Bars in Phuket
Phuket runs two nightlifes that barely overlap. One is a single street in Patong, loud from dusk and going until the small hours. The other is a series of bars facing west along the coast, where the event is the sunset and the volume never rises. Both are worth an evening; almost nobody enjoys both on the same night.
Getting your bearings
Patong is in the middle of the west coast and is where the noise is. Bang Tao and Surin are north of it, Kata and Kata Noi south, and both directions hold beach clubs facing the sunset. The two scenes are twenty minutes and a completely different mood apart.
Patong and Bangla Road
The centre of the island's nightlife and completely unambiguous about it: neon, music from every doorway, and a street closed to traffic that fills up after dark. It is a spectacle whether or not you drink, and it is the single most concentrated night out in southern Thailand.
Illuzion
One of the largest clubs on the island — international DJs, performers and a production budget that shows. The full-scale version of a Patong night.
Tiger Nightclub
A multi-level venue impossible to miss from the street, and one of the landmarks of Bangla Road as much as a club.
Seduction
Themed nights, hip-hop and electronic music, and a rooftop lounge upstairs for when the main floor becomes too much.
The beach bars
On the other coasts the evening is about the west-facing horizon. These places fill in the late afternoon and empty not long after dark, which is the opposite rhythm to Patong and a good reason to plan them on different nights.
Catch Beach Club
At Bang Tao, and the polished end of this: good music, good food, sun loungers and a bar that keeps going after the beach empties. Book if you want a bed rather than a table.
Kata Rocks Bar
Above the water at Kata, with the sunset straight ahead and drinks priced for the setting. The most composed option on the island.
After Beach Bar
Up on the headland at Kata Noi, reggae on the speakers and a view that does not need improving. A local institution and the least expensive of the three.
Practical notes
- Most places open around 6pm; Patong keeps going until very late.
- Casual dress nearly everywhere, smarter at the upscale beach clubs.
- Carry ID, and keep an eye on your belongings in the crowds.
- Taxis and tuk-tuks are easy to find late; agree the fare first.
Which night for which
The beach bars run to the sun and are finished not long after dark. Patong does not start properly until then. That makes them a natural sequence rather than a choice — sunset on the west coast, then twenty minutes into town if you still want more. The mistake is trying to do Bangla Road at six or a sunset bar at midnight; neither exists at those hours.
Beyond Patong
Kata and Karon have their own smaller bar strips, quieter and much cheaper, and they suit anyone who wants a drink rather than a night out. Phuket Town has the island's most interesting small bars, aimed at people who live there — worth an evening if you are staying more than a week.