Sunset in Phuket

Sunrise and sunset, month by month

The times are for Phuket's west coast, worked out the same way as on our booking page and within a minute of the US Naval Observatory's. The whole island shares them to within about a minute.

Which way the sun sets

In December the sun sets in the west-south-west, around the March and September equinoxes in the west, and in June in the west-north-west: the point where it goes down slides about 47° along the horizon through the year. From a west-facing beach with open sea in front, it sets over the water in every month.

The times assume a clear sea horizon. An island, a headland, haze or a bank of cloud low in the west hides the sun a little early, and from a hilltop viewpoint it sets a little later.

Where to watch the sunset

Promthep Cape, the headland at the island's southern tip, about 2 km past Rawai beach, is Phuket's famous sunset viewpoint. From the top the sun goes down over the open sea in every month, with Nai Harn and the small island of Ko Man to the right; from late May to late July it goes down just above Ko Man. It is free and open from 06:00 to 19:00 every day, though from 21 May to 23 August the last light lasts past 19:00. The road jams before sunset and parking is hard to find, so arrive at least an hour before sunset. Stay off the rocks at the tip: in 2023 a wave swept people from them into the sea, and one died.

From the airport, some afternoon Smart Bus departures carry on to the cape: the 14:00 and 15:00 arrive before sunset all year, and no return is published.

On the road from Kata Noi towards Nai Harn, Karon Viewpoint looks along the bays of Kata Noi, Kata and Karon, with the sun setting over the sea to their left; it is free, with parking. A few minutes from Promthep, Windmill Viewpoint looks over Ya Nui and Nai Harn.

The Big Buddha is no longer a sunset spot: since it reopened in March 2026 it closes at 18:00, before the sun goes down on every day of the year.

From a beach, the sun goes into the sea only where nothing stands in the way. By our reading of the map, from the middle of each beach (the dates are approximate):

Or watch from a boat: some day cruises end at sunset, though from May to October, in the south-west monsoon, trips can be cancelled at short notice.

Golden hour and the afterglow

Golden hour has no official definition. The common definitions count it from when the sun is 6° above the horizon to 4° or 6° below it, and this close to the equator the sun drops through that quickly: in Phuket golden hour lasts about 40 to 50 minutes, and in London roughly twice as long.

The sun reaches 6° about half an hour before sunset. After it goes down, the sky stays light for 20 to 23 minutes, to the end of civil twilight.

Sunrise

Sunrise is over the east coast, which faces bays and islands rather than open sea. From the Khao Khad lookout tower near Cape Panwa, whose listed hours start at 06:00, the sun comes up over open water from about early March to late April and from late August to early October; at other times of year islands can be in the way.

When the sky is clearest

The sky is least cloudy from January to March and cloudiest from July to October. The weather month by month: When to visit Phuket