The Best Beaches in Phuket - Our Astonishing Walking Tour #1

There’s no doubt that when in Thailand you’ll discover some of the best beaches in Phuket.

With the soft golden sand beneath your feet, and the glistening sunshine sparkling on the clear turquoise waters… they are picture perfect. Plus, with the captivating natural landscape as your backdrop… it’s a no brainer as to why many tourists flock to Phuket.

Yet, after having not been to Phuket in many years… mother nature thought it would be a great idea to release the rain, and a lot of it! So, during that time when we were inside taking shelter from the pelting rain over some brews… we were making some plans about what we could do when the weather does improve.

And, as we both enjoy walking around to explore destinations… we made a rough plan to see some of Phuket’s beaches, by foot!

OK, you may call us crazy! But hey, these are some of the things we do to. So, then we can have some unique experiences… as well as provide you with some interesting insights for your travels.

While Patong would have to be the most popular of beaches in Phuket… we did discover some more charming ones, from our perspective anyway.

So, when we had the first glimpse of sun and clear blue skies… we would embark on our self-guided walking tour. Now, we did cover a lot of miles as you’ll discover. That’s why we’ll be covering our adventure over 2 travel blogs!

Without further ado, we’ll run through some of the best beaches in Phuket outside of Patong that we found… on our epic self-guided walking tour. You have to see the pics too that we took as the beaches look stunning!

It Begins – Our Self-Guided Walking Tour of Beaches in Phuket

Phuket is the largest island in Thailand. And, as we were doing a self-guided walking tour… we’d of course would cover a tiny fraction of the massive coastline, that stretches for miles.

Yet, one of the great things is about Phuket is… you’re bound to discover gorgeous beaches. And, it doesn’t matter what atmosphere you’re after. Whether it’s vibrant and energetic, or a peaceful and secluded… Phuket has something for everyone.

In addition to the varying ambiences… there are plenty of things to do at the different beaches. You can relax on the sun loungers, have fun with the variety of water sports or nature activities… or just eat and drink until your belly is content.

Yet, would that be the case for the beaches we would discover on our Phuket beach tour?

While we were staying in Patong, we had a little help to start our self-guided walking tour. Now, what we mean by that is, we took a car to get to our first destination! And, that’s because the distance was around 5km from our accommodation in Paton g.

We had several options to choose from when it came to transportation… more on that in another travel blog!

So, the cost for the car ride to the first beach was 120 baht. That’s about USD $3.35, 3.10 Euros or 2.75 GBP. And, it took less than 10 minutes to get to one of the best beaches in Phuket, which is this one…

Karon Beach

Our driver took us to the drop off point of Karon Park, and we got there around 10:30am.

Karon Beach is said to be the third-longest beach in Phuket. In our research, other travelers gave raving reviews of this beach… highlighting the soft sand and crystal clear blue water.

Then, as we took a stroll through Karon Park to get to the beach, once we got there… it took our breath away. The sand sure was soft beneath our feet, like walking on fluffy little pillows!

The mountain landscape in contrast with the striking blue sky and ocean was stunning. The sun was glistening on the water… leaving gorgeous sparkles as we would walk along the coastline. It truly was spectacular scenery.

What’s great is that when we were there, hardly anyone was around. So, we almost had the beach to ourselves! And, we saw that there were a range of activities on offer… including beach volleyball, parasailing and jet skiing.

While there were sun loungers on offer, which aren’t for free… we saw many people opting to sit on the beach and under the shade of the trees, having picnics. And, as we went strolling along the beachfront… there were many palm trees lining this gorgeous beach.

Time to Explore Karon Town

Of course, we had to explore the town too. And, as we were wandering through, one of the first landmarks we saw the Karon Beach fountain.

Then, as we were walking down Patak Road, we would look down the different streets… passing by many restaurants, bars, shops and massage parlours. Yet, one street that caught our eye was Soi Saneha.

And, as we went further down Soi Saneha… we saw that many of the buildings were brightly painted in a variety of vibrant colors.

Next, we were making our way to one of the most popular attractions here… which is the Karon Temple market. Now, it wasn’t open when we were there. Yet, we still had a look around to explore the temple complex.

So, after walking around in the heat and sunshine, we were getting thirsty. And, depending on where you go… it was surprising to discover how inexpensive the drinks were here. For example, you could get 50 baht Chang beers! Crazy cheap! Yet, we did find that at some of the bars they were almost double.

Even so, it was a welcome relief for a pit-stop… on our self-guided walking tour to find the best beaches in Phuket.

And, if you’re unsure of where to go… you can stop by Karon Plaza which has a huge amount of food options, as well as shopping.

After a cooling beverage, we would continue our walk by the beachfront.

Then, we got back onto the main street of Karon Road… we would wander past many shops and this place, Dino Park Mini Golf!

OK, it wasn’t really our thing so we didn’t venture in. Yet, in addition to this outdoor mini-golf complex in a jungle-like environment… it was full of dinosaur statues and volcanoes, as well as having a restaurant & bar.

Now, as we were walking past the Dino Park towards the next destination… it was surprising to see that we had been in Karon for about 2.5 hours already. And, by this stage we had already been walking a distance of about 4.5km. So, this would’ve been enough walking for many people… yet, we still had a LONG way to go! No rest for the wicked – ha ha ha!

Our Thoughts About Karon

On reflection, we did enjoy our time in Karon. And, we did both agree that it was one of the best beaches in Phuket so far. It definitely has a laid back feel, with the town much smaller than Patong. Yet, the beach was stunning and nowhere near having the crowd factor that Patong Beach does. So, this was a big tick for us.

And, while there were less people, it still had different activities for tourists to take part in. We thought that there were a decent variety of shops, restaurants and bars… if we were to stay here for another trip. And, we would like to experience the popular Karon Temple Market one day too.

Plus, it did surprise us at how cheap some of the food and drinks were. We were thinking that with less competition, in comparison to places in Patong… prices would be more expensive.

Yet, the jewel in the crown is clearly the beach at Karon – stunning!

So, how would this next beach compare? Could it out-do Karon Beach? Well, let’s find out…

Kata Beach

About 8.5km south of Patong, is Kata Beach… of which you may hear or see it by the name of Kata Yai. The transition from Karon to Kata was not far from the Dino Park. Plus, the main street of Karon Road, then would change names to Kata Road. And, we were needing a cool drink before we would discover the beach in Kata.

Now, there was a big outdoor area full of tiny bars, eateries and shops… by the name of, The Walk @ Kata. Yet, the bars weren’t open when we got there. So, we found a place that had a display of their beverages in front. And, we did make sure with the staff that the beers were cold before taking a seat.

And, as we were enjoying our cold brews… we did notice a difference in the ambience and surrounds in comparison to Karon. First of all, it did seem like that there were many more options for hotels, bars, restaurants and shops.

It definitely had more people roaming the streets… as we would watch all the action from our front row seats. Then, after our beverages, we made our way to the beachfront.

It’s said that Kata Beach is a popular place for surfers with its consistent waves. Yet, as we were to discover, this beach is a haven for just about everyone. Like Karon, Kata Beach has amazing scenery, and a heap of water activities outside of surfing including… paddle boarding, jet skiing, parasailing and diving. Funnily enough, when we were there, we didn’t see anyone surfing!

The beach was much busier with more people swimming and laying on the beach. So, by that time it was around 2 o’clock in the afternoon and the sun was really hot now.

Time to Eat at Kata!

Yet, rather than getting an ice-cold bevvy, we were getting peckish again. And, our stomach growls were getting louder with every groan! Without knowing where to go, we found some street food carts lining Soi Pakbang. Plus, we found someone who would satisfy our burger craving… Mr Ting.

His menu includes about 15 different types of burgers… as well as hot dogs and sandwiches. Mr Ting could also speak some English… and was happy to whip up a couple of vegetarian burgers for us.

While Mr Ting had several customers before and after us… we didn’t have to wait long to see what his burgers were like. He was cooking up those burgers like he could do them perfectly with his eyes shut!

So, the burger had two eggs, cheese and salad in it. And, it only cost 80 baht each. That’s about USD $2.25, 2.10 Euros or 1.85 GBP. Now that is mind-blowingly cheap. Mr Ting’s food items cost around 70 baht to 140 baht. Thus, it’s incredibly affordable and they were decent sizes for the price.

We did stop by to have our burgers at the Kata Beach Community Park. Everyone must have been at the beach because it was devoid of any people. And, as we took our first bites, oh boy… it sure was tasty. Mr Ting has been around since 1989… and after having his burgers we understand why!

How Far Now? Our Self-Guided Walking Tour of the Best Beaches in Phuket.

After our feed we were to continue with our self-guided walking tour… to find the best beaches in Phuket. So, after strolling about 50 meters from Kata Park… we saw a Super Surf complex, like the one in Patong. And, there weren’t many surfers there either!

By this stage it was around 2:45pm. And, the distance we had been walking for was about 6km (~3.8 miles). Yet, we still hadn’t even seen all of Kata yet! Then, when we got to the southern side of Kata beach it wasn’t what we were expecting.

So, we’re sure you’re keen to find out what we mean. Yet, you’ll have to discover this and more in our next travel blog… Part 2 of the Best Beaches in Phuket from our epic self-guided walking tour. Plus, you’ll have to stay tuned to find out how many crazy miles we had been walking for!