Living in Kamala, Phuket: Rents and Daily Life

We counted 238 condo listings here. A one-bedroom asks about 32,000 THB a month and a two-bedroom about 55,000 THB. That's dearer than Kathu or Chalong, and a little under Surin next door, where one bedroom is 35,000 THB. Choice is decent for a village: more listings than Surin's 139, fewer than Bang Tao's 498.

The villas on the northern slopes are a market of their own, and we didn't find enough of them to put a number on it.

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Think of it in three layers. The beach street: hotels and apartments, one after another. Behind it, the real village, Thai houses, a mosque, a school, the shops locals use. And up on the northern slopes towards the headland, villas and residences looking over the bay, too high to walk up to.

In high season that narrow beach street jams. A flat one row back is quieter and much easier to drive out of. You will drive a lot, by the way: on foot you get the beach and a couple of shops, and that's about it.

You reach it from Patong over a short, steep pass, with a lookout above Laem Sing cape on the way. Everything in Kamala strings along one coast road: beach on one side, village and slopes on the other. Keep going north and you're in Surin; turn east over the hills and you're in Kathu.

To the airport it's about 30 km up the coast through Bang Tao and Surin, no big climbs; to Phuket Town, about 25 km. The neighbours couldn't be less alike. Patong to the south has the nightlife and the shops, Surin to the north a short, polished beach. Kamala keeps both within reach and neither under your window.

From November to April the water is calm and the bottom gentle, and Kamala becomes one of the most child-friendly beaches on the west coast. The bay faces straight west with no headland on the horizon, so in the dry season the sun sets into the sea from any point on the beach.

From May to September waves come in, flags go up and the middle of the beach gets undercut into steps. September is the wettest month; May showers are short and often in the evening. After heavy rain, the stream at the south end carries muddy water, so people avoid swimming near its mouth for a couple of days.

Simply and honestly. Cafés along the beach street serve seafood and Thai dishes for people living nearby, with open kitchens. In the village behind, canteens and stalls where locals eat are cheaper and spicier. A weekly market sells takeaway food, fruit and sweets, and it shows that Kamala is a Muslim village: little pork, plenty of chicken, fish and grills.

For the same reason alcohol is not sold everywhere and there are almost no bars. During the fasting month some kitchens in the village close by day and stay open later in the evening. For a wider choice, long-term residents drive to Patong or Cherng Talay.

Families and couples who want a quiet beach, and who are happy to drive for everything else. Rent sits in the middle: about 32,000 THB for a one-bedroom, against 15,750 THB in Kathu and 40,000 THB in Bang Tao just up the coast, with the airport 30 km away and town 25 km.

It suits early risers and people who like sunsets; it suits party-goers not at all. Patong is over the pass for the nights out, and the wider shopping of Cherng Talay is a short drive north. If you are staying 3 months or more, look in the second row, where it is quieter and easier to get out by car.