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Voykit pocket guide · Thailand
Kata
หาดกะตะ
Stay 3 nights if you want a calm swim-and-eat beach base; skip Kata if you need nightlife — that is Patong, 30 min north.
Kata is two beaches on Phuket's west coast, 20 km from Phuket Town and directly south of Karon. Kata Yai is the long, developed one with the shops and restaurants; Kata Noi is 1 km further south, smaller, with fewer hotels. The bay has no drop-off and a reef on the north side, so it suits families and non-swimmers better than most Phuket beaches. It is a base for swimming, cheap Thai food and day boats, not for bars.
- Country
- Thailand
- Local name
- หาดกะตะ
- Best months
- Nov–Apr
- Avoid
- May–Oct (southwest monsoon, red flags, surf)
- Stay
- 3 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- THB
- Money
- Currency is the Thai baht (THB, ฿). Cards work in malls, hotels and many restaurants; street food, markets, boats and small taxis are cash.
- Daily spend
- Budget ฿1,200–2,200 excl. bed · Mid ฿2,500–4,500 excl. bed · High ฿6,000+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AIS and TrueMove H sell tourist SIMs at airport arrivals; passport registration is required.
- Emergency
- Police 191 · Ambulance and rescue 1669 · Tourist police (English) 1155
- Plugs
- Types A, B, C, O · 220 V · 50 Hz · Most sockets take flat US pins and round European pins; type O is the Thai three-pin standard. UK plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Street food: Nothing.; Sit-down restaurant: Leave ฿20–100 or the coins; skip it if a 10% service charge is on the bill.; Taxi / Grab: Round up to the next ฿10 or ฿20.; Massage: ฿50–100 per hour to the therapist, in hand.; Guide / driver day: ฿300–500 for the guide, ฿200–300 for the driver.; Hotel porter / housekeeping: ฿20–50.
- Water
- Not drinkable from the tap. Street refill machines charge about ฿1 a litre; bottled water everywhere.
- Toilets
- Western toilets in malls and hotels; squat toilets with a water bucket in rural stops. The hose ('bum gun') replaces paper; paper goes in the bin in older buildings. Some public toilets cost ฿3–5.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Thai noodle or rice dish at a local café | ฿70–150 |
| Beer: draught in a bar / can at a 7-Eleven | ฿90–150 / ฿40–60 |
| All-you-can-eat BBQ | about ฿199 |
| Scooter rental, one day | ฿250–400 |
| Taxi Kata → Phuket airport | ฿800–1,000 |
| Two-tank dive trip | ฿2,500–3,500 |
| Thai massage, one hour | ฿300–500 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- HKT · Phuket International
- About 45–60 min by road; shared minibus about ฿180–250, taxi ฿800–1,000
Typical fares
- Phuket airport → Kata, shared minibus
- about ฿180–250, 45–60 min
- Phuket airport → Kata, taxi
- ฿800–1,000, agree before leaving
- Kata → Phuket Town, local bus
- ฿30–40
Get around
The main road links Kata Yai to Kata Noi over the hill; most of Kata Yai is walkable in 10–20 min. Songthaews and open-air buses run to Karon and Phuket Town from the main road, and tuk-tuks or taxis cover short hops — agree the fare first. A rental scooter is the usual way to reach Karon, Chalong Bay and Phuket Town, but only with a valid licence and a helmet.
See and do
Known for
- Kata Yai and Kata Noi beaches
- Calm swimming with no drop-off
- Snorkelling and dive courses
- Apr–Sep surf breaks
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Karon | Songthaew or open-air bus north along the coast road | 10–15 min |
| Phuket Town | Local bus from the main road, or scooter | 45–60 min |
| Chalong Bay | Scooter or taxi over the hill | 20–30 min |
| Patong | Taxi or songthaew north via Karon | 30–40 min |
| Kamala | Scooter or taxi north along the coast | 30–40 min |
| Mai Khao | Taxi via the airport road | 1.5 h |
Sleep
- Kata Yai centre (Kata Rd / Koktanod Rd)
- Walk to the beach, restaurants and shops; noisiest and busiest part.
- Kata Yai south end
- Bungalows on the slope above the sand; quieter, still a short walk to food.
- Kata Noi
- Smaller beach, fewer hotels, higher prices; 1 km over the hill from Kata Yai.Smaller beach, fewer hotels, higher prices; 0.6 mi over the hill from Kata Yai.
- Patak Rd hillside
- Cheaper rooms set back from the sand; you need a scooter or a 10–15 min walk.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | สวัสดีsawatdee |
| Thank you | ขอบคุณkhop khun |
| How much is it? | เท่าไหร่tao rai |
| Too expensive | แพงไปphaeng pai |
| Not spicy, please | ไม่เผ็ดmai phet |
| Where is the toilet? | ห้องน้ำอยู่ไหนhong nam yu nai |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: A wai (palms together, slight bow) to return a greeting; a smile and nod for shop staff; avoid: Waiing children or service staff first — it confuses; hugging strangers
- Head and feet: Keep feet on the floor, sit with legs folded to the side in temples; avoid: Touching heads (even children's), pointing feet, stepping over people or food
- Temples: Covered shoulders and knees, shoes off, sit lower than monks; avoid: Women touching monks or handing them things directly; climbing Buddha images
- Monarchy: Stand for the royal anthem in cinemas and at 08:00 and 18:00 in public places; avoid: Any joke or comment about the royal family; stepping on a banknote
- Keeping calm: Stay polite and smiling when things go wrong ('jai yen' — cool heart); avoid: Raising your voice; public anger loses the argument
- Names: Khun plus first name ('Khun Somchai'); nicknames are normal; avoid: Using the family name alone
- Home visit: Shoes off; bring fruit or sweets; step over the threshold, not on it; avoid: Sitting with feet towards the family shrine
- Beckoning and pointing: Palm down, fingers waved towards you; point with the whole hand or chin; avoid: Pointing at people with a finger or with your foot
Scams and watch-outs
- Swim between the red-and-yellow flags only; the monsoon season brings rip currents and lifeguards may be absent.
- Agree every tuk-tuk or taxi fare before you get in; there is no meter.
- Scooter rental: check the bike, photograph existing damage, and carry an IDP — police check licences on the west-coast roads.
- Jet-ski and motorbike deposits are a known dispute point; never hand over your passport as security.
Kata is a low-crime resort area; the real risks are the sea in monsoon months, scooter accidents and unagreed taxi or jet-ski prices. Swim flagged, wear a helmet, fix the fare first.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Kata yet. Suggested stay: 3 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Kata Yai and Kata Noi beaches
- Calm swimming with no drop-off
- Snorkelling and dive courses
- Apr–Sep surf breaks
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Tourism Authority of Thailand — Phuket: www.tourismthailand.org/Phuket
- Phuket International Airport: www.phuketairportthai.com/en/
- Wikivoyage: Kata, revision 4663217 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=4663217
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Kataหาดกะตะ
ไปที่ที่อยู่นี้ครับ/ค่ะ
Please take me to this address
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Kata; consulates and embassies are in Bangkok. Your embassy handles passports and emergencies — save the number before you fly.
Tourist police 1155 answers in English; 1669 is the ambulance and rescue line.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/kata). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.