普吉岛 Nightlife

Bangla Road in Patong is the centre of Phuket's nightlife and the reason a large share of visitors come to the island. The four hundred metre strip closes to traffic in the evening and holds beer bars, nightclubs, live-music rooms and cabaret venues, with the side sois running off it carrying their own clusters. It runs late, it is loud, and it is not representative of the rest of the island.

The northwest coast does nightlife differently. Bang Tao, Kamala and Surin carry the beach-club scene, large day-to-night venues on the sand with pools, DJs and restaurant service, generally with a spend minimum and a smarter dress code. Several of the bigger names run sunset sessions that carry through to late evening.

Phuket Town has the most local scene: bars in restored shophouses along Thalang and Yaowarat, craft beer rooms, live-music venues and rooftop bars, busiest at the weekend and on Sunday when the Walking Street runs. Kata and Karon fall between the two, with a steady run of neighbourhood bars, sports bars and small live-music rooms rather than a single strip. Cabaret shows at Simon and Aphrodite run year round and are a separate draw again.