Karon Beach and district in Phuket

- beach quality
- fitness for swimming
- protection from waves
- safety for children in water
- infrastructure district
- entertainment and night rest
- shopping

See also All the beaches of Phuket and their photos are here...

Karon Beach is located on the west coast of Phuket about 3 kilometers south of the island's most popular beach – Patong, and 20 kilometers from the center of the island – Phuket-the town (Karon on the map). On the other side, south of Karon, there is another wonderful beach – Kata. And it can be reached even on foot. The length is just over 3 kilometers. It is the second most popular after Patong.

The situation in the Karon area is much quieter than in Patong, although it is becoming more popular and crowded every year. We can say that it is a kind of golden mean for those who are looking for good clean beaches, developed infrastructure, and entertainment.

Infrastructure is well developed here, there are many hotels, restaurants and cafes, travel agencies and rental vehicles, banks and exchangers, shops and markets. In general, there is everything you might need for a holiday, except perhaps an abundance of night entertainment like in Patong. Evening and night entertainment here is limited to bars (including with girls) and restaurants, but there are no noisy discos in sight.

During the day, in addition to a beach holiday, there is nothing much to do here, except to play golf at the local course or go on excursions around the island. Shopping on Karon is modest, mostly there are small shops and supermarkets, markets, but there are no large shopping centers.

Directly Karon Beach is definitely one of the most beautiful and cozy. In 2008, he even took the eighth place among the best beaches in the world according to one of the magazines. The water here is clean, as is the sand. By the way, the sand here creaks like snow, and this can no longer be found anywhere else in Phuket. It is much more deserted and quieter than Patong, especially in the northern part, and is perfect for a holiday with children or a family holiday. The waves here are almost always weak. The slope of the bottom is different everywhere, and there are places safe for children, and great for swimming. But at the same time it is also one of the most treacherous beaches for swimmers, most people die here. It is very affected by rip current, so keep a close eye on the red flags that mean it is dangerous to swim. In the period from April to October, south-westerly winds form large ocean waves, and this place becomes not very suitable for calm swimming, but very attractive for surfing. And from June to August, swimming becomes dangerous.

All the traditional beach activities are available here, including several places for snorkeling and diving nearby, equipment rental is offered. It is almost not suitable for surfing, the waves are weak.

There is, however, a drawback: there is a road along the beach, and there are no hotels on the first line at all. But the beach is so wide that you don't notice it, and there's not much transport.

Separately, it is worth mentioning about Karon Noi beach. Some sources on the Internet sometimes have this small beach (its length is 300 meters) then to the south, then they write that it has a length of 4 kilometers. It's all not true. Karon Noi is very small and is located in the north (Karon Noi on the map), while it was completely occupied by the hotel Le Meridien, which monitors and cleans the territory, and the beach here is just a fairy tale, you can say - perfect. Anyone can get here, because according to Thai laws, all beaches are public. To do this, you will have to go through the hotel grounds.

How to get to Karon. Karon is located 3 kilometers south of Patong, and the distance between their centers is all 7 kilometers. A tuk-tuk trip there will cost 200-300 baht (see Thailand's currency and exchange rate). The nearby Kata Beach can also be reached on foot.

From airport you can get here by taxi from 700 baht and an hour in time or by minivan for 180 baht. You can still do this route by local bus, but you will have to spend about 4 hours of time. To do this, you first need to get from the airport to Phuket Town to the old bus station for 100 baht (schedule here http://www.airportbusphuket.com/index.html), and then take the bus to Caron (see below). If you come to Phuket by intercity bus to a new bus station, then you can get from it to the old station for 10 baht by tuk-tuk. Learn more about bus stations and about transport in Phuket.

Further, between the old station in Phuket Town and Karon in the daytime from 06:00 to 16:40 approximately every 30 minutes there is a local bus for 35 baht. Through the Karon district, he goes along the main road, stops on demand at any place. Its final destination is Kata Beach.

There are many hotels on Karon. Mostly there are hotels of the average price category from 1000 baht, but there are few budget guest houses from 500 baht for an air-conditioned room for two. As on most beaches in Phuket, almost all hotels here are located on the second line from the sea, across the street. Only in the very south there are a couple of expensive hotels with their own territory and access directly to the sea.

When choosing a hotel location, keep in mind that the main hangout and infrastructure are concentrated north of the big road ring in the center. This part of the area is the most developed, most restaurants, shops, travel agencies are here.

You can find and book accommodation on Phuket Island on these sites or through the search form. All sites have a Russian interface and Russian-language customer support, a lot of reviews from real guests.

• 🛌 Search for hotels in Phuket on Trip.com (💳 Mir cards work)
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Phuket on Yandex.travel
• 🛌 Search for hotels on Ostrovok.ru

Summing up about Karon. This is one of the best tourist areas in Phuket and a great choice for those who want to get a middle ground between noisy hangouts and great beaches. Perfect for families with children and for young people.

Photo of Karon beach