A short drive from Patong Beach is this hidden gem, Paradise Beach. In the past, people were put-off from visiting here because it required a somewhat treacherous motorbike ride up and down steep dirt hills and winding turns. Today it’s completely paved, and you can reach it in your car or on your motorbike, as well as a tuk-tuk or songthaew (truck with seats in back). This out-of-the-way location is getting more crowded with each passing year, but it is still tolerable if you like the music and don’t mind the fees for parking, chair rental, etc.
If you haven’t visited Paradise Beach in a couple of years, you’re going to be shocked by the renovations that have taken place here. In years past there was a small patch of sand in front of the small parking lot. Today there is a lot more sand, and there is an entire complex of buildings up at the top of the hill where you can eat and shop. There’s also a “Dive & Water Sports” shop where you can rent all sorts of gear. Paradise Beach offers a restaurant, rest rooms, and freshwater showers. There are beach chairs and lounge chairs to relax in. There is a wide assortment of drinks available, including alcohol and the restaurant serves Thai and western favorites.
Take a walk over the hill behind Paradise Beach. When you do, you’re going to see one of the coolest places to snorkel – ever. This is a little oasis that will blow your mind. Great for photos! I won’t say more, because you have to see it to take it all in and truly appreciate it. Just GO SEE IT! The second surprise is that there are a couple of small sandy beaches on the right side of Paradise Beach Phuket. You have to swim around to the right (or walk in low tide) to reach them. This area is called “Lucky Beach.” Pretty cool huh?
Paradise Beach Clubs
The whole place is like a private beach club with music and restaurant serving food and drinks. There is a full-moon and half moon party each month, and it has quite a party atmosphere.
Paradise Beach Restaurants / Bars
- Paradise Beach BBQ – there is a large barbecue restaurant up on the hill behind the beach. There is plenty of seating and on the menu are BBQ options of all kind – meat and seafood. Reviewers mentioned the fresh food over and over – so give it a try!
Paradise Beach Accommodations
There is no place to stay right at Paradise Beach, but if you stay anywhere on the south end of Patong Beach, you’ll be close enough to visit Paradise Beach with a ten-minute drive.
Paradise Beach Facts
- Location in Phuket: West of Patong Beach along beach road, you climb through the hills and you keep going straight up the hill past Tri-Trang Beach. It’s just 5-minutes by vehicle, or a somewhat difficult 25-minute walk.
- GPS Data: 7° 53’ 27” N, 98° 15’ 55” E
- Distance to Patong / Phuket Town / Airport in km: 7 / 21 / 46
- Taxis available: Yes
- Surrounding Beaches: Tri Tra (Emerald) Beach is south. On Google Maps it is listed as “Little (sic) Tiger Beach.” It’s the small beach in front of the Marriott Hotel. To the east is Tri-Trang Beach. Patong is the next beach going east.
- Direction Facing: North-northeast
- Beach Length: The main beach area is 85-meters-long (93 yd.) if you include the little beach to the right around the rocks. Past the rocks on the left (west) side is another 60 meters (66 yd.) or so of sand. Up over the hill is a rocky beach hundreds of meters long, where you can snorkel or walk along the rocks for up to a kilometer.
- Beach Width: The beach area where visitors can lay out and catch sun on the sand, or recline in the beaches, is about 11 meters (12 yd.) wide. The entire cove is sandy, where not covered with concrete.
- Estimated Beach Area: 1’595 m2 (1,908 square yd)
- Beach Quality: The sand is nice and soft, and the family who owns it takes care of some of the trash in the main area – it’s pretty clean.
- Ocean Bottom: An area without rocks close to shore, then a lot of rocks and coral further out.
- Restroom / showers facilities? Yes, both
- Beach features: Paradise Beach is very private, with nothing around but trees and rocky coast. It consists of a small peninsula with the beach on the base of the east side and a beautiful rocky cove on the other side over the small hill.
- Lifeguard Available? No
- Sunbeds Available? Yes, 10% of the Beach.
- Umbrellas? Yes
- Public or Private? Entrance fees? Private. They charge fees for entering (200 THB per person), 150 THB for a chair, and 300 THB for renting snorkeling gear. Extra fee for life jacket. If it’s so crowded that you cannot ride your motorbike yourself down the path, they charge you each way for that as well. Everything is available for a price.
- Water quality: Good
- Boat anchorage possible? Yes
- Boat dock and marina? Yes/No
- Longtail boat rental possible? No
- Speedboat/longtail boat tours possible? No/No
- Sea inflow:: Yes
- Slope into sea until 1m deep: 4-8m
- Convenience shop available? Yes
- Attractions: The attractions are the cool little beach and the rocky cove on the other side of the hill. This has become a rather loud beach with music playing over speakers.
- Activities: Snorkeling is the primary activity on either side of the peninsula. There are rocks close to the surface, so take care not to scrape the rocks or coral. The rocky bay over the hill is best for snorkeling. You can rent kayaks and paddleboards, and even diving and snorkeling equipment at the water sports shop on the hill. Sometimes there is a beach volleyball court set up. There are massage ladies available for legit massage.
- FKK possible? Not permitted
- Massage available? Yes
- Picnic possible? No
- Surfing? No – too many rocks.
- Smoking? In November Thailand is cracking down on smoking at beaches around the country. In November 2017 in Phuket, Patong Beach is affected. Soon they expect to make it a country-wide smoking ban – so do stay up to date because fines are high and can include prison time.
- Warnings: Rip-tides can be dangerous when waves get big. Watch for lifeguard flags and ask what they mean if unsure.
- Waste runoff into the sea? No
More about Paradise Beach Phuket
For more Paradise Beach information check out the Blog: