Phuket is not a resort town, it is an island roughly fifty kilometres from end to end, and that single fact decides more about a trip here than any hotel review. Where you sleep sets which beach you wake up on, how long the airport transfer takes, and whether an evening out is a walk or a negotiation with a taxi driver. There is no useful public transport between the beaches, and taxi fares are high by Thai standards, so a base that looks a short distance away on a map can quietly add an hour and a substantial sum to every day. Pick the area first, the hotel second.
| Looking for… | Best area | Nightly rates from |
|---|---|---|
| Nightlife, bars and the busiest beach | Patong | from $26 |
| A calmer beach that still has restaurants | Kata & Karon | from $21 |
| An upmarket resort to settle into | Bang Tao & Laguna | from $40 |
| Food, architecture and the lowest prices | Phuket Old Town | from $33 |
| A first visit with a mix of everything | Kata & Karon | from $21 |
Patong
Patong is the busiest part of the island and the reason many people either love Phuket or avoid it. It has the widest choice of hotels at every price, a long beach with every water sport on offer, shopping malls, and Bangla Road, which is the centre of the island’s nightlife and is loud until the early hours. Practically, it is also the most convenient base for a short stay: you can eat, drink, shop and swim without arranging transport, which is not true of most of Phuket.
The trade-offs are the ones you would expect. The beach is crowded in high season, the sales pressure along the front is constant, and hotels within a few streets of Bangla Road will be noisy well past midnight. If Patong suits you otherwise, book at the northern end towards Kalim, or a few streets inland on the hill, both of which are quieter without being far. Anyone travelling with children or hoping for a quiet beach should look south to Kata and Karon instead.
Who this area suits
Short stays, first visits built around convenience, and travellers who want nightlife, restaurants and shopping within walking distance of the sand.
Budget
Under $45 a night
Sample rates for two nights about a month out, from Agoda. Tap through for your own dates. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Mid-range
$45 to $120 a night
DoubleTree by Hilton Phuket Banthai Resort
Sample rates for two nights about a month out, from Agoda. Tap through for your own dates. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Splurge
Over $120 a night
BYD Lofts Boutique Hotel and Serviced Apartment
Sample rates for two nights about a month out, from Agoda. Tap through for your own dates. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Prefer to compare before booking? Check Patong hotels on Booking.com.
Kata & Karon
Immediately south of Patong, Karon and then Kata run along two long beaches that keep most of the convenience and shed most of the noise. There are enough restaurants, dive shops and bars along both to fill a fortnight without needing a taxi every evening, and the beaches are wider and calmer than Patong’s. Kata is the smaller and slightly more polished of the two, popular with surfers in the low season when the swell comes up, while Karon is longer, quieter and better value for the same standard of room.
This is the compromise choice, and it is the right one for a lot of first visits. You give up the sheer density of Patong’s dining and nightlife, and Kata in particular can feel quiet out of season, when some places close. You also remain about forty-five minutes to an hour from the airport, which is worth factoring into a late arrival or an early flight.
Who this area suits
Families, couples, and anyone who wants a proper beach holiday with restaurants in walking distance but without Patong’s volume.
Budget
Under $45 a night
48% off
28% off
Sugar Marina Hotel - SURF - Kata Beach
Sample rates for two nights about a month out, from Agoda. Tap through for your own dates. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Mid-range
$45 to $120 a night
Thavorn Palm Beach Resort Phuket
25% off
Sample rates for two nights about a month out, from Agoda. Tap through for your own dates. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Splurge
Over $120 a night
45% off
Chanalai Romantica Resort - Adults Only
Sample rates for two nights about a month out, from Agoda. Tap through for your own dates. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Prefer to compare before booking? Check Kata and Karon hotels on Booking.com.
Bang Tao & Laguna
North of Patong, Bang Tao is a long, quiet stretch of west-coast sand, and behind much of it sits Laguna, an estate of linked resorts sharing a lagoon, golf course and a shuttle bus between them. This is where Phuket’s upmarket accommodation concentrates, along with a growing strip of beach clubs and restaurants at the Cherngtalay end. It is a twenty-minute drive from the airport, which makes it the easiest area to reach on arrival, and it is genuinely restful in a way Patong is not.
Be clear about the trade-off before booking. Bang Tao has very little budget accommodation, and what does appear at low prices tends to be new and barely reviewed, so there is no real backpacker tier here the way there is in Patong or the old town. The area is also spread out: leaving the resort for dinner usually means a taxi or a shuttle rather than a walk. It works best if you intend to spend most of the holiday on the property.
Who this area suits
Travellers who want a resort to settle into rather than a base to explore from, and who are happy to pay for quiet and space.
Budget
Under $45 a night
Homm Suites Laguna, part of Banyan Group
Sample rates for two nights about a month out, from Agoda. Tap through for your own dates. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Mid-range
$45 to $120 a night
20% off
Sole Mio Boutique Hotel & Wellness Adults Only
Sample rates for two nights about a month out, from Agoda. Tap through for your own dates. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Splurge
Over $120 a night
Beautiful villa walking distance from Bangtao Beach
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Prefer to compare before booking? Check Bang Tao and Laguna hotels on Booking.com.
Phuket Old Town
Phuket Town sits on the east side of the island and has no beach at all, which is exactly why it stays cheap and why it is worth considering. The old quarter is a grid of Sino-Portuguese shophouses in ochre and green along Thalang, Dibuk and Phang Nga roads, built on tin money in the nineteenth century and now holding the island’s best concentration of local food, coffee and small bars. Rooms cost a fraction of the west coast for the same standard, and the Sunday walking street on Thalang Road is the most enjoyable market on the island.
The obvious cost is that every swim is a journey: Patong is around forty minutes by road, Kata a little more. That suits travellers who came for the food, the architecture and the boat trips out of the east-coast piers more than for the sand, and it suits anyone on a tight budget who is content to make the beach a day trip. It is also the strongest base for anyone continuing to Phi Phi or Krabi, since most boats leave from this side.
Who this area suits
Budget travellers, repeat visitors, and anyone who would rather eat well and walk through old streets than step straight onto a beach.
Budget
Under $45 a night
Casa Blanca Boutique Hotel Phuket
Sample rates for two nights about a month out, from Agoda. Tap through for your own dates. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Mid-range
$45 to $120 a night
Sample rates for two nights about a month out, from Agoda. Tap through for your own dates. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Splurge
Over $120 a night
Sample rates for two nights about a month out, from Agoda. Tap through for your own dates. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Prefer to compare before booking? Check Phuket Old Town hotels on Booking.com.
Our picks across the four areas
Three choices per area, weighted towards properties whose scores hold up across thousands of reviews rather than a promising handful.
A well run hostel and hotel hybrid a short walk back from the beach, holding a strong score across more than seven thousand reviews, which is unusual at Patong budget rates.
A dependable mid-range hotel a few minutes from the beach and from Bangla Road, close enough for the nightlife and far enough to sleep.
One of the few genuinely beachfront hotels at the quieter northern end of Patong beach, which is what you are paying the premium for.
A large, plain, reliable hotel between the two beaches, and the most sensible budget base if you want Kata and Karon without Patong.
Thavorn Palm Beach Resort Phuket
A long-established beachfront resort with big grounds and a lagoon pool, rated steadily across nearly four thousand reviews. Suits families.
A resort a short walk from Kata beach that scores close to nine across more than four thousand reviews, which is rare at this price on the west coast.
20% off
The most affordable credible option in Laguna, with apartment-style rooms and access to the shared resort facilities. Bang Tao has very little below this.
A large beachfront resort inside the Laguna complex, with a lagoon and a free shuttle between the estate hotels.
The established upper-tier choice on Bang Tao beach, quiet and low-rise, for travellers who want the resort itself to be the holiday.
The oldest hotel in Phuket Town, a restored 1929 building on Phang Nga Road, and the best value on the island if a beach is not the point.
Casa Blanca Boutique Hotel Phuket
A small boutique hotel in a Sino-Portuguese shophouse, walking distance from the Thalang Road food and the Sunday walking street.
The largest and most comfortable hotel in the old town, with a pool, for travellers who want the town setting without giving up facilities.
Sample rates for two nights about a month out, from Agoda. Tap through for your own dates. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Where to stay in Phuket: common questions
Which area should first-time visitors choose?
Kata or Karon, for most people. They keep enough restaurants and beach life to fill a holiday without arranging transport every evening, and they avoid the volume of Patong. Choose Patong instead if nightlife is a priority, or Bang Tao if you want an upmarket resort and intend to stay in it.
How much does getting between the beaches actually cost?
Enough to matter. Phuket has no useful public transport between the beach areas, metered taxis are scarce, and fares are negotiated or set by app at rates well above the Thai norm. Renting a scooter is far cheaper and is what many visitors do, though the island’s accident rate is high and it is not a decision to make lightly. The practical answer is to choose an area where you can walk to dinner, which is why Patong, Kata and Karon suit shorter trips.
Is there a bad time of year for the west coast beaches?
May to October is the southwest monsoon, when Patong, Kata, Karon and Bang Tao all face into the weather. Expect rougher seas, frequent red flags and periods of heavy rain, alongside the lowest prices of the year and a much emptier island. Drownings in the surf are a real problem in these months, so take the flags seriously. November to April is the dry, calm high season, and December and January are the busiest and most expensive weeks.
Is it worth staying near the airport?
Only for a very short stay or an awkward flight. The northern beaches such as Nai Yang and Mai Khao are close to the airport and pleasantly quiet, but they are a long way from everything else on the island, so they work better as a first or last night than as a base. Bang Tao, at about twenty minutes from the airport, is the compromise that still has restaurants and beach clubs nearby.
Plan the rest of the trip
With the base chosen, line it up against the boat trips and day tours that leave from the island.
For the wider region, see the Andaman Coast and what else is within reach, or work out timing and costs with our guides to the best time to visit and trip budgets.