Beach Clubs in Kamala, Phuket: Café del Mar, NORA and Endless Summer

It comes down to the hour. Café del Mar is open 11:00–00:00 and builds its evening around the DJ set that starts at 17:00. NORA doesn't open until 16:00 and runs to 02:00, the latest of the three. Endless Summer opens for breakfast at 09:00 and closes at 21:00, after the evening film.

Kamala itself is the quiet stretch between Patong and Surin — a village rather than a resort strip — and the clubs follow suit: there are only a few, they're calmer, and many guests live or stay nearby. By road it's 30 km to the airport and 25 km to Phuket Town.

Café del Mar sits right on Kamala beach, with a large pool, bar stools in the water and loungers round the edge. Every evening a DJ plays from 17:00 to 22:00; guest DJs and themed nights are kept for weekends, and weekday tables are quieter.

Do you need to book a daybed? For the sunset rows by the water, yes, several days ahead — by 17:00 the front line is usually taken. On a weekday afternoon people sit down without a booking. Entry itself is free: you leave a deposit for the seat, and the whole amount goes towards food and drinks. The pool is only for guests who have paid that deposit or booked a lounger.

The format is adult — a pool bar and evening sets. In the restaurant area smart casual is expected, meaning a T-shirt or shirt and shorts that don't look like swimwear, while swimwear and a sarong are fine at the pool. The club has its own free car park, which fills at weekends, so aim to arrive before 16:00.

NORA opens at 16:00 as a cocktail bar on a west-facing terrace and keeps a sunset lounge going until about 20:00, with a happy hour from 16:00 to 18:00. After 22:00 it turns into a full club with resident and guest DJs — house, commercial hits, R&B and hip-hop — until 02:00.

The week has a rhythm: live music on Wednesdays, R&B and hip-hop on Fridays, a ladies' night on Saturdays. Dress is smart casual; jeans are fine, beach shorts and flip-flops are not. Entry is usually free. Parking right at the club is very limited, so a taxi app from Patong is the simpler way to arrive.

Endless Summer is the one to pick with children. It has a retro Californian surf look — boards on the walls, old posters, pallets for furniture — and opens at 09:00 for breakfast: açaí bowls, smoothies, pancakes.

Until 18:00 there's a children's area with a sandbox and surf-painting classes. After sunset, around 19:00, a film starts on the beach — family films, classics, sometimes surf documentaries — and the club closes at 21:00 after the last screening. Come by 18:30 for the front-row beanbags; you get a wristband at the entrance for the cinema area.

It sits between Café del Mar and the old ice factory. Street parking is free but full in high season, so arrive early.

Kamala lies between Patong and Surin on the west coast. From Patong the road goes over a steep hill, and a weak scooter carrying two people struggles on the climb, so a taxi app is the easier way in for an evening out. By road, Kamala is 30 km from the airport and 25 km from Phuket Town.

Order the car back before the light goes: once the sun is down, everyone leaves at once. Parking at the clubs is limited across the board, one more reason to come early.

Entry rules and deposit amounts change with the season, so check them with the club before you go rather than relying on an old figure. By the pool you burn faster than on the beach, with no breeze and a strong sun.

Want to swim in the sea too? In the dry season, yes. From May to October the west coast gets an undertow, and you swim only where the flags allow.

And if a beach-club bill isn't the plan for every night, Kamala Market sets up by the village temple on Mondays and Fridays from 16:00 to 22:00, a short walk from the beach, with street food, fruit and Thai curries.