Karon Beach is only over the hill and not very far away from Patong beach and also very close to Kata Beach. Karon beach is a 5km miles long stretch of Phuket coastline that glistens in the midday sun.
The Seasons
From November through to April the beach has beautiful flat blue seas and golden sand. The majority of people who visit Karon do so year after year. The beach is not as busy as its sister beach Patong Beach so it’s not too crowded and not so noisy and hectic as Patong Beach but it is all the same a great place to chill out.
The seas here can become very rough in low season (May to October) and there is a system on the beach of different coloured flags warning you of the dangers or whether it’s safe to go in the sea or not. Karon does get some rather big waves and there are some very strong rip tides, so the swimmer must be careful and heed any warnings in the low season months.
Recommended Hotels: The Old Phuket | Sugar Palms Karon | Andaman Seaview Resort | more…
How to get to
To get to Karon form Patong is very simple you just follow your nose south out of Patong Beach up over the hills and past the elephant trek station, past the Le Meridian Hotel, around a few curvy bends, dropping down into Karon, round past the man-made reservoir and you should find yourself at the Karon circle -a little roundabout.
From there you can see Karon. To reach it from Kata, just follow the shops, bars and restaurants south, it is actually very close to Karon.
The setup is the same as Patong, find yourself a sunbed, take a seat and the attendant will be over to fix you up, the sunbed fees are similar too -around 200 baht for two beds and an umbrella.
There are no toilets on the actual beach itself, but you can use the facilities of the many restaurants and bars situated across the beach road. They may charge you a small fee but if you are dining there of course it’s free.
The sunbed guys, like the other beaches also have small areas where you can purchase snacks,ice cold beer, soft drinks, there will also be people walking the beaches selling goods. There will not be nowhere near as many people hassling you here and this is why Karon beach is so popular to those that have been coming to Phuket for a few years now.
Things To Do
There are also not as many jet skis and parasailing here and as the beach is very long, the guys that do operate these expensive high powered toys tend to walk up and down the beach looking for customers. As in Patong like any other beach resort anywhere in Thailand, exercise extreme caution when dealing with jet skis, as they tend not to have any insurance and the user is liable for any damages. Also make sure that life-jackets and other safety paraphernalia are used. However riding a Jet Ski is fun, so we suggest doing it with a licensed Jet Ski Tour, you can book with Easy Day Phuket Tours.
There are several good snorkeling areas too, if you walk to either end of the beach there are some large rocks and boulders, snorkeling is not too difficult and after a little practice one gets the hang of it quite easily. There are a few places to rent equipment for the day which should not be much more than a couple of hundred baht.
During the late afternoon, it is possible to join in with some games, maybe a little beach soccer or even beach volley ball. Many locals come down to the beach at this time of the day as it is getting a little cooler and they will let you join in.
Towards the beach road you will find massage areas where you can receive a nice relaxing Thai massage for around 300 baht for the hour. Also manicures and pedicures are available upon demand.
Behind the beach there is a large walk way which which is supported by a bridge which allows you to cross over the small canal separating the beach from the road.
The next beach going North is the legendary Patong Beach and heading south is Kata Beach.
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