Patong Beach
Patong Beach is the tourism centre of Phuket. It is a stunning three-kilometer stretch of golden sand, enclosed by two long headlands. The beach slopes gently into the sea making an absolutely perfect bathing beach. A road runs the full length of the beach. Hotels, shops, restaurants and bars line the entire length of the road. On the beach side of the road, there is a built-up area between Bangla Road and Sawadirak Road with beachside restaurants, shops and guesthouses.
During the high season, the sun loungers are in rows four to six deep. The sun lounger rent is 100 baht each.
The beach is a hive of activity with parasailing, banana boats and jet skis fizzing across the water. Even in the low season, this beach is busy. The northern end of the beach is a little quieter than the south end.
Vendors patrol the beach selling all kinds of refreshments and merchandise. It is possible to get some good deals from the beach vendors as they do not need to pay the huge rents that the beachside stallholders are paying. However if you do not want their goods some of them can be persistent and annoying.
