Thailand · Phuket · #8 of Thailand's ten by fame
Three kilometres of sand with a wall of bars behind it. Respect the red flag.
How we rated it: down one. Phuket's provincial figures record four drowning deaths at Patong between 2024 and 2026, and lifeguards still pull out tourists who swim under the red flags. Photo: Wolfgang Holzem · CC BY-SA 4.0
Patong is Phuket's busiest stretch of coast: about three kilometres of white sand, in one guide's count (2,578 metres in the polygon we measured), with a wall of restaurants, shops and bars behind it. Loungers, vendors and jet-ski, parasailing and banana-boat operators run most of its length. From May to October the southwest monsoon churns the surf, the red flags go up, and the advice is to stay out of the water when they do.
Warmest sea in April. Fewest wet days in January and February. Pick your fight.
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.
6 beaches within 6 km, as the gull flies. We have rated 1.
Straight-line distances from the mapped beach shapes (OpenStreetMap). Roads are longer, and in Bali they are much longer.
Phuket's busiest.
Loungers, vendors, jet skis, parasailing and banana boats along most of the beach.
Outside the monsoon, usually. From May to October the surf churns and red flags go up; the guide says to stay out of the water when they do.
About three kilometres, by one guide's count. The polygon we measured is 2,578 metres.
