Bangla Road

Bangla Road is in Patong, on Phuket's west coast, and it runs from the beach to Rat-U-Thit Road. It is pedestrianized in the evening, so you walk it rather than ride. Most Patong hotels are within walking distance, and Phuket has no metro, so staying close saves you a ride every night.

It is Patong's pedestrianized nightlife street, loud and packed, with gogo bars, beer bars and clubs all playing at once from the beach to Rat-U-Thit. Promoters wave menus and flyers at everyone who passes. Couples and groups walk it just to look, so it feels more like a party street than a classic red-light strip.

Plenty. Alongside gogo spots such as Rock Hard A Go Go and Soi Seadragon there are clubs including Illuzion, Seduction, Sugar Club Phuket and Tiger Club, a freelancer bar in Tai Pan, and many massage shops such as Cat Massage and Let's Relax Spa. You can have a full night here without going into a single gogo bar.

The list includes Blow, Empire Club Phuket, Illuzion, Seduction Nightclub, Sugar Club Phuket, Suzy Wong Harem, Tiger Club, Tiger Nightclub and Wake up club. Illuzion is the superclub, with international DJs and big shows. Walk the road once before you pay for anything, because the clubs sit close together and you can compare them at the door.

Both are pedestrian nightlife strips, but Bangla Road is shorter and more of a mixed party street, with holidaymakers of every kind among the gogo bars and clubs. Walking Street in South Pattaya is bigger and draws a crowd that is there mainly for the nightlife. Phuket adds the beach to the equation.

Ignore touts selling upstairs ping-pong shows, because the bill is rarely what you were promised. Pay as you go in the beer bars and clubs, and check every bill line by line before you settle up. Keep your phone in a front pocket, and agree anything involving a woman before you leave the venue.

It gets busy after dark and the big clubs run late into the night, so the later hours are the party hours. Earlier in the evening is calmer and better for looking around and eating. Weekends and high season are the busiest, and it still runs in the rainy season, with fewer people. Check on the night.

Start with a meal nearby, walk the whole road once, then choose a bar or club that suits the mood. Try the gogo soi off the road first, then move to a club later on. Keep your cash light, check every bill, and book a Grab or Bolt home rather than a street taxi with a high fixed fare.