Where to Celebrate Your New Year's Eve in Phuket

Each December, the more popular beaches around Phuket become effectively giant parties. Hundreds gather on the sand to see in the new year. Patong Beach usually has organised music and entertainments, but most of the others don’t. However, with people bringing their own fireworks, floating lanterns, drinks and more, it creates a very festive atmosphere and a fun place to be. 

Patong Beach is definitely the most popular choice, but you'll also find celebrations on Karon, Kata, Paradise, and Bangtao beaches, among others.

Patong Beach

No list of the best beaches in Phuket could be complete without mentioning Patong. Undoubtedly the most popular stretch of coastline on the island, the beach could be said to be a victim of its own popularity, being generally busy right along its 2.5 km length. However, there's no part of Phuket with a livelier atmosphere. The town behind the beach is home to many great restaurants and hotels, as well as the best of Phuket’s nightlife, while the beach itself has nice sand and offers plenty of attractions and activities.

Karon Beach

Karon Beach has the interesting honour of having the squeakiest sand in Phuket. Fine and soft, it makes a funny sound when you walk on it. At 3.3 km in length, it's the third-longest beach in Phuket and is close to being perfectly straight. It's beautifully lined with trees for a lot of the southern end, with volleyball nets and beachfront restaurants in the northern half. The sea here is very approachable, though it is noted for its strong riptides in the low season. There are virtually no rocks along the length of the beach, so you can take a cooling dip with no risk of hurting your feet.

Kata Beach

Kata Beach has it all – beautiful soft sand, nodding palm trees, clean waters with a soft seabed, good surfing in the low season and snorkelling in the high season, and a fantastic laid-back atmosphere. Colourful long-tail boats are moored at the northern end, with a few budget food and drinks vendors often found nearby, while the southern end has a choice of beachfront hotels and restaurants and an exciting flow rider park at Surf House. At about 1.5 km in length, Kata Beach doesn’t usually get too crowded, either.

Bangtao Beach

At 6 km in length, Bangtao is one of the longest beaches in Phuket. Along that length, you'll find some of the island’s top hotels, restaurants and beach clubs, making it a popular place for all kinds of visitors and locals. While the scenery is perhaps not as picturesque and the sand not as soft as some of Phuket's other notable beaches, Bangtao is still one of the best beaches in Phuket thanks to the sheer variety of nearby attractions and the sheer size. This simply means it’s never that hard to find a quiet spot to enjoy some peace and quiet.

Paradise Beach

Paradise beach is Phuket’s answer to the famous Koh Phangan Full Moon Party. This little cove is a bit tropical beach by day, and a huge dance floor by night. Loud music, lots of lights and good international DJ’s make sure your night is unforgettable. There is an entrance fee for parties, probably higher for New Year’s Eve than on full moon parties. Technically it becomes a sizeable outdoor club surrounded by coconuts trees. There is a free shuttle to take you to and back from the party to Patong beach. It is convenient and safer! Don’t drive! 

For those who want the beach party atmosphere with a little more coordination, a beach club is a great place to celebrate New Year in Phuket. The beach clubs around Phuket are already great places to party, so they naturally make excellent places to be on 31st December, with first-class DJ sets, fine food and fancy cocktails. Among the best are Catch Beach Club, Café Del Mar Phuket and Paradise Beach Club.

Café Del Mar

Cafe Del Mar confirms that Phuket is the right place for a beach party beach club with good music, great drinks and most of all, notorious parties. Since beach clubs all learned the hard way that you can’t have your club right on the beach, Cafe Del Mar did what the new generation of beach club did: build on the very edge of the beach line, usually under the trees.

Catch Beach Club Phuket

Catch Club is an iconic beach club in Phuket, that is reborn and is as popular as ever. Catch is more than just another beach club in Phuket: it was the first to open on the island and the one that triggered the fashion. In just a couple of years, there were beach clubs everywhere. Most of them were quite busy, but none ever come close to what the original Catch Beach Club achieved. 

The new one is not as striking as the original Catch Beach Club, but it is a great place for the countdown on the sand and by the sea. 

Phuket’s party central comes to life for New Year celebrations in a way you won’t see at any other time, except possibly for Songkran. While Patong’s popular nightlife street is busy most evenings, it's absolutely packed on the last one of the year. Every bar is busy and the atmosphere is one of rowdy exuberance. Expect loud music, drinks flowing and big crowds. Spots like Red Hot and Aussie Bar are likely to be among the more popular choices.

Arguably the highlight of Bangla Road – and worthy of a separate mention – are the nightclubs. The main ones each have special events for New Year, featuring great guest DJs and drinks offers. They'll often have some kind of theme for the night, so check out their Facebook pages to properly prepare yourself. The best places to party are likely to be Illuzion and White Room.

Illuzion Phuket Nightclub

Illuzion Phuket is the most popular Nightclub on Bangla road in Patong Beach. Illuzion Phuket is gigantic, supposedly able to accommodate up to 5,000 standing people plus hundreds of VIP tables. Music and party atmosphere grab you as soon as you step inside and the quality of the sound and light system is instantly obvious. Illuzion now ranks #48 in the TOP 100 Clubs by DJMAG and has been consistently moving up each year.

White Room

White Room Nightclub is one of the most popular nightclubs in Phuket, located on Soi Gonzo just off Bangla Road in Patong Beach. It’s not as big as some other nearby nightclubs, but the sounds and light systems are exceptionally well designed, creating an atmosphere that attracts a trendy crowd every single night. It feels friendly, fun and more intimate than other gigantic darker clubs. Best of all, the entrance is entirely free!

As the name indicates, the club is less dark than other classic venues. The front part of the room is a large dance floor with an elevated DJ Booth, and the back is the VIP area where you can get a table by buying a bottle. Usually, Absolut vodka 3900 Baht served with five mixers. That VIP area is excellent for parties and Birthday celebrations. If you are ready for a serious party, you can take advantage of the open bar at 800 baht (Chang beers, vodka, rum, gin, Sangsom glass and ten cocktails.)

If you stay around the dance floor, to give you an idea of the price range, a beer will cost you 200 baht, which is excellent considering the entrance is free!

The heart of the gay nightlife in Patong, Paradise Plaza is a lively place on any evening of the year. Just like Bangla Road, it’s especially fun on 31 December. It’s a fun place to party, whatever your orientation (so long as you’re open-minded and have a robust sense of humour), and a great place to celebrate the New Year in Phuket. Among the most popular venues are Boat Bar and Zag Club.

Many hotels around Phuket will have special gala dinners and parties for the New Year celebrations. In some cases, this requires a mandatory additional cost, which can come as an unpleasant shock. Be sure to check what your hotel is planning in advance. In some cases, the cost is entirely justified by an exceptional meal, fireworks, music and dancing. This is certainly the most family-friendly way to celebrate the event.