Freedom Beach

Closed after its third drowning in 15 months. When it reopens, mind the flags.

No photo yet. We don’t lie with pictures.

How we rated it: down one. Three foreign tourists drowned here between May 2025 and August 2026, and after the last death officials closed the beach to visitors and swimming, with no reopening date announced.

The hang

Freedom Beach is a cove south of Patong. By land, entry is 100 baht a head, then a long jungle path and stairs down to the sand; the climb back up in the afternoon heat is what reviewers grumble about, and a shuttle truck at the top charges another 100. By sea it is a 10 to 20 minute boat ride from the south end of Patong, and with no dock you jump into the water and wade in. Part of the bay is roped off for boats, so the swimming area is smaller than it looks. It fills around midday, even on weekdays.

The real intel

Status, dated 2026-08-17: Closed to visitors and swimming since 11 August 2026 after a drowning, no reopening date announced (Thai Examiner, 17 August 2026). The 100 baht entry charge applied before.

Best months · warmest sea: April (30.5 °C), then May and March. Coolest: November (28.9 °C). One year of data, 2025.
Best months · emptiest: Before midday; it fills up around lunchtime, weekdays too.
Getting there: Boat from the southern end of Patong Beach, 10 to 20 minutes, or by land down a long jungle path and stairs.
Cost reality: Entry 100 baht a person. The shuttle truck back up the hill, another 100.
The catch nobody tells you: Part of the bay is roped off for boats, there is no dock, and there do not appear to be working toilets or showers.

The year at Freedom Beach

Warmest sea in April. Fewest wet days in January and February. Pick your fight.

Sea (°C)

29.4

30.5

30.3

29.8

29.7

29.9

29.2

28.9

Air (°C)

28.2

28.8

29.4

28.1

27.8

28.1

28.5

27.7

27.3

26.8

27.8

Sun (h/day)

10.6

10.7

9.5

7.6

8.6

10.2

8.4

8.3

7.6

7.7

10.6

Rain (days)

One year of data, 2025, from Open-Meteo at this beach's coordinates. A rain day is 1 mm or more. The red bar is the month to aim for in each row.

The neighbours

6 beaches within 6 km, as the gull flies. We have rated 1.

968 mMerlin Beach173 m of beach, measured. Not rated yet.
1.3 kmTri Trang Beach715 m of beach, measured. Not rated yet.
1.3 kmKaron Noi Beach368 m of beach, measured. Not rated yet.
2.1 kmParadise Beach86 m of beach, measured. Not rated yet.
3.2 kmPatong BeachThree kilometres of sand with a wall of bars behind it. Respect the red flag.ONLY IF YOU'RE ALREADY THERE
3.8 kmKaron Beach3,330 m of beach, measured. Not rated yet.

Straight-line distances from the mapped beach shapes (OpenStreetMap). Roads are longer, and in Bali they are much longer.

The crowd

Fills around midday, and the shade under the trees goes first.

The receipts

Snorkel and umbrella rental, and a bar and restaurant on the sand.

The facts · we measured

Length: 329 m
Mean width: 30.6 m
Area: 10,064 m²
Warmest sea (2025): 30.5 °C in Apr
Coldest sea (2025): 28.9 °C in Nov
Sea by month, °C: Jan 29.0 · Feb 29.4 · Mar 30.0 · Apr 30.5 · May 30.3 · Jun 29.8 · Jul 29.7 · Aug 29.9 · Sep 29.0 · Oct 29.2 · Nov 28.9 · Dec 28.9