The "3 Beaches" Phuket Viewpoint aka Karon Viewpoint

Phuket, in case you don't know, is full of hills. The highest point in Phuket is over 500m above sea level (I hiked up there a while back), while the Big Buddha sits over 400m above sea level. Around the coast, the roads wind up and down the hills, sometimes climbing up from sea level to give great views. Phuket has many viewpoints, some with names, some without, but the best known and most visited is the Phuket Viewpoint, also called Karon Viewpoint, which is what the sign by the road says. And the view is indeed a good one, looking north to 3 beaches - Kata Noi beach, Kata beach and Karon beach.



I stopped here on the way home from work one day last week... well, not exactly on the way home - a detour needed, but the weather was perfect and I reckoned sunset here would be worth seeing. On the way from Kata you pass the well known "After Beach Bar" which hangs over Kata Noi beach along with several other copycat bars which have sprung up over the years. I want to stop here one evening for a sunset beer and some photos. It's begging to be blogged.

At the Phuket viewpoint, there is parking and pathways and a couple of shaded buildings, and some stalls selling food, drinks and such. There are views to the north across the beaches - see photo above. The nearest is Kata Noi, then Kata, and then Karon. Contrary to rumour you cannot see Patong from here. if you turn your head slightly to the north east, you look across the hills and can see the Big Buddha.



Lots of people were there on the evening when I stopped. A party of Swedes had brought wine with them to toast the view, nice. I heard French being spoken, German, Thai of course, and (yes, they are here) Russian. A lot of them about these days, but apart from the language problems the Russian tourists here seem to be well behaved and not deserving of any bad press. And, well ....



She noticed that I was sneaking a few photos.. he didn't thankfully :) Hope he doesn't read my blog. Anyway - the viewpoint, a nice place to get a nice photo of your loved ones. The evening light on a nice sunny day is great. There are plenty of great sea views along the west coast. One of these days I'd like to do a drive all the way up the coast taking photos. Phuket has a beautiful coastline.. especially in between the beaches where rocky headlands jut into the ocean.



Above - the 3 beaches (Kata Noi, Kata, Karon) from the viewpoint just before sunset. As the sun dropped, it was pretty much hidden from view behind some trees. I walked down the path next to the little shops just to the right of the trees to try and snap a view of the sun sinking over the sea... must buy a tripod sometime. The evening was quite hazy as a couple of fishing boats passed in the distance.



Nice view at any time of day from this viewpoint, but it's certainly a good spot for sunset.. or maybe just before sunset and then drive back to the bars overlooking Kata Noi. Easy to get to if you're staying around Kata or Karon Beaches.

The Phuket Viewpoint (Karon Viewpoint) - Location Map


View Phuket Viewpoint (Karon Viewpoint) in a larger map

More hills and viewpoints in Phuket:

• The Big Buddha
• Radar Hill
• Khao Khad Viewpoint
• More Phuket Hills and Views