Phuket guide
Buying property in Kamala, Phuket.
Kamala is a west-coast beach village between Surin and Patong: quieter than Patong, cheaper to enter than Bang Tao, and one of the island’s busiest long-let markets. This page covers which part of the bay to buy in, how Kamala copes with heavy rain, who rents here and the two Kamala projects we sell.
- About 11 km and 15–20 minutes from Patong
- The Element by Anocha, apartments from £66,299
- MGallery Residences MontAzure, from £215,600
Kamala is the cheapest way into a west-coast beach address on Phuket, and the bay where our lowest-priced stock is. It is a Muslim fishing village in Kathu district that grew into a resort, with hotels along the sand, the old village behind them and condos and villas climbing the hills on either side. Patong is about 11 km south over the headland and the airport about 27 km north. Its weak points are drainage and the single coast road.
Where in Kamala: the village, the beach road or the hills?
The bay has three distinct parts, and they behave differently as investments.
- The old village, at the back of the bay, is where Kamala's Thai families live. It is cheap and real, and it is also the lowest ground.
- The beach road has the hotels, restaurants and guesthouses. The northern and central stretches of sand are the better ones. At the south end, small streams run brown water into the sea and the fishing boats are pulled up.
- The hillsides have the newer condominiums and pool villas, with sea views to the west. The headland road south towards Patong is the stretch known as Millionaires' Mile.
Phuket FantaSea, the evening show park, is on the inland side of the village at 99 Moo 3. Café Del Mar, the beach club, has been at the north end of the beach since 2017.
What happens in Kamala when it really rains?
This is the question to ask before you buy anything near the bottom of the bay. In the storm of 29–30 June 2024, The Phuket News reported floodwater more than a metre deep on Kamala's main road, with village homes flooded by run-off from the hill behind. It took volunteers and soldiers five days to dig the mud and sand out of houses and drains, worst of all in Moo 5, Baan Huakhuan.
The road out is fragile too. Route 4030, the main road between Kamala and Patong, climbs over Khuan Yak hill at the south end of the bay. A landslide there at about 5am on 16 October 2022 blocked it. Only one lane reopened, and cars coming from Patong were turned away until further notice.
Kamala was also severely damaged in the tsunami of 26 December 2004 and was rebuilt afterwards. Put these together and the pattern is clear: higher ground on a slope that has been properly retained, reached by a road you have driven in September. A hillside unit costs more to reach, but it avoids the water.
When is the sea safe?
The calm months are roughly December to May, when the bay is flat enough to swim. From June to November the south-west monsoon brings heavy waves and rip currents, and the red flags mean what they say. Even before the monsoon proper, lifeguards pulled a tourist from the water near the Kamala shrine on 8 May 2025, and he died at Patong Hospital. Owners who let to families should say so in the welcome pack.
Who rents in Kamala?
More people than its size suggests. Writing in The Thaiger in April 2024, Bill Barnett of C9 Hotelworks ranked Kamala the third-busiest rental submarket on Phuket in 2023 and the second in the first quarter of 2024, behind Cherng Talay. He put the winter jump down to snowbirds. Russians took almost a third of island-wide long lets in 2023 and about a quarter in early 2024, with Thai, American, British and Australian tenants behind them.
That makes Kamala a better monthly-let market than its holiday footfall implies. If you want nightly lets, buy into a building with the licence. The 30-day rule is explained in our rental yields guide.
What we sell in Kamala
- [The Element by Anocha](/property/the-element-by-anocha): a low-rise development near Kamala Beach. Apartments start from £66,299 (฿2.95m) and complete in 2027. It is the lowest entry point we offer on the west coast.
- [MGallery Residences MontAzure](/property/mgallery-residences-montazure): residences branded MGallery and managed by Accor, within the MontAzure masterplan, from £215,600 (฿9.6m).
An apartment at The Element can be registered in your own name if the building's foreign quota allows. A villa means leased land. Our foreign ownership guide sets out the difference. We can send floor plans and current price lists on WhatsApp, and arrange to see both projects on one visit.
Three things buyers ask about Kamala
Is Kamala quieter than Patong?
Much quieter after dark. Kamala has nothing like Patong's Bangla Road, and Patong is 15 to 20 minutes away by car when you want it.
Is a beach-road condo or a hillside one the better buy?
For living in, the hillside: views, a breeze and no floodwater. For nightly lets, the beach road is easier to fill. Either way, check the drainage and the access road in the wet season.
Is there resale stock in Kamala, or only new builds?
There is plenty of resale. If you would rather buy an older unit with a rental history than wait for a 2027 completion, tell us the building or the part of the bay and we will find what is listed and what is about to be. Contact the Thailand desk.
Kamala's coastal height limits are covered on our main Phuket page.
More in our Phuket guide and the Thailand investment guide.
