Karon Beach in Phuket

Karon Beach is another exquisite Phuket beach. This is pretty much a stereotypical image of paradise – long beach, sand dunes, and palm trees alongside crystal clear water! Surprisingly, Karon Beach offers even more… Unlike some of the other beaches on the island, Karon is not overdeveloped. Over the last few years a number of hotels and restaurants have emerged, but there are still large areas of open land that have not been built on. To make life simple, there is a paved walkway with lighting that runs parallel to the beach and gives easy access to the hotels behind. The whole thing gives the beach a uniquely pleasant ‘homely’ feel. The usual bars, souvenir shops and tailors that might appear elsewhere have been kept away from the beachfront and assigned to the road coming inwards from the main road. This has become a pretty lively area with trendy bars competing with restaurants offering a variety of cuisines. Karon is one of the few beaches where weather conditions permit surfing and great breakers come to shore from June to September. You really should be an experienced surfer to try these waves, but surfboards are available for hire from the beach anyway!

How to get there: Songtaews run from Ranong Road in Phuket town to Karon Beach on a regular basis. A fare is 20 Baht per person – clearly the easiest and most effective way to get there.