Panwa Beach (Cape Panwa)

Panwa Beach runs along the eastern shore of Cape Panwa, the peninsula that closes the southern end of Phuket Town's bay, and it is the opposite of the island's famous west coast: flat water, a long shallow shelf, longtails at anchor and a view across Chalong Bay to the islands rather than an open sunset horizon. The Phuket Aquarium sits at the tip of the cape and the resorts — Sri Panwa on the ridge, the Pullman on the sand — keep the strip quiet and tidy. It is not a beach for surf or for a beach-bar scene, and that is exactly why people who come once tend to book here again.

The water is at its best on the morning high tide; at low tide the shelf goes a long way out and is better for wading than swimming. The cape has a couple of small viewpoints and a walkable road down to the aquarium pier, and Phuket Town's old quarter is fifteen minutes away by car, which makes this the most convenient calm beach if the town's restaurants and Sunday walking street are part of the plan.