Surin Beach is located practically in the centre of Phuket’s west coast and in my opinion, it’s one of the most beautiful, convenient and harmonious beaches on the island. It’s easy to travel in any direction from here to nearby beaches and Phuket Town. The sand here is amazingly soft. Plenty of shade. Excellent amenities and yet there are many undeveloped areas.
Beach Overview
Surin borders in the north with a small, conditionally “private” beach Pansea Beach, from which it’s separated by a headland that can’t be crossed along the shore. To the south, Surin also ends at a small headland with rocks in the water.
Surin is less than 0.6 miles (kilometr) long. It’s wide but during high season it’s packed with sunbeds under umbrellas, up to five rows deep.
The sand is fine, light, yellow or almost white depending on the lighting. There’s no silt, the water is crystal clear with a beautiful azure colour. During the season, cleaners with brooms are constantly on the beach and there are bins for rubbish. It’s neat and clean.
In season, the beach is crowded. Unlike the spacious and relaxed Bang Tao, this is more of a party spot. There are many young and not-so-young Europeans drinking beer on sunbeds. Families with children aren’t the majority but they’re there too, including Russians. During New Year, the Russian community organises celebrations for children here.
The northern edge of the beach is more spacious and less crowded, sheltered by a high shore with palm trees. Off-season there are fewer sunbeds and fewer tourists, many cafes close and excess infrastructure is removed. Tourists love this beach.
In case anyone’s interested in reading about other places, I have a brief overview of all Phuket beaches that will help you decide which beach to choose.
Swimming
The shore is quite high, especially noticeable at low tide. It gets deep almost immediately, quite sharply. At low tide, the entry is more gradual. The waves are strong, even when they appear small. Off-season, very powerful waves begin in April. During storms, waves impressively crash against the rocks at the headland, sending millions of spray droplets high into the air.
In season, the sea is very gentle and beautiful, although complete calm is rare and there’s usually some surf with white foam. As it gets deep straight away, the waves swell rather than breaking against the shore until the last moment. In season, they put up floats in the water, dividing the beach into swimming zones, and build a pontoon bridge for walks.
There are lots of jet skis. If you want rocks, you can go to the edges of the beach. It’s good for children if they can swim or are with their parents, as it’s clean and the water is clear. But there isn’t much space for running around.
Sunbeds and Shade
Right behind the beach is a promenade, with steps leading up to it in several places. Trees grow along the promenade with open cafes underneath them. But there isn’t much shade on the beach itself. You need to choose spots where the trees have more spread-out crowns. Before noon, the sun reaches everywhere anyway.
There’s hardly anywhere to lie for free in the shade as everything is occupied by paid sunbeds. There’s a free public shower in the centre of the beach, near the car park and temple. Sunbeds cost 100 baht, the front row sometimes costs 150 baht. In the very back row, the trees growing on the promenade also provide shade making it cooler there.
Since the beach is sheltered by a high shore, it’s very hot most of the time, like a sauna, as there’s little air movement.
Beach Photos
There are two streams at the edges of the beach. The one in the north towards Bang Tao may be impassable for people in everyday clothes – the depth can be waist-high.
Amenities
There are many open cafes and bars under trees with sea views. Quite a lot of nightlife. On the northern side are expensive establishments. Roughly in the centre of the beach stands a Thai temple. Beyond the promenade is a large empty space.
In the north, there’s something like a park opposite the Hilton with a basic children’s playground. A large tree decorated with lanterns grows in the centre of the field. Near the temple, they’re building a large stadium.
In the evenings, people meet on the high shore to watch the sunset, then numerous lights of restaurants and other tourist establishments light up and music plays. It has the atmosphere of a resort in the good sense of the word, without excessive seediness.
Accommodation
There isn’t that much accommodation in Surin. There are several expensive hotels:
- Novotel Phuket Surin Beach Resort 4 (Holiday Inn)
- The Chava Resort 4
- Twinpalms Phuket – Sha Extra Plus 5
- Benyada Lodge 4
- The Surin Phuket 5
There are expensive condos – 30-40 thousand thb for a one-bedroom flat. There’s also accommodation beyond the main road and at the junction with Bang Tao, but you’ll have to walk to the beach itself for 10 minutes or more. Even the Hilton isn’t on the front line and you’ll have to cross a small road.
There’s no accommodation directly on the beach at all, only a promenade with cafes behind which runs a large undeveloped space, something like a park, along the entire length of the beach.
How to Find the Beach
There’s a centralised car park in the middle of the beach, not far from the temple. A narrow road runs along the promenade between two rows of cafes and shops; you can drive through and park a motorbike too. In the north, the road through the village and hotels leads to Bang Tao.
A busier and larger road leads away from the shore and brings you to McDonald’s and the large Lotus, located not far from Bang Tao.
It’s about a 40-minute walk from Surin to McDonald’s and Lotus, through an endless string of local shops, quite civilised European restaurants and bakeries, a local market and mosques. In the other direction, the road climbs uphill and leads to Kamala.
You can get here by songthaew from Phuket Town in 40 minutes for 40 baht. From Kamala also by songthaew, in about 10 minutes. It’s about 5 minutes on foot from the road where songthaews run to the water. From other beaches – with a change in Phuket Town. From the airport by taxi in 30-40 minutes, 1000 baht.
