Heading to Phuket this year and looking for the best area to stay in? Whether you want to party all night or escape the crowds and laze around on a beach, Phuket has a place for you.
This comprehensive guide on the best areas to stay in Phuket will help you make the right choice, based on your tastes and preferences.
For Couples & Families: North & South Patong
Patong is the busiest and most commercial area in Phuket. It’s a lively place with plenty of bars, shops and restaurants.
Why You Should Stay Here
If you want to escape the noise and chaos of the city centre but don’t want to sacrifice on the comforts of a city life, North and South Patong are ideal.
Patong Beach is a pleasant stroll away. Besides, it gives you easy access to more beautiful beaches like Karon and Kata in the south, or Kamala and Laem Sing in the south.
What’s The Catch?
Being the most touristy part of Phuket, it can be quite crowded and overwhelming at times. The traffic at peak hours is quite intense.
Recommended Hotels
Value For Money
- Sea Sun Sand Resort & Spa: A clean and well-maintained place with an amazing breakfast spread. If possible, book a room with a sea-view balcony on the highest level.
- The Bliss Hotel: The ideal place for couples and families, it has a beachfront location and is quite close to the shopping and entertainment venues, yet far from the noise of Bangla Road.
Premium Experience
- The Nap Patong Hotel: A chic place with cosy rooms and comfortable beds, the staff at Nap is exceptionally friendly.
- Kalima Resort & Spa: This 5-star hotel is just 2 kilometres from the city centre, and offers top-class amenities – right from outdoor pools to a fitness centre and an in-house spa.
For Singles & Party-Hoppers: Central Patong
Undoubtedly the heart of all nightlife action in Phuket, Central Patong is the busiest part of Phuket.
It’s exactly at the centre of Patong Beach and the closest to Bangla Road, the party hub of Phuket, and one of the craziest streets in all of Thailand.
A mellow street by day, it becomes a carnival of neon-lit bars, deafening music and cheap alcohol at night. It’s also the centre of Phuket’s adult entertainment industry.
Why You Should Stay Here
If you want to let loose and party every night, there cannot be a better place to stay.
The area has loads of shopping options, right from street stalls selling food and tourist merchandise to mega malls.
What’s The Catch?
Being the centre of all action in Phuket, Central Patong is the noisiest and most crowded part of Phuket.
The seedy quotient on Bangla Road is quite in-your-face, with prostituion signs and sex show advertisements right there in the open.
Recommended Hotels
Value For Money
- Swiss Palm Beach Hotel: A place that will give you a homely feel, Swiss Palm Beach Hotel is a hit with families. It’s a spacious apartment hotel with a small but clean pool, ideal for kids to splash around.
- Patong Beach Hotel: It offers close access to the beach, shopping and entertainment options, but is still secluded enough. Also, excellent staff!
Premium Experience
- Millennium Resort: It has an excellent location, with Bangla Road, Jungceylon Mall, pubs and many good restaurants nearby.
- Holiday Inn Resort: One of the best accommodations in Patong, the hotels comes with fully furnished suites, swim-up bars, amazing pools, and a delicious breakfast spread.
For Honeymooners, Couples & Families: Karon & Kata
Spread across the beautiful golden sands of Karon Beach, Karon is the second-biggest beach town after Patong. Here, you’ll find plush resorts, nice cafes, restaurants and bars.
Kata is a smaller beach town near Karon. It’s bordered by Kata Beach – a beautiful white-sand beach with crystal clear waters – and lined with tall palm trees.
Why You Should Stay Here
If you want a serene and laidback atmosphere, but don’t want to be too far from the hub of the city, Karon and Kata are perfect.
Kata has a very chilled-out night scene, a stark contrast to the loud bars of Patong. There are amazing beach bars here, where you can chill with your favourite drink and gaze at the spectacular sunsets while listening to some mellow Bob Marley tunes.
Both these places also have a decent number of shopping options.
What’s The Catch?
Unless you’re staying at a beach resort, getting to the beaches can be a bit of an effort.
Recommended Hotels
Value For Money
- Hotel De Karon: It’s a great value-for-money hotel, with clean and spacious rooms, an excellent location, and friendly and helpful staff.
- Best Western Phuket Ocean Resort: A nice hotel, just a 10-15-minute walk from the beach. Rooms are cosy with good sea views. The hotel has two pools, so you can always go to the non-busy one.
Premium Experience
- Karon Sea Sands Resort: Sitting right on Karon Beach, it’s in a good area with lots of shops and cafes. With its cosy rooms and easy beach access, it’s ideal for couples.
- Centara Karon Resort: This classy hotel has 3 swimming pools, spacious rooms, great bars and an in-house spa – and it’s just a 10-minute walk from the beach.
For Culture & History Buffs: Phuket Old Town
The capital of Phuket province, Old Town is a place steeped in history. It’s a world away from the urbanised jungles of Phuket.
The architecture is heavily European, and the streets are lined with Sino-Portuguese buildings, quaint mansions, charming cafes and boutique shops.
Why You Should Stay Here
Old Town is quite famous for its night markets. A weekly affair here is the Phuket Walking Street – it’s full of stalls that sell clothes, local artefacts, handicrafts, and delicious street food. With musicians and street performers entertaining shoppers, the market has quite a festive atmosphere.
If Phi Phi is on your mind, then getting to the pier from Phuket Town is quite easy.
What’s The Catch?
You will have to travel to access a beach, as the town doesn’t have any.
Recommended Hotels
Value For Money
- The Memory at On On Hotel: A little gem in the heart of Phuket Town, this was the first hotel built in Phuket during the tin-mining times. Adorned in traditional décor, the hotel is comfortable and conveniently located.
- Casa Blanca Boutique Hotel Phuket: It makes for a good base to explore the rest of the city. Rooms are tastefully decorated, with the ones on the ground floor opening out to a garden outside. Walking in feels like entering a quaint country house.
For Luxury & Privacy: Bang Tao
The area is close to Bang Tao Beach, one of the lesser-known but incredibly beautiful beaches, having a 6-kilometre-long white-sand stretch and crystal-clear waters. It has a few sunbeds and umbrellas scattered around for beach bums to lounge about on.
Why You Should Stay Here
If you want complete isolation, with only chirping birds for company, stay in a swanky private pool villa in this area. Bang Tao is home to many high-end villas, most of them occupying a large part of the beach. These resorts will take care of your every need, so you don’t have to step out of your cosy home for anything.
What’s The Catch?
Bang Tao is quite far from the city centre, and there isn’t much to do around.
Recommended Hotels
Luxury Villas
- Banyan Tree Phuket: Banyan Tree Phuket is like a fantasy abode, with its 5-star service, world-famous spas, award-winning cuisine, plush restaurants and bars.
- Dusit Thani Laguna Pool Villa: This is luxury and elegance combined into one. The resort’s exceptional service and suite of facilities make it a top-class getaway.
For Easy Airport Access: Mai Khao Beach
One of the lesser-known beaches that has managed to escape commercialisation, possibly because of its proximity to the airport, Mai Khao is part of Sirinat National Park and is usually deserted. It’s an 11-km long beach, perfect for long walks and magical sunsets.
Why You Should Stay Here
It’s very close to the airport and is ideal for those who want to avoid any last-minute hassle.
What’s The Catch?
With just a few self-contained luxury hotels, there isn’t much to do around the area. Besides, it is far from the main city (if you intend to spend multiple nights in Phuket, it’s better to stay elsewhere).
Recommended Hotels
Value For Money
- Grand West Sands Resort & Villas: One of the few places you will find with a water park inside, its huge and comfortable rooms are ideal for families with kids. Besides, it’s very close to the airport.
- Holiday Inn Resort Phuket: Situated in a peaceful spot right on the beach, its rooms are spacious and clean with comfortable beds. Also, there is plenty of open space along the lovely pool.
Premium Experience
- SALA Phuket Resort and Spa: The resort is a quiet retreat, offering ultimate relaxation and quality service. The private pool villa is perfect for couples.
- JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa: On the edge of an untouched beach and set amid lush greenery, this resort is a sanctuary for the senses – it’s the ideal resort to get the me-time you crave for.
