Go to with me "Patong Beach"

Patong Beach

Phuket's busiest resort area, Patong has the greatest concentration of bars, restaurant and shops on the island.
Patong has suffered from a lot of negative publicity in recent years for being over-developed and its hedonistic party scene. However, the majority of visitors to Phuket still choose to spend their time in Patong and for good reason. Patong has much to offer and despite its reputation for naughty nightlife, Patong is also very popular with families.
The 3km long beach still possesses beautiful white sand and clear water, which is now visibly clearer after the tsunami. The deck chairs and umbrellas are now back in force, providing an ideal place to relax and soak up the sun with all the conveniences you could want nearby.
You'll find everything here you could need on your holiday. There are numerous shops and stalls, as well as other leisure and recreational activities. However, if you are looking for a quiet beach retreat, you probably won't find it in Patong.

Accommodation

Patong is where you will find the most varied selection of hotels in Phuket. There is somewhere to suit every budget. From cheap and simple guesthouses to resort-style four and five-star hotels, and everything in between. There are even a few hotels right on the beach. You can choose to stay near the nightlife or stay further away. The beauty of staying in Patong is that everything is only a short walk or tuk-tuk ride away.

For more information see Patong hotels.

Activities

Patong is the busiest beach on the island and you will never be short of something to do here. If

you like watersports, then this is the place. There's jet-skiing, water-skiing, windsurfing, sailing, or parasailing. You can snorkel on the reef at the southern end of the bay or take a longtail boat round to Freedom beach for better coral viewing.

Further inland you can try bungee jumping, go bowling or cross over the hill into Kathu for a spot of go-karting.
If you are feeling more sedate, rent a sun lounger for the day, slap on plenty of sun screen and watch the show
while you soak up the rays. The sea is generally calm all year round and the seabed shelves gently making it quite safe to swim in. For even more relaxation, there are usually plenty of masseuses
nearby who give massages right on the beach.

Dining

There is a huge variety of restaurants in Patong. Cuisines you can choose from include Thai, seafood, Italian, Scandinavian, Japanese, French and British pub food to name but a few. Some restaurants offer menus with a combination of different cuisines, usually a selection of European and Thai. There are also plenty of hawker stalls, where if you are brave, you can sample authentic Thai cuisine and eat like the locals do. If you aren't staying in Patong, it is definitely worth the effort to spend a few evenings eating out here.

For more information see Patong restaurants.

Nightlife

Patong's lively nightlife scene is what draws many people to the island. All the action is centred around Bangla road. There are also many places where you can enjoy a quiet drink, listen to live bands or go dancing with friends. Banana Disco on the beach road is a Phuket institution and is usually packed late into the night.

For more information see Patong nightlife.

Shopping

There are stalls all the way along the beach road (Thaweewong road). Stalls operate during the day but it is in the evening that it really gets going. You can buy all kinds of clothes, souvenirs, sunglasses, CDs and much more. Always haggle at the roadside stalls. As a very rough guide, try and get the price down to about 50% of the quoted price.

Situated on Rat-U-Thit road nearly opposite Bangla road is the newly opened Jungceylon. Officially opened on 20th Dec 2006, this large complex houses a hotel, Robinsons department store, Carrefour, a SFX cinema, bowling alley and a wide variety of shops and restaurants. At the time of opening, not all shops and facilities were open but quite a few such as Carrefour and a number of dining outlets had opened for business.
Patong also has two Ocean department stores, one towards the Rat-U-Thit road end of Bangla road, Ocean Bangla and the other along the beach road, just past the Holiday Inn. Although quite small, they have a good selection of clothes.
For more information see Patong shopping.

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