Kata to Phuket Old Town by Car

Which road and how long it takes

Everything far from Kata goes out the same way: the eastern exit up to the main road. It winds between hills with nowhere to overtake, so the first lorry or tour bus sets the pace for everyone behind it.

Down on the highway, head for Chalong. You pass the small sign for the Big Buddha turning, then reach the Chalong roundabout, where traffic to Rawai, Kata, Phuket Town and the north all meets. Traffic already on the roundabout has priority. Pick your exit before the approach, because scooters come past on both sides.

How long it takes

The one measured stretch is the last: Chalong to Phuket Town is 20 min along the corridor everyone uses. The run from Kata to Chalong has not been timed, so we do not give a total. In the morning, traffic leaves Kata downhill and east, and setting off half an hour earlier saves more than any detour the map suggests.

The corridor from Chalong moves well outside peak hours and slowly inside them. Our notes on traffic jams in Phuket show where the island's queues tend to form.

What that means for the car

Leaving Kata you climb and descend on winding hill road, so an automatic is the easy choice: no hill start on a clutch behind a slow bus, and the low range on the selector does the braking on the way down.

The finish decides the size. In the Old Town everything small wins. A crossover needs attention to its width, and a minivan should not go into the narrow lanes at all. Arcade columns stand close to the carriageway and catch mirrors. The kerbs are high and sharp, so manoeuvre on the asphalt.

After a downpour some streets in the quarter hold water that hides the kerb and the drain grating.

If you are staying in Kata and plan a day in town, we can bring a compact automatic to your hotel, villa or apartment at any hour: first-class commercial insurance, a refundable deposit and the total for your dates fixed in chat. Send the dates on WhatsApp or through the booking form; the page on car rental in Kata explains how the district works for drivers.

Parking around the Old Town, step by step

Do not try to drive into the heart of the Old Town. The streets are narrow, a large part is one way, and directions alternate street by street rather than in neat blocks. Navigation sends you round a loop at the slightest deviation, and each loop costs about ten minutes.

The method that works is to park on the perimeter and walk in. There are multi-storey and supervised car parks at the shopping centres and around the historic zone, a few minutes on foot from the centre. Put a quarter of an hour for parking into your plan. A weekday morning is the calmest window.

On the street itself, read the kerb. Black and white means parking during permitted hours. Red and white means no parking at all. The page on Phuket Old Town by car covers the quarter itself once you are out of the car.

• Fill the tank before town — there are no petrol stations inside the quarter
• Aim for a car park on the perimeter — every loop through the centre costs ten minutes
• Check the kerb colour — red and white means the car gets removed
• Photograph where you parked, street name included — the one-way lanes look alike on the way back
• Go on a weekday morning — at weekends part of the central street closes

Stops on the way

Wat Chalong stands on a busy road a little north of the Chalong roundabout, right on your line to town. The gate has a kerb, so go in straight rather than at an angle. Rejoining the road is the riskiest moment of the visit, with bikes in the blind spot, so wait for a real gap. The page on Wat Chalong by car has the rest.

The Big Buddha works better on the way home. From the Chalong roundabout the highway heads towards Kata, and after a couple of kilometres a road branches right and up to the statue. The sign is small: move into the right-hand lane early. There are fuel stations at the bottom by the turning. See the Big Buddha by car before you go up.

The way back to Kata

In the evening the traffic runs the other way. The corridor south from town to Chalong fills as people head home, and at rush hour the Chalong roundabout stands still. If dinner in the Old Town is part of the plan, eat first and drive after the peak rather than joining it.

From Chalong the highway takes you back towards Kata. The road into the district is hilly with nowhere to overtake, and in the evening the traffic climbs back up.

Parking back in Kata

Free spaces by the beach are few and in high season go early in the morning, so by evening you are looking at the bays along the street running inland from the beach or your hotel car park. Kata Noi is tighter still: a small bay and one road lined with hotel guests' cars. If it is full, go back over the headland rather than improvise on the verge. Park once, then walk.

For days that take in more of the south, car rental in Chalong and car rental in Phuket Town describe those districts from the driver's seat, and car rental in Phuket is the starting point for the rest of the island.

Renting a car for this drive

What a car costs for this trip depends on the class and on how long you keep it: see the price per day in Phuket, and the search gives the total for your dates. We deliver the car to your hotel or villa at any hour, and a refundable deposit is taken at handover, its size depending on the model. First-class commercial insurance is included, and every car we deliver is an automatic, since manual cars are rare in Phuket. Booking, payment and return are explained in how renting a car with Kolesio works. Starting from Kata? See car rental in Kata.

Also useful before you book: can you rent without a deposit?.