Kata Noi Phuket: Where to Stay, Eat & Explore

Kata Noi Phuket, Thailand

This month we took a side quest and headed down south to Phuket.

Phuket, Thailand’s largest island, has so much to offer. It’s known for its beaches, but there’s everything from rainforests and wildlife to culture and incredible food.

But Phuket is also undeniably a victim of its own success, especially during peak tourist season. Beaches can become packed and navigating the crowded streets can be a challenge.

This wasn’t our first trip to Phuket. We’d previously explored Kamala Beach, Talat Yai and, of course, Patong.

This time we wanted something different.

We definitely didn’t want to make the mistake of staying too close to Bangla Road with music playing until 5am every day.

Don’t get me wrong, there was a time I probably would have loved that.

But that wasn’t the side quest we were looking for this time.

We wanted somewhere we could chill for the week, preferably without the crowds, if that’s even possible in Phuket. We settled on Kata Noi Beach.

Kata Noi Phuket

📍 Location: Southwest Phuket, Thailand
🏖️ Beach: Around 700 metres long
🛌 Where we stayed: The Mantra Kata Noi
💪 Best for: Beach days, sunsets and a quieter Phuket stay
🚶‍♀️ Getting around: Walking locally and Grab for longer trips
💪 Gym: SK-11 Gym in Kata Beach

Choosing Kata Noi

One thing to keep in mind when choosing where to stay in Phuket is just how far everything can be from the airport.

Kata Noi is on the southwestern coast, just south of the much better-known Kata Beach.

It’s a small stretch of sand, around 700 metres long, with clear water, soft sand and beautiful scenery.

But it’s also around a 1.5-hour taxi ride from Phuket Airport, and depending on traffic and the time of day, that can easily become two hours or more.

Definitely something to remember when it’s time to head back to the airport!

The majority of beachgoers seemed to be staying at the Katathani Phuket Beach Resort, which has the main access to the beachfront.

First Impressions

November can still bring plenty of rain and we arrived after a few days of heavy weather.

The sea was rough and the waves were brutal, but that didn’t stop anyone getting in to cool down because the sun was absolutely blazing during the day.

I’d read that Kata Noi was one of Phuket’s quieter beach areas, so I was actually surprised by how busy the beach was.

There were beach chairs everywhere and plenty of holidaymakers.

What was strange was how different it became after sunset.

The small main street was incredibly quiet at night and I’m still not totally sure where everyone from the beach disappeared to. This is definitely not a party beach.

There are a handful of places for dinner, but no bars or evening activities happening along the beach after sunset.

For us, that was actually part of the appeal.

Kata Noi vs Kata Beach

We walked over to Kata Beach one day to check it out.

We quickly returned.

Kata Beach was much busier and felt far more chaotic.

I definitely preferred Kata Noi. The beach is smaller, there were fewer people and, in my opinion, the swimming was much better.

Phuket Is Changing

There is a lot of construction happening around Phuket.

I’m not against development, but sometimes it does feel like there’s just so much of it happening at once.

There was a huge development underway across the road from the main resort in Kata Noi while we were there.

Thankfully, the construction only happened during the day, so there was no noise keeping us awake at night.

Where We Stayed

We didn’t stay at the big beachfront resort.

Instead, we stayed at The Mantra Kata Noi, around 100 metres from the beach.

The rooms were clean and serviced daily, fresh water was provided, the staff were friendly and it was really quiet at night.

For reasonably priced accommodation in Kata Noi, I’d happily recommend it.

The only downside to not staying at the beachfront resort was that we couldn’t use its showers or rinse-off facilities when coming off the beach.

Small problem, but worth knowing.

And if you’re staying at Mantra, make sure you catch happy hour at Bar 59.

The margaritas were cheap. And strong. Very strong.

Coffee & Food Around Kata Noi

Right next door to Mantra is Born to Drink, which quickly became our morning coffee stop.

We went there every day and occasionally grabbed a breakfast bagel as well. The staff were lovely, the coffee was good, the bagels were delicious and everything was reasonably priced.

Also nearby is The Blue Shark Restaurant Phuket, a Thai restaurant where we ate multiple times.

The curry was good enough to get us back through the door, which probably says everything you need to know.

Sunsets & Beach Club Days

One of my favourite things about this stay was some of the venues up on the hills around Kata Noi.

We had sunset dinner at The Sundeck, where the views were incredible, the cocktails were delicious and the food was very good. It’s a little pricey, but you’re definitely paying for that view.

Then there was Fira Beach Club.

We spent an entire day here doing very little — which was exactly the plan.

Daybed. DJ. Cocktails. Food. Pool. Views.

Repeat.

Your package includes food and drink credit to use during the day, so while it’s not cheap, we really enjoyed the experience.

Another favourite was Tree Bay Clubhouse.

The 270-degree sea views at sunset were beautiful and the food, drinks and service were superb. I’d definitely recommend booking a table here rather than just turning up.

For something much more casual, Stone Bar and Surfskate was a fun place for a late-night drink and a game of pool.

It has a relaxed reggae vibe and, more importantly, a friendly dog called Stoney who does his rounds greeting everyone.

Where to Train

We couldn’t go away for a week without finding a gym.

The closest option we found was SK-11 Gym in Kata Beach, around a 10-minute Grab ride from Kata Noi.

It turned out to be a good find, especially if you like strength training. There was a huge amount of equipment packed into the gym and I particularly liked the unilateral machines.

Read my full SK-11 Gym Kata Beach review here.