Getting to the island : Karon

 

Karon Beach

 

Located south of Patong Beach, Hat Karon is a curving beach that lies beautifully in the sun with small sand dunes, casuarinas and palm trees. The crescent bay is the beach's signature that drawing travelers attention. >From May to October, the beach may be affected by serious undertows, as the bay open. Watch out for those warning flags before going swimming or surfing at the southern end of the beach.

 

The second largest of Phuket's tourist beaches. Large resort complexes line the road behind of the shoreline, but the long, broad beach itself has no development. The sand is very white, and squeaks audibly when walked upon. The southern point has a fine coral reef stretching toward Kata and Bu Island. Restaurants, bars, tour companies and other non-hotel businesses are at the north end, near the traffic circle, and at the south end, on the little road connecting the back road with the beach road. The narrow road between Kata and Karon has a number of small businesses as
well as the Dino Park Mini Golf facillity. Karon is the most up-scale of Phuket's beaches. There is a regular daytime bus service to and from Phuket Town.

 

Activities:

Diving
Karon is concentrated around three main areas: The Karon Plaza area on the south end features a number of budget guesthouses, restaurants and bars. The side sois are worth exploring, particularly the one that leads to a small art community, where some budding Thai painters have built a complex of huts, pubs and art galleries in which they live and work. Nearby, on the beach road leading to Kata, is the football stadium, which hosts both local and international sporting events

 

Surfing
The southern point has a coral reef that stretches towards Kata and Pu Island. There are not as many watersports activities on Karon beach as in Patong or Kata. During the rainy season Karon can be good for surfing but dangerous for swimming due to the large waves and strong rip currents. Karon's shifting sandbanks mean swell from all directions. Winds are light and changeable and waves are up to two metres.

 

Surfing
Yes, we’re not kidding, but it’s hardly world class. Kata and Nai Harn seem to get the biggest waves but they’re actually quite modest. This makes them ideal for learning and some companies based at Kata offer lessons and boards for rent, if the surf’s up!

 

Shopping:

Kata Beach lies south of Patong on Phuket's west coast. The shopping area stands back from the beach. Kata offers quite a varied selection of shopping opportunities for visitors and, although somewhat sleepy during the day (everyone's on the beach), many souvenir shops open in the early afternoon and shop owners are there to barter with until late at night.

 

Kata Beach can be divided up into three sections, south, central and north. Further south from Kata itself stands the beautiful white-sand beach of Kata Noi. The Katathani Phuket Beach Resort dominates the beach and the dead-end street. On the street side, opposite the resort stands a smattering of tailors, an optician and several convenience stores.