Phuket
Thailand'S Largest Island; Phuket Old Town'S Sino Portuguese Shophouses; Phuket Is A UNESCO Creative City Of Gastronomy · Patong, Phuket
Thailand's largest island, joined to the mainland by a bridge in the north and edged on its west coast by a chain of sandy bays facing the Andaman Sea. Patong is the loud, busy centre, with a long beach, big hotels and the neon bars and clubs of Bangla Road, while Karon, Kata, Kata Noi and Nai Harn to the south and Kamala, Surin, Bang Tao and Mai Khao to the north range from family resorts to quiet, pine-fringed sand. Inland, Phuket Old Town keeps rows of pastel Sino-Portuguese shophouses from the tin-mining boom, Chinese shrines and a Sunday walking street market, and Phuket's Peranakan food helped it become a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. The white Big Buddha sits on a hilltop, Wat Chalong is the island's great temple, and Promthep Cape is the classic sunset point. Boats leave for Phi Phi, the limestone towers of Phang Nga Bay and the dive sites of the Similan Islands. From about May to October the south-west monsoon brings rough seas and deadly rip currents, so watch the red flags, and take real care on the roads.
Patong Beach, Kathu District, Patong, Phuket, 83150, Thailand
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: beaches are open at all times, with lifeguards on duty roughly 8 am to 6 pm on patrolled beaches; the Big Buddha from about 8 am to 5:30 or 6:30 pm; Wat Chalong from about 7 am to 5 pm; Bangla Road's bars from dusk to the early hours; the old-town Sunday walking street from about 4 to 10 pm. Boat trips leave from about 7 to 9 am and return by late afternoon. There is no single closing day. Traps: red-flag days in the monsoon from about May to October, the Similan Islands closed from about mid-May to mid-October, Maya Bay's seasonal closure, boat trips cancelled in storms, and taxi fares far above Bangkok's.