clubs, or sipping Singha under the stars at sandy beachside bars. Demurely dressed diners dine on giant prawns and Italian wines at decadent, romantic restaurants where the view are as worthwhile as the food.
 
While Patong was once Phuket’s most expensive beach, prices are stabilizing as the local accommodation market becomes saturated with new places to stay.
 
Bangla Rd. is Patong’s beer-and-bar girl. Bargain seafood and noodle stall pop up across town at around Bangla Rd

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