Paradise Beach

Finding a quiet beach in Phuket is not so hard really. Get away from the main beaches (Patong, Karon, Kata) and none of them are too crazy. Hey, in the summer season (May - October) even the main beaches are not too jammed! The busiest of all Phuket beaches is Patong. I tend to avoid Patong wherever possible. Not my cup of tea. But just about 4km away from the south end of Patong, over the little bridge and past the entrance to the Amari, along the winding road that leads past the Merlin Beach Resort, then over a hill on a narrow, steep path, wide enough for a car (just about!)... then you come to Paradise Beach. Slightly corny name, but we like Paradise Beach. The land is privately owned and I am amazed the owner has not sold out to a resort. It's been kept simple. Some beach chairs, some shaded areas where you can sit and eat, a small restaurant, a volleyball court and an old mooring buoy hung from a tree. My daughter loves swinging from that!



In low season, it's very quiet. We mostly go in low season. During the high season, they do have a deal with one Patong resort to bring guests over, but even still, since there is no busy road, no hawkers, no jetskis, no tuk tuks, it's nice enough in high season too. It's well kept, beach is always clean.. only the toilets are a bit lacking. If you want to rinse off after a swim in the sea there is a pipe connected to a tap hanging over a rock at one end of the beach.

We often go and meet friends there and a few hours pass quickly with some cold drinks. The food is decent, not expensive, although we moan that it could be cheaper! You can sit in the shade and the kids can play safely on the beach. My kids like to go hunting for little hermit crabs which they keep in buckets (and set free again later).



From Paradise Beach you can just about see one end of Patong across the bay. The water is normally quite clear, you can snorkel here. Swimming is OK, but you have to be aware that at low tide it can be rocky underfoot. At high tide, it's great.





• Paradise Beach Location on Google Earth

I hope they manage to keep it simple and inexpensive, there is always the temptation here for land and restaurant owners to cater to people with more money than brains. Tourist prices don't suit us - we are not on holiday here! So far, Paradise Beach has retained it's independence, they do things their way and I wish there were more little spots like this. Well, there are a few - here's some other quiet places we like:

• Layan Beach
• Ao Sane Beach
• The Beach Bar
• Bang Rong Floating Restaurant