Phuket Overview Travel Guide

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Phuket is the largest island in Thailand. At 540 square kilometers, it is about the same size as Singapore. Just over an hour by jet from Bangkok and with daily connections to most major Asian airports, Phuket is ideally situated for a short break or a relaxing vacation. [more]

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An international destination blessed with white-powdered, palm-fringed virgin beaches, turquoise waters and surrounded by island-dotted seas, Phuket is visited every year by more than two millions of visitors.

The island features sincerely hospitable people, superb seafood, lovely waterfalls carved into magnificent mountains with delightful turn of the century Indo-Portuguese-Chinese influenced architecture creating an enchanting harmonic ambience, perfectly suited to total relaxation.

In former times, Phuket derived its wealth from tin mining and rubber and is blessed with an abundance of magnificent reefs and marine life, always a major destination for big-game fishing, scuba-diving and sailing boats from all around the world.

Phuket: Patong Beach

Not many years ago, Patong Beach was a remote island village on a long crescent beach. Today, Patong Beach is most famous beach of Phuket and one of the most developed beach resorts in Southeast Asia.

Almost three kilometers long, the beach itself consists of beautiful white sand and is set in a deep oval bay, ringed by lush green mountains. Despite the higher level of development here the ocean remains clear and clean.

Phuket: Nai Harn Beach

Fine clean sand and clear water make this one of Phuket's nicest beaches with an atmosphere of tranquility like no other. The monastic center Samnak Song Nai Harn in the center of the beach claims most of the beachfront land, preventing further tourist development. Several little restaurants on the beach serve up some of the best food on the island, at local prices!

Phuket: Karon Beach

Only ten minutes by tuk tuk from Patong Beach lies Karon Beach. This beautiful, four kilometer stretch of white sand is seldom crowded even in high season. This makes Karon Beach a good choice for a more peaceful style of vacation.

In the monsoon season, the waves on Karon Beach can become big enough for surfing. The southern end of Karon Beach has the most surf activity and there are surf boards for hire.

Phuket: Kata Beach

Located immediately south of Karon Beach around a rocky headland and a little cove is Kata Beach, a little village with the unobtrusive resort of Club Med occupying the center of the beach. The bay is winged by smaller hotels, resorts, restaurants, bars and boutiques.

Kata and Kata Noi, its smaller cousin to the south, are quiet beaches. Crystal waters and a wide choice of recreation together with lots of elbow-room are the highlights of the Kata area.

This is the beach of choice for snorkeling and diving because it remains shallow for about thirty meters from the shoreline. Koh Poo, the small island off the north end, has a lively coral reef that offers excellent in-views in the marine life of the region.