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Relax And Enjoy Your Holiday
Wat Karon (Karon Temple) is located some 500m from the beach in Karon Centre. Founded in 1895, it went through major renovation and the addition of a three-storey building that hosts monk’s dormitories, prayer hall and a large kitchen in which food is prepared for the attendants at regular religious ceremonies held on the temple ground. The ordination hall is set in a superbly decorated edifice surrounded by two Naga statues (Thai mythological snake).
Karon Beach is the only place in Phuket where you will find beach volleyball nets set up every day for public use. Naturally, they're quite popular, and you can see locals and tourists alike joining in games most evenings. It's a good way to meet new people and have some fun. They're mostly busy around sunset, when the temperature is down to a level where playing becomes less of an endurance challenge.
ATV Karon is a large quad-biking centre which, unlike almost any other centre of its kind, is conveniently located right by a major town. The entrance is right next to the Best Western Phuket Ocean Resort, opposite Karon Lake, and the grounds extend well into the jungle-covered hills behind and around it. With a sizable fleet of vehicles, there's plenty of opportunity to enjoy off-roading along shaded forest paths.
Karon Park is mostly fitness oriented, providing several simplified gym machines and a running track around the lake, a lot of which is shaded by trees. The lake itself is the star attraction, as it is one of the more popular places to celebrate Loy Krathong in November each year. The park and surrounding area is often the site of small festivals and fairs and there is convenient car parking for those visiting the beach.
It isn't exactly certain if this golden statue by Karon Beach is a dragon or a naga. If it is a dragon, it would be Hai Leng Ong – the mythical Chinese sea dragon which supposedly went to sleep and formed Phuket Island. The naga, meanwhile, is a creature of Buddhist mythology and is basically a giant king cobra, commonly associated with rivers. Either way, it is quite a dramatic statue and is especially beautiful at sunset.
On the borderline between Karon and Kata beaches, Dino Park is a fun entertainment centre for kids and grown-ups alike. It has an 18-hole mini-golf course with different dinosaurs at each hole, which is challenging in parts but nevertheless ‘doable’ for younger players. It takes about 40 minutes to do a full round.