Best Places to Stay in Phuket Thailand 2026

What's going on everybody, this is the Island Hopper TV and today we're going to talk about the best places for you to stay when visiting Phuket, Thailand. First up, here we are at Kata Beach. This is a favorite for many people who come to the island because it's got many different resorts. They are building a brand new resort at the north side of the beach and this will be called the EQ Hotel. Beautiful views on a sunny day, the water, probably the best conditions you could ask for. But depending on the conditions of the ocean, you can even surf here at times. One thing that is a little bit of a downside about Kata Beach, There are sometimes jellies in the water that do wash up on the shore. You will see them when you're walking around. It's not that big of a deal, but there are jellies around here, as with many places around Phuket, actually. But in particular here in Kata, you will see them. As you'll notice, going across Phuket, there's various different demographics that tend to gravitate towards a certain place. Here in Kata Beach, most of the demographic is going to be from Russia. So there's lots of Russian restaurants and... Signs in Russian. All right guys, we're down here in Kata Beach. We're gonna explore the nightlife. We're starting out at Beyond Kata and we're gonna walk all the way to the end. and the most popular transportation method by the people here in Kata is on moped. if you wanted to get around the island from here and you didn't have a moped there will be tuk tuks and taxi drivers available or you can use the app Grab or Bolt so set up an account with both of those before you get here. walking around the village of Kata Beach is most popular from about sunset Until 9 p.m. that's when there's many different seafood restaurants there's a beautiful night market that's open that you can walk around with so much variety of Thai food and shopping and that's really what the nightlife is all about here in Kata Beach some popular chain hotels are going to include the Novotel they've also got an Oso, a Centara and then many boutique resorts and hotels around here also you can stay at the beach called Kata Noi which is baby Kata That's just one beach south of here. All right, from a relaxing atmosphere in Kata, we're actually going to get in a tuk-tuk and head north, which is where most of the nightlife is. All right, now we're here at Patong Beach. This is one of the most famous beaches in all of Phuket, mainly because of the nightlife, but also because it's got a nice white sand beach. Here in Patong, they're going to have most of the chain hotel brands here. A lot of the infrastructure is a bit older, although they are modernizing many of the hotels in the area. They also have paragliding and other jet ski and water sport activities that people find to be popular. If you ask me, Which beach is better for swimming? I would say Kata Beach is better for swimming, but people do swim here in Patong. For me, the north side of Patong Beach has more clear water for swimming because the south is where a river comes in, so the water can be a bit turbid or murky. You're not gonna find a classic, you're not gonna find many of those relaxing resorts that you're looking for on Phuket here in Patong. This is where you're gonna find more of the boutique hotels. it's kind of set up for partying that's really what this place is known for so it's for more young people i would say in Patong Beach so the whole town of Patong is really set up for people who enjoy the nightlife party all that it's not like that on the rest of Phuket it's mostly here in Patong where you'll really find that My favorite hotels that I stay at here are going to be the Hilton DoubleTree, the Courtyard Marriott, the Holiday Inn. Those are some really nice ones if you want a chain hotel, but then they have some more affordable options if you're willing to be a little bit further away from the beach. Like the Best Western that we stayed at as well, but then the Party Street is really called Bangla Road and I always say this is where the biggest party on planet Earth takes place every single night and it's true. And then they have local markets with plenty of options of food, Thai food and there's lots of different cuisines around Patong. It's probably the best place for diversity of cuisine. But this here Bangla Road, you can see it really gets going especially around like 7 p.m. Until 1 or 2 in the morning is when it's just absolutely ruckus down here. A bit too loud for me at times though. When I go to Phuket, I usually stay in Patong one or two nights and then I go to another place. So now that you've seen Patong and all that it has to offer, we're going to show you some more relaxing areas where people go to really unwind and chill. So we're headed south. Another place I really like is Karon because it's very relaxing. They've got nice resorts at reasonable prices and a huge beach. and this here is the third largest beach on the island it's about three to four kilometers long and it's known for its wide golden sand the difference between this one and Kata you're not really going to find resorts that are right there on the beach they're across the road typically unless you're on the far south end when i come down to Karon i usually stay at the Holiday Inn they also have a Pullman and then they have one called the Avista earlier in the segment we did show you a clip from the Best Western there they got lots of options they also have a village like i said not much nightlife they do have some bars and rooftop restaurants they're not very high up there maybe like two or three stories high but you can get a nice sunset from there this place is known for its laid-back restaurants some cafes also they're going to have some massage around here as with every single one of these places By the way, I have personally reviewed several hotels in Karon, Patong, and Kata. I've reviewed all across Phuket around 20 plus hotels on Island Hopper TV Hotels YouTube channel. So if you guys want to see the Phuket playlist with all of the reviews that I've done of every single one of those chain hotels, just go over there. It's a whole other channel where we just review hotels only. And now from Karon Beach, we're headed to the furthest south point of the island. This is Rawai Beach. Now Rawai Beach is more villas. It's a lot more of a laid-back kind of vibe. They have some nightlife there as well. Like they have a main road that you can drive down that connects all the way to Naiharn. But you'll have villas, some smaller hotels. It's fairly affordable. A lot of people who are training for Muay Thai, they actually come down here to Rawai. actually when you stay in Rawai you're not going to be so much on the beach you're going to be kind of up the hill a bit this is like right at the base of the Big Buddha nearby is also Chalong which is another area that people stay but down here in Rawai the cool thing about being down here is you can easily island hop to all the islands down south of Phuket also they have some good seafood restaurants right here along the Rawai Beach and this is a look at one of the villas this had two different buildings and a pool right in the middle and something like this usually goes for around two to three hundred dollars a night it could be better than a hotel for a villa especially if you're with a larger group of people the one thing about Rawai is you're going to be really far away from the airport because you're on the south part of the actual island we also stayed at another place here which is the Space House Hotel i did review that on Island Hopper TV's Hotel Channel, if you wanted to see that more in detail but i really like these capsule concepts they're kind of cozy they're a bit small though well guys we're staying here at the Space House Capsules this is in Rawai come on take a look i actually thought about contacting the guy to see how much to purchase these capsules so i could build my own capsule hotel at the very least it's an affordable way to homestead i would say What I like about Rawai is it's not as busy as the other areas, yes it's getting more and more famous, but this area of Rawai, it's got restaurants, it's got convenience cafes, I like it. I've now been to Phuket at least 10 times, maybe 10 to 15 times, I've lost count, but as I've gotten around the island, I've realized that I actually enjoy Rawai probably the most out of all the places, it just depends on what you're looking for, you're not going to get much beautiful beach over here, it's more of a livable place. But now we're going to take you up to another beach area. This one here is north of Patong. And now we've come just north of Patong Beach. This here is Kamala Beach. It's a lot more laid back. Not too much party going on here. Lots of palm trees on the beach and calm, nice waves. up here in Kamala they have some really nice five-star resorts like the Intercontinental they also have a Hyatt Regency i've stayed at both of those and reviewed those on the other channel as well but that's one of the good things about being here is you get some more luxury relaxing experience that you're not going to get down south as much so i really like it over here in Kamala i find it to be a pleasant place to wake up in the morning also the sunsets are spectacular i mean in Phuket you can get some real cotton candy sherbert colored pink and orange colored sunsets that'll blow your mind i would say the people that would stay here would be a little bit more of the mature crowd it's not so much party like i said they do have like a cabaret show kind of thing around here for the night time i've never been to that but i did see a sign for that here in Kamala As with many of the beaches they are very laid back and gentle waves especially on a nice day although when they have those red flags up or yellow flags and they're talking about rip currents you need to pay attention to those because rip currents are an issue out here with tourists not following the rules and some people get swept out to sea and they don't come back so if you're ever caught in a rip current make sure you know what to do and You can even go on YouTube and research what happens if you get stuck in a rip current. You basically swim sideways. You don't swim against it. Here in Kamala, they do have plenty of cafes and restaurants and food options. There won't be a... You won't be limited on that. But one of the things I really do like is it's mostly foot traffic, not as much people trying to drive cars or motorbikes around. So it's easier to walk and chill. Whereas some places like in Patong, it's a bit chaotic because so many motorbikes. Now from the beach side where the sun sets on the west, we're actually headed to the other side of the island. This is the original settlement. This is Phuket town. So This is like a Sino-Portuguese, as they call it, which is Chinese-Portuguese colonial old town area with the architecture. And the reason they were settling on this side of the island instead of the beach side, because back 200, 300 years ago, people didn't really value beaches like they do today for relaxation. The settlement was usually built where the waters were calm where they had an inlet and a natural harbor and a place where there's an abundance of food and beaches like you see on the west side were not a place that had any of that really. So even if you talk to local Thai people they'll tell you that most Thai people never really built along the coastline. That's only recently with the tourists that that became a thing. In fact, the original settlement was here because of tin mining, so a lot of people came here to mine tin out of Phuket, and that was the original economic value that this had before it became a tourist hotspot. Now we're headed up towards the northwest part of the island. This here is Bangtao. This is very popular and growing these days. People like to buy condos up here, and it is considered a more livable area. Hi guys, we've arrived here at Bang Tao. This is in between Patong and the airport. It's a really popular place with Russians, but we'll walk around. Yeah, it seems like the largest tourist demographic here is also Russians, just like Kata beach. And I would say a lot of people are living here nowadays. And the thing that stands out about this place, they do have many different hotels and like bigger resorts for families, I would say. But also it is the second largest beach on the island. It's a very long beach. Another thing I'd like to point out is they have an abundance of beach clubs, like more than you'll see anywhere else on the island, and that's all right here in Bangtao. They have Maya and so many different ones. You can just rent a sunbed, a cabana, a beach sofa, a pool sofa, and just chill. Now, keep in mind, we're coming into high season, which starts in about December and then finishes in April. And it does get really hot in Phuket. So you're really just going to want to chill along the water at daytime because it's so hot. And in the rainy season, you know, you get a little bit more clouds and it can get some relief from all that heat. But anyway, let's go check out another beach just a little bit to the south of here. This one's a super laid back beach. This is Surin Beach. I've stayed here at the Holiday Inn. They have a couple other hotels, smaller bungalows, beach cottages. Really a nice area to get a great sunset. For those of you who want that without all the crowds, Surin reminds me a bit of Kamala, but even smaller and a little bit less walkable. This is the place you would stay if you're really looking for sunsets and a laid back vibe. Beach itself is nice for swimming in the morning, especially on a calm water day. But the thing that stood out probably above all else about Surin, I feel as though it had the best sunset that I had ever seen. Here on Phuket, something about where it's position allows it to get those beautiful sunsets. Now we're going to go all the way back south again. Just next to Rawai is a real gem. So here we are at Nai Harn Beach right here on the southern tip of the island. It's a bit bigger than Yanui, also a great beach. Yeah, down here they have a few different beaches nearby, Nai Harn, but Nai Harn is the main one. Just behind the beach is a lagoon. There are several different beach hotels that you can stay at here. It does easily connect to Rawai Beach. Also, you can go to that Yanui Beach, and then they have Promthep Cape, which is actually the southernmost point of Phuket. You can easily get over there on a motorbike if you wanted to, but this is a very relaxed side of the island. I mean at the end of the day you're on the southern tip and right here at Nai Harn beach a beautiful place to stay if you're looking for more of a family-friendly atmosphere. Easy connection to Rawai but it's not in Rawai. One thing that I think you can do here better than any other beach is boogie board or body board or body surf if you wanted to do that. I've never really seen people out there with surfboards but I do see some shore breaks occasionally here on a nice water conditions day. But yeah, it's another place. They've got some tiki huts and small Thai food restaurants right here along the beach. I see a lot of people out here like kayaking around from this beach all the way down to Yanui. They have a little island off Promthep Cape also. So that's a nice morning or late afternoon activity. Again, you want to pay attention to the water conditions, but you're going to get really nice sunsets down here. And you can go to the favorite place for many, which is down there at Promthep Cape and get that viewpoint from there or the windmill. And now here we are at Mai Khao Beach. This one is closest to the airport on the furthest north point of Phuket. It's also the longest beach. Some people stay here at the Marriott, but there's a bit of difference in staying here versus staying further south. Most people who come to Phuket prefer to go south, but Mai Khao is very conveniently located nearby Phang Nga and Khao Lak, also Khao Sok, so you can get that convenience. Also, I wanted to give some extra information that's a little bit more bonus now that I've showed you all the places. So if you wanted to go out to the other islands out in the like Koh Yao Noi or Koh Phi Phi Those islands you can get there by speedboat They're about halfway to Krabi and it takes around an hour to an hour and a half to get there by ferry or speedboat but that is something that you could do while you're also in Phuket for two nights going out to any of those islands. If you guys enjoyed this one you can watch our best things to do in Phuket video next. Click right here.