The Rankings · Phuket · October 2026 · 3 min
Phuket Beaches: Patong, Freedom and Bang Tao, Rated
The loudest beach in Phuket, a cove you pay to walk down to, and seven kilometres of sunbeds at every price. None is worth a detour.
Three of the beaches on our Thailand list are on Phuket. Bang Tao is rated Only if you're already there. Patong and Freedom Beach are rated Overrated, for the same reason: people have drowned at both, and Freedom Beach has been closed since August 2026. Thailand's beaches worth a detour are elsewhere: Railay in Krabi, Bottle Beach on Ko Pha Ngan and Sunrise Beach on Ko Lipe. If you are on Phuket anyway, here is how the three differ.
If you want the action
- Patong: about 3 km of sand with a wall of bars behind it
- Jet skis, parasailing and banana boats along most of it
- Red flags from May to October; stay out when they fly
If you want space
- Bang Tao: roughly 7 km, and a quiet patch a few minutes' walk from any club
- Freedom Beach: a cove reached by boat from Patong or a jungle path
- Closed to visitors since August 2026, after a drowning
- 01
Patong: the busiest stretch of coast on Phuket.
Loungers and vendors run most of its length. From May to October the southwest monsoon churns the surf, and Phuket's provincial figures count four drowning deaths here between 2024 and 2026. Swim between the flags, never under a red one.
Patong → - 02
Freedom Beach: closed, for now.
After a German tourist drowned on 10 August 2026, the third foreign visitor to drown here in 15 months, officials closed the beach to visitors and swimming, with no reopening date announced. Before that, entry was 100 baht a head, then a long jungle path and stairs. The climb back in the afternoon heat is what reviewers grumble about; the shuttle truck at the top charges another 100. Part of the bay is roped off for boats.
Freedom Beach → - 03
Bang Tao: same shade, different price.
A sunbed from a small vendor is about 100 baht; a big-name beach club charges about 2,000 for the same spot. September is off-season, with rain and rougher water.
Bang Tao →
Phuket has the crowds. Thailand's best-rated beaches are somewhere else.
Asked
- What is the best beach in Phuket?
- None of the three we have rated stands out. Bang Tao is rated Only if you're already there and has room a few minutes' walk from the clubs. Patong and Freedom Beach are rated Overrated: both have drownings on record, and Freedom Beach has been closed since August 2026.
- How much does Freedom Beach cost?
- It has been closed to visitors since 11 August 2026, with no reopening date announced. Before the closure, entry by land was 100 baht a person, plus 100 baht for the shuttle truck back up.
The beaches in this post
- Patong BeachONLY IF YOU'RE ALREADY THERE
- Freedom BeachOVERRATED
- Bang Tao BeachONLY IF YOU'RE ALREADY THERE