Kamala Beach – What to Do in Kamala Beach? (updated)

What to Do in Kamala?

 The Main Beach

The beach has always been the main reason travellers prefered Kamala. The beach is long and wide with soft pale sand and is lined with casuarinas and coconut trees. The sea is very shallow and clear during high season.

Phuket Fantasea Park

Phuket Fantasea Park is a massive stage performance involving acrobats and adult elephants. Fantasea is a top-rated show in an immense park full of shops and games in the middle of a village.

Markets

The main road also has a bit of nightlife too, shops and restaurants and even a Big C Superstore but most interesting is the fresh local market held all day at the entrance of the village.

Night Market

The night market opens Mondays and Fridays from 3.30 pm to 10 pm on the main road. It’s your chance to see fruits, vegetables like you haven’t seen before and eat fun snacks you will never forget (in a good way).

Rayee Beach

Besides Fantasea Park, this market and of course the beach itself, there are no real attractions to see or visit. There are a couple of modest beaches (Rayee Beach and Hua Beach) to the south on a tiny long road leading to nowhere. This road was meant to reach Patong, and you do see Patong from the end of it, but someone didn’t agree to sale the last bit of land. This road is nicknamed “The Millionaire Row” home of the beautiful Paresa Resort and a collection of incredible private villas. Almost at the very end, you can even enjoy a drink on a little bar built on top of rock boulders with amazing views on Patong Bay.

Laem Singh Beach

Surin Beach

Further north, just a few kilometres away are the superb Laem Singh Beach and Surin Beach

Where to Eat?

The dining scene seems to be changing faster than the seasons. Kamala was famous for the many small restaurants and bar set all along the beach on a 1 km strip. These restaurants are not always legally built, so they tend to come and go, making it difficult to tell which is open or closed at the time you arrive. However, there are still a few of them to enjoy in the middle area. Those are nice for a slow and cheap continental breakfast by the sea. Recently Cafe Del Mar and HQ Beach Club opened at the northern part of the beach next to the Novotel.

Parallel to the beach but behind a line of building is the ‘main street’ where you will find the usual suspects: tailors, conveniences stores, travel agencies, dive shops, bars and restaurants, and even two small shopping alleys, one leading to the beach and one leading to a plaza in the back. Favourite Thai restaurants to eat on this street are Charoen Seafood at Kamala Dream, Blue Manao, and Sala Thai.

For a more sophisticated dining experience, there are a few places worth trying, including some with superb panoramic restaurants.

Silk at Andara Resort Phuket 

Plum Premium Steakhouse at Cape Sienna

Sunset Grill at Hyatt Regency

Diavolo at Paresa Resort

Grill Bill

Kamala Beach Nightlife

Kamala beach nightlife has evolved a lot since the arrival of Cafe Del Mar and HQ Beach Club. There is a still a bit of old-fashioned nightlife, and you are still in Phuket after all. Few ladies will probably call you by “Hellooooo welcome!” when you walk past their bars, and it is always more fun to have a drink in a smiling company than alone. It is nowhere like Bangla road, but it adds a bit of spice and colour to the street.

Cafe Del Mar

Café Del Mar Phuket is one of the best beach clubs on the island. This well-known Ibiza brand found out this island was the right place for a beach party beach club with good music, great drinks and most of all, notorious parties. Read more

HQ Beach Club

HQ Beach Club and Lounge, located in the northern part of the beach near the famous Cafe Del Mar and Novotel, is one of the few beach clubs still standing in Phuket Island. Read more

Novotel Kamala Rooftop

On The Roof is a vast and breezy rooftop with plenty of comfortable seating with views of the beach. This is a great place to end the day with a cocktail or even a dinner as music is not as loud as in nearby beach clubs. Don’t miss the happy hour from 5.30 pm to 7.30 pm, two glasses for the price of one. Read more

Where to Stay in Kamala?

Kamala has a wide range of hotels from budget to luxury. All along the south part of the main beach, you will find a row of guesthouses at excellent prices, but the sea isn’t very clear around this part. In the centre is the Kamala Beach Resort and in the north end is the Novotel Phuket, which is a great value for money. Both have direct beach access. In the top range, try the luxurious Paresa Resort or the Hyatt Regency.

Novotel Phuket Kamala Beach

Hyatt Regency Kamala

Cape Sienna

Paresa Resort