Our review of Kata Beach in Phuket: what we liked and what we didn't. Evaluation of Kata Beach, photos and tips for vacationers. List of the best hotels on the beach and prices for 2021.
We toured all the famous beaches of Phuket and created our own ratings with assessments according to the criteria: infrastructure, cleanliness, entertainment, etc. We put the ratings on a 10-point scale and give comments and advice to each item. This review focuses on the popular Phuket Kata Beach.
Kata beach rating
| Criterion | Evaluation |
| Privacy | 6 |
| Silence on the beach | 7 |
| Nature | 6 |
| Purity of water | 8 |
| The cleanliness of the beach | 8 |
| Entering the water | 8 |
| Sand | 9 |
| Shadow | 7 |
| Beach infrastructure | 5 |
| Resort infrastructure | 7 |
| final grade | 7,1 |
Atmosphere
Privacy (6 out of 10). Kata Beach is popular, there are many people in the northern and southern parts. Its width is 50-60 meters, so there is enough space for everyone. Not crowded in the central part.
Silence on the beach (7 out of 10). Despite the large number of people, it is quiet and calm. There is a secondary road along the sea that separates it from the territory of the Club Med Phuket hotel - that is, there are no bars or clubs nearby. There is little transport.
Nature (6 out of 10). The bay is picturesque, the views are similar to Karon - there is also a small island.
Beach quality
Water purity (8 out of 10). The water is clean, but in the very corner of the northern part of the beach, long-tailed boats have settled and a stinking, dirty river flows into it - no one swims there. There is a small minus for this.
Beach cleanliness (8 out of 10). Every day the garbage is removed, but we met cigarette butts or cups. In the south, under the casuarine trees - fallen needles.
Entering the water (8 out of 10) gently sloping, no stones or algae. The depth starts in about 30 meters. At low tide, the water goes far. Safe with children, but in the rainy season large waves and rip currents appear.
Sand (9 of 10) light and fine, almost mealy.
Shadow (7 out of 10). In the north of the beach there is a narrow strip of palms and trees, there is little shade. But there are long rows of umbrellas and sun loungers. In the center and in the south there is a wide strip of casuarins, giving abundant shade, and a "carpet" of plants.
Our tips and useful information: How to travel to Phuket on your own.
Beach infrastructure
Rating: 5 out of 10. There is only one toilet and shower on Kata Beach, like on other popular beaches in Phuket - in the Surf Center in the southern part, before the turn of the road. Toilet - 10 baht, shower - 20 baht.
Inconvenience the fact that the sea can only be approached from the north or south - again because of the hotel.
Where can I eat? As the Club Med stretches along the entire coastline, there are no cafes or restaurants. Look for establishments in the north of the beach, there are several in the south too. You can also buy fruits and drinks from hawkers. On weekends, a market is organized on the South Beach Road (Soi Pakbang).
Things to do? The set of entertainment is usual: snorkeling, parasailing, jet skis, boating, banana rides, kayaking. For children, there is a free Community Park in the south of Soi Pakbang - with slides, gazebos, swings and fitness equipment.
Resort infrastructure
Rating: 7 out of 10. Phuket Kata Beach is a developed resort. Cafes, shops, restaurants - there is everything a tourist needs. You can find them on the main road. One drawback is that there are few restaurants overlooking the sea, since the entire territory along the beach is occupied by the hotel.
Entertainment at the resort. Everything is the same as on the neighboring Karon beach: travel agencies, massage, karaoke, bars. Attractions include Karon View Point, elephant trekking at Khok Chang Kata Safari, Skyline Adventure Park, Big Buddha statue, Wat Kittisankaram temple, surfing at Surf House. For children - Community Park and mini golf at Dino Park.
Night life And it doesn't hold a candle to the entertainment in Patong, but there is a choice of establishments. The bars are centered on Kata Road.
Shopping standard for Phuket: souvenirs, clothing, jewelry and leather goods, cosmetics, paintings. Visit Kata Plaza.
Food on Kata
You can find food in the north and south of the beach. We ate in the northern part of Kata: there are local cafes with inexpensive food. They sell cheap coconuts for 30-40 baht, pancakes from 40 baht, necks for 50 baht.
Kata Beach hotels
There are only a few hotels near or close to the sea. The bulk is on the 2nd and 3rd lines. It is convenient to settle in the northern and southern parts of the village in order to have access to two beaches at once - Kata and Karon or Kata Noi. Another reason is not to get to the beach from the center of the resort because of the closed territory of the Club Med hotel. There are roads to the sea only from the north and south of Kata.
Here are some examples of prices for Phuket Kata Beach hotels:
High season prices 2021 | Low season prices 2021 | |
| Guesthouses away from the sea | from 17 $ | from 15 $ |
| Guesthouses closer to the sea | from 22 $ | from 19 $ |
| 1 star hotels | from 32 $ | from 11 $ |
| 2 star hotels | from 14 $ | from 14 $ |
| 3 star hotels | from 16 $ | from 14 $ |
| 4 star hotels | from 45 $ | from $ 31 |
| 5 star hotels | from 103 $ | from 103 $ |
Hotel booking tips:
- The earlier the booking, the lower the price... Look for 3-5 months before high season. You can book a hotel on the Booking.com search engine.
- Explore the reviews tourists when looking for a hotel on Kata - so you will learn about the important little things.
We have selected the best Kata hotels with good reviews:
- Kata On Sea by bGb Villas
- Sugar Inn Phuket 1 *
- Glitter House 2 *
- The Beach by Glitter House 3 *
- The SIS Kata Resort 4 *
- Nook Dee Boutique Resort 5 *
Tours to Kata beach cost from 85 thousand rubles in high season (7-10 nights for two in a 2-3 * hotel, departure from Moscow). Look for them on Travelata and Level.Travel services - they compare prices of all popular tour operators.
Map of Kata Beach Hotels
Our feedback and advice
Kata Beach on the Internet is called the most popular in Phuket after Patong. They write that there are a lot of people here - like in some Anapa. We cannot call it the busiest, although we were in the high season. There are enough people, but they are all dispersed.
Kata is very similar to Karon: well-developed infrastructure, moderately noisy, many Russians. Even the bays are very similar!
They love to relax with children on Kata Beach - we noticed that there are a lot of married couples. For children, the sea is suitable, unlike Karon: the entrance is gentle, shallow, soft sand.
Remember: as elsewhere in Phuket, wind, waves and rip currents appear during the rainy season. No one can swim with the red flags hanging!
