A popular area of Phuket with a 1.5km beach lined with coconut trees and surfers.
This area of Phuket was a busy area for families pre-COVID with the beach getting packed particularly during high season. Today it was quiet, only a handful of people around but it had a great vibe. There are small surfing huts, one or two people sitting around playing guitar and a few families chasing crabs.
We stayed at the Ozo Hotel which is on the north end of Kata Beach and just a few steps away from the beach. We walked along the length of the beach on a beautiful sunny day watching the surfers and came to a small market area with some food trucks where we got a very welcomed coconut, pad thai and some pancakes. At the end of this small street we wandered into Calcio pizza restaurant for some beers overlooking the sea, this restaurant is part of the ‘Beyond Beach Resort’ which was formally Kata Beach Resort where we stayed last time we were in the area. A big resort which takes up a lot of the front of the beach but of course quiet during this time.
The south end of the beach is noticeably busier than the north end, there are a few cafes, restaurants and shops open and people wandering around – plenty of choice for a week long stay. The sunsets here are incredible too. We had a fantastic beach picnic organised by Ozo Hotel here that we would definitely recommend, a different and chilled evening.
We ate at The Boathouse on our final night in Kata, a beautiful restaurant with a prime spot on the corner of the beach overlooking the ocean. It is a more upmarket restaurant with a heavier price tag to match, although it’s not overly expensive – especially coming from Dubai. They have a good wine selection, ipads with the menu and beautiful low-lighting. We opted for a selection of Thai food – salmon yellow curry, prawn pad thai and belly pork which we enjoyed. They had a good kids menu too. As lovely as it was, in a beautiful setting, we have had equally as good food in a cheaper, local restaurant with half the price tag.
Some of our friends were staying in the Centara Grand in Kata so we went over there for a day pass whilst Phil played golf. It was 600baht for the family which is fully redeemable on food and beverage. This is a fabulous beach resort with lots of pools, a man-made beach area, cliff jumps into the pools, lazy river and waterslides. They have a decent happy hour and restaurant, although watch out for the +17% added onto everything.
Karon View Point at sunset is worth a trip up when in the area too. We didn’t get to Kata Noi beach, further south but I have heard that it is worth a trip to another beautiful cove. We used a great tuk tuk driver when in the area who is on Whatsapp, we can send details if you get in touch, he also arranged a lot of laundry to be washed for us too.
We liked the vibes of this area and would have liked to have spent longer to fully explore and see what else is open but unfortunately didn’t have the time during this trip. Check out our highlights on Instagram @thewhitesindubai for more pictures and videos of our time here.
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