The 5 Best Quiet Beaches in Phuket

More than nine million people visit the kingdom’s largest and most popular island per year, and not without fair reason. But given that Phuket has the highest number of tourists per square mile in a day, it’s not surprising that finding one of the quiet beaches in Phuket is a challenge.

Fret not. You can find a number of beaches that the tourist masses have yet to discover. That could be due to the fact that getting to those sandy shores is an adventure, or maybe it’s because the best resorts in Phuket pass them off as private beaches, which they aren’t. According to a Guardian article, all beaches in Thailand are public.

Here’s TAGTHAi’s pick of five nice beaches in Phuket that are hard to reach, and, thus, blissfully uncrowded.

1. Tri Trang Beach

Clear, green-tinted water awaits at Tri Trang Beach, located a 15-minute motorcycle ride from beach hotels in Phuket Patong, the nightlife hub of the island. Several coconut trees line the beach, providing shade for sun worshippers and beach bums.

Note that while Tri Trang is a tropical paradise beach, you’d better check out the tide chart before coming because swimming is only possible during high tide. Especially at full moon, the water can become so shallow that the place is more suitable for looking at corals and stones than it is for swimming.

Be that as it may, it’s not for nothing that luxurious resorts in Phuket on the beach have sprung up here, like the five-star Rosewood Hotel. A peaceful 500-meter beach that’s perfect for winding down, Tri Trang has kept the low-key charm of Phuket in the 80s.

 

How to Get to Tri Trang Beach 

To reach Tri Trang, situated towards the end of a winding road off Patong, travel south on the last part of the Patong Beach Road. Make a left turn at Amari Resort. Once you have passed Baan Yin Dee, you’ll see a sign on a small road on your right, which reads, “Tri Trang Resort.”

2. Haad Laem Singh

One of the best beaches in Phuket, Haad Laem Singh sits between Surin Beach and Kamala Beach. With its tropical, hidden cove atmosphere, Haad Laem Singh is reminiscent of the Caribbean.

Coconut trees grow across the soft, light-brown sand, and it’s fairly quiet these days. The beach was open to everyone till April 2017. But, likely due to Haad Laem Singh’s popularity, the landowners put a ban on visiting it via the track leading down to the beach right from the street.

As there are no private beaches in Thailand, no one can bat an eyelid if you arrive by boat or walk the nature trail that does not trespass on private land. Therefore, a Thai man had the great idea of opening one of the beach bars in Phuket on the rocks of Laem Singh. More a restaurant than a bar, it overlooks the palm-fringed beach. To get here, this business-minded guy built a path for people to access Haad Laem Singh via Surin Beach.

Getting to Laem Singh is now possible via the nature trail starting at Surin Beach’s southern end at Patcharin Seafood.

3. Haad Karon Noi

Haad Karon Noi is one of the best quiet beaches in Phuket, and yet it’s close to the resorts in Patong Phuket. You can spot it when you drive from Karon Beach to Patong Beach. Lush green bushland spoils the view from the road. But catching a glimpse of the white sand and emerald water, you can sense why the upscale hotel Le Méridien with its spiky, Thai-temple-like peaks and gabled roofs chose this location. It’s paradise!

Almost like in the movie The Beach starring Leonardo di Caprio, reaching this beach requires a walk past an abandoned tomato plantation and a 10-minute hike through the jungle.

But then, you’ll end up on a 300-meter-long, coconut and casuarina tree-lined beach with crystal-clear water that gets deep quickly. Before stepping on the beach, wait for a moment and soak up the atmosphere. The ocean pulls water back from the shore to feed another wave, making gurgling sounds before powerful waves pitch forward in thundering blows.

To get to Haad Karon Noi, one of the best quiet beaches in Phuket, park at Secret Cliff Villa and look for the gate further down. It’s open in the daytime. Turn right. After a couple of meters, you’ll spot a green concrete track and an abandoned tomato plantation. The jungle track starts right behind the tomato plantation.

4. Pansea Surin Beach

Sandwiched between large stones and two headlands, Pansea Surin is a palm-lined beach with crystal water. It’s located north of Surin Beach at two five-star hotels named The Surin and Amanpuri. Don’t worry, you don’t need to stay there to visit Pansea Surin.

To get here, start walking at Surintra Boutique Resort on the road to Novotel Phuket Surin Beach Resort. At Surintra, you can see a concreted driveway that leads to the woods. Go straight ahead, then turn right at the intersection and hike up the hill. Continue straight ahead till you see two white buildings on your right. After a couple of

meters, you’ll wind up at a near-vertical nature trail with ropes to hold on to. It’s not for the faint of heart. But hey, the small waves rolling gently up soft, squeaking underfoot sand are well worth the adventure. You can count on a quiet atmosphere even in Phuket’s high season.

5. Freedom Beach

As you hike to Freedom Beach on a challenging 500-meter way, you’re in for an adventure. You’ll ooze buckets of sweat, but you’ll love the silence broken only by the calls of a crow pheasant.

Down at Freedom Beach, sand as soft as memory foam awaits. It’s lined with coconut trees growing across the beach. The odd longtail boat bobs gently on emerald water, and small waves lap at your feet.

In short, Freedom Beach is one of the best beaches in Phuket. Get here by riding a scooter south of Patong. After Baan Yin Dee, turn left at the 7-Eleven convenience store and go up the steep dirt road after Avista Hideaway. After about two hundred meters, you can park and walk through the damaged gate on your right. There are stairs.

As an aside, check out TAGTHAi’s blog if you need trip ideas. TAGTHAi is a travel app that can save you hundreds of dollars.