Living in Surin, Phuket: Rents and Daily Life

We counted 139 condo listings on long lets. One bedroom: about 35,000 THB a month. Two: around 60,000. Kamala next door is 32,000 for the one-bedroom and Bang Tao up the road 40,000, with pool villas there at 150,000 THB, the island's highest median. Surin's own villas were too few to count properly; the hillside ones belong at the upper end of that range.

The one budget route is housing inland, towards the road to Cherng Talay, from where the beach is a drive.

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There is barely a middle. By the water stand resort complexes and residences, with a few small apartment blocks squeezed between them that are booked long in advance. Up on the slopes towards Kamala and the headland are villas with sea views, the reason this stretch of road has a reputation as the island's most expensive.

Couples and families come in equal numbers; winterers are few, because nothing here is built for long daily life. Beach parking is scarce, and in high season there is none left in the evening, so people leave the car further up the road.

A short bay between Laem Sing cape to the south and the start of Bang Tao's long beach to the north. The area is narrow: from the beach to the main road is a couple of hundred metres, and then the hills with villas begin.

The airport run along the coast through Bang Tao is one of the shortest from any west-coast beach, about 25 km, and Phuket Town is about 25 km too. Half of Surin's life happens on neighbouring beaches: Kamala to the south when you want space and a calm evening, Bang Tao to the north for long walks by the water.

Surin is short and deep, and it changes more than its neighbours in the monsoon. From May to September waves hit at an angle and sand drifts to the north end; in some years rocks appear in the south of the bay that you never see in high season. The bottom drops more steeply than at Karon or Bang Tao, so a metre from shore it is already deep.

From November to April the bay is calm and clear, and because of that steep bottom it is one of the few west-coast beaches where you can actually swim rather than wade. The quietest months are June and October. There is little shade on the beach, so dry-season afternoons are harder here than in Kamala.

At two poles, with almost nothing in between. On the slopes and by the water are restaurants with views, plated food and wine lists, for an evening out rather than dinner. Along the highway and on the way to Cherng Talay are Thai canteens and stalls where people who work here eat. The old beach kitchens on the sand are gone.

So residents plan dinner ahead and shop in neighbouring Cherng Talay, which has supermarkets and a market. Coffee is easy to find, a full breakfast outside a hotel less so, and delivery takes longer than in Bang Tao because couriers lose time on the slopes.

Couples and families on shorter holidays who want a quiet, well-kept bay and do not mind driving for groceries. The airport is 25 km, one of the shortest runs on the west coast, so arrival day is easy.

It suits winterers less. With no weekly-shop supermarket and no big market, daily life over 3 or 6 months means driving to Cherng Talay several times a week. For a long stay on a budget, Kamala at 32,000 THB for a one-bedroom is the calmer-priced neighbour.