Kata Beach in Phuket, Thailand

Kata beach is located on the west coast of Phuket and ranks as one of the best Phuket beaches.

Kata beach is located just south of Karon beach. Some travellers do at times get confused as to where Karon beach ends and Kata beach starts. The similarities between the two Phuket beaches and the adjacent villages is remarkable.

Kata beach consists actually of 2 separate beaches which are somewhat different from one and other. The larger of the 2 Phuket beaches that make up Kata beach is the Kata Yai and the smaller beach is called Kata Noi.

Kata Yai actually means Kata large as Yai is the Thai word for large. Kata Yai ranks among the cleanest beaches on Phuket. It should not come as a surprise that not only tourists enjoy staying at Kata beach. Many local Thai residents and Phuket expats go to Kata beach on their day off or on public holidays.

Visitors to Kata Yai can buy food, drink and an assortment of other items from local beach vendors who seem to be much less of an annoyance then their counterparts in Patong.

As Kata beach is relatively quiet when compared to Patong, visitors can enjoy the beach at Kata Yai and Kata Noi in a relaxing fashion.

There are sun loungers and parasols available for rent along both Kata beaches. You do however have space and privacy which tourists using Patong beach do not have. The sunbathers using the beach at Patong are almost touching shoulders with other tourists as the beach is overcrowded during especially the high season.

Both Kata Yai and Kata Noi offer water sport opportunities to tourists and visitors. A number of local operators offer jet skis, parasailing, banana boat rides and the likes to people visiting Kata beach. Many younger tourists are more than eager to try the different water sport opportunities which are offered at Kata beach.

Although the waves found at the Phuket beaches are relatively small, there is an active local surfing and boogey boarding community consisting of both Thai and young Phuket expats. The most popular location for the surfers and boogey boarders is actually Kata beach.

The current and waves during the rainy season seem to offer better conditions for surfing and boogey boarding then during the dry season. The number of surfers riding the waves at Kata beach is considerably larger during the monsoon season.

Swimmers please note that the conditions for swimming during the rainy season can often be dangerous and tourists do end up losing their lives due to undercurrents and other dangerous conditions. Please therefore always follow the advice and warnings of local lifeguards, police officers or hotel staff.

Kata beach offers a large number of hotels and guesthouses to tourists and only Patong beach and possible Karon beach are larger when it comes to the number of hotel rooms that are present in each of the Phuket resort areas.

The quality and prices found at the Kata beach hotels, resorts, and guesthouses vary a great deal. Tourists looking for a 5 star hotel and a luxurious holiday can easily find what they are looking for in Kata as can backpackers who are traveling on a really tight budget.

Kata beach has been a long time favorite among the European tourists and tourists traveling with their family. Kata beach offers a more upscale and peaceful environment to tourists if compared to other Phuket beaches such as Patong beach.

Many of the tourists staying in Kata beach do not care for the famous nightlife of Phuket and therefore the nightlife industry in Kata beach is rather small in comparison to that of Patong. The entertainment during the evening in Kata beach is for many tourists simply enjoying an excellent dinner and possibly a cocktail afterwards to finish the night. A number of restaurants offer live music which seems to be exactly what the tourists staying in Kata beach prefer.

There are a number of Kata beer bars including Kata bar girls available for tourists. The number of beer bars in Kata is considerably lower than the number of beer bars found in Patong.

Tourists wishing to go beer bar hopping or clubbing at a Phuket disco simply drive down to Patong which is only a 10 minutes drive away. Due to the decline in visitors to these Kata beer bars, a number of Kata beer bars have closed down permanently over the last few years and the land was used for other businesses.