Karon Beach Nightlife

If you want to strike a balance between rowdy and relaxed, Karon is a good bet. It attracts enough foreigners to support the beer bars but it's not the party Mecca that Patong is. The variety of atmosphere is a big bonus since in Karon you can be in a relaxed pub and not even notice the more raunchy beer bars only ten metres away. Going from sedate to scandalous and back again without moving more than half a block is the nightlife equivalent of a good sauna: get heated up and sweaty, go cool down and then come back for more.

Where to Go

The good news about Karon nightlife is that most of the bars are fairly close together, but not right on top of one another. This makes for good pub crawling, but without too much 'Battle of the Bands' action. The bad news is that, after a few places, you'll notice that it's all pretty much the same! This isn't terrible, however, since for a big night out you'll probably be heading just over the hill to Patong anyway.

Karon's nightlife is mainly centred on Luang Poh Chuan Road and, to a lesser extent, the Aroona Karon complex. Both of these areas have enough pubs and girlie bars to keep locals happy and Luang Poh Chuan has a couple of more upscale and trendy watering holes for the urbanites among you.

Luang Poh Chuan Road

Luang Poh Chuan Road is Karon's version of Bangla Road in Patong, with a bar soi at either end, similar to places like Patong's Soi Gonzo or Soi Crocodile, but on a smaller scale (and lacking the ladyboy stage). At the western end (closer to the beach) is an L-shaped soi with Black Cat at the angle. Other bars in the area include Nan's, Hot Shot and Winner. There's also a side street with a few shops and restaurants here. Almost all of these bars have pool tables, which make for an amusing distraction while you are getting chatted up by the girls (‘where you flom?'). At the far end there's another bar soi with a little more lascivious feel. The places here all have names like Amazon, Bikini Bar and Easy Bar. Go figure.

For something other than simple beer bars, try out Karma Lounge, on the easterly corner of the road, Karma Lounge is a trendy looking place with occasional live music. Culture lovers will go for Nakonai Art Plaza, a bohemian little colony with a coffee house and bar attached. Diagonally opposite Karma Lounge is the aptly-named Farang Bar (farang is Thai for westerner). In the middle of Luang Poh Chuan is a short cul-de-sac known as Bangla Plaza. While nothing like its Patong equivalent, this area does have Harry's Steakhouse, a popular restaurant, as well as Sanook Sports Bar.

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Aroona Karon

Further north along the beach and you'll see Aroona Karon. This complex contains a mixture of bars and restaurants and is a good place to go for dinner and drinks. Keep going a little farther north and you'll hit the easily identifiable Karon Circle. From here you can head north to go over the hill into Patong or turn east to enter the other main nightlife area of Karon Beach.

On your left-hand side you'll see a small road which contains a few bars, the best of which is probably Skylight Bar which has a very good happy hour from 17:00 to 19:00 as well as satellite TV to catch all the important matches. Also in this soi you'll find Viking Bar, Magic Bar and Allies Bar. At the far end of the street there's another soi that mainly focuses on shopping and restaurants, but has a few small watering holes.

Price Check

Expect to pay less than you would in Patong but more than you would in Phuket City. The following prices represent beer bars and smaller places' prices. More upscale establishments will have a commensurate raise in prices.

Local Beer (Singh, Chang, Leo, Tiger, Cheers): 70-100 baht
Import Beer (Heineken, San Miguel): 80-110 baht.
Spirits: 90-120 baht including mixer.

Karon offers many of the same attractions as Patong, mostly of the friendly female variety. The standard rules of bar girls usually apply (pay a 200 to 300 baht fine to take her out of the bar, whatever else is negotiated between you two) but the price tends to be a little lower outside of the spotlight. Be cautious and use good judgment (it helps to be sober) and there's no reason why you can't have a great time.

Night Hours

The standard closing time of 01:00 is adhered to, well, randomly. Most - if not all - lights go out and doors shut an hour or two after midnight, but small pockets of late night activity can be found if the particular bar management is daring, well-connected, or ‘forgets' to close.

Night Awareness

If you've got the family with you then stop by Dino Park at the north end of Kata, where the roads rises and connects with Karon Beach. You'll find mini-golf, burgers and a photo-op with a baby elephant. Sunset at Koh Chang Elephant Camp is always beautiful and the resident monkeys will delight the kids. Kata also has good shopping options, with tailors, souvenir shops and DVD vendors all on hand.

G-Rated

If you've got the family with you then stop by Dino Park at the north end of Kata, where it blurs into Karon. You'll find mini-golf, burgers and a photo-op with a baby elephant. Sunset at Koh Chang Elephant Camp is always beautiful and the resident monkeys will delight the kids. Kata also has good shopping options, with tailors, souvenir shops and DVD vendors all on hand.