Chalong: who it suits and what it costs to live in Phuket's southern middle

Where Chalong is

Chalong is a subdistrict (tambon) of Mueang Phuket district in the middle of the island’s south. Town lies to the north, Rawai to the south, Karon and Kata over the hills to the west, and Chalong Bay to the east. The provincial profile lists Chalong Subdistrict Municipality as its local government.

DOPA’s register counted 28,794 residents in December 2025, spread over 10 villages. The largest are Khao Noi (6,966), Na Kok (3,638), Yot Sane (3,361) and Khok Tanot (3,324). For comparison, the whole of Rawai has 19,659.

What people mean by Chalong:

• Wat Chalong (Wat Chaithararam). The temple is on the province’s list of its top 10 attractions
• Five-Way junction (Ha Yaek Chalong). Route 4021 runs from here into town (6.5 km) and route 4028 over the hills to Karon (8.6 km), per the province
• Chalong Bay and pier. The pier is technically inside Rawai on OpenStreetMap’s boundaries but takes its name from the bay. The province ran a yacht clearance centre there for foreigners arriving by sea
• Ban Na Kok market. The province names it as one of the island’s notable community markets

Who Chalong suits

• Families who want an international school in the subdistrict itself. The OPEC register lists seven international schools here, including Ruamrudee International School Phuket and Buds International School on Soi Palai 2. Chalong public hospital opened on 29 January 2024 and is 3.2 km from Wat Chalong
• Boat people. Chalong Pier is 4.5 km, about 9 minutes from Wat Chalong, with boats to Racha Yai and Coral Island. By OpenStreetMap boundaries the pier itself is already in Rawai subdistrict. See our guides to the Racha islands and Coral Island
• Buyers who want a villa or a gated housing estate. On the market Chalong is more villas and estates than condos: our registry lists 25 projects in the area, and Star Silas Villa (14 villas in Palai, from THB 30.8 million on 17 October 2026) is on sale
• People who split their time between town and the southwest beaches. From Wat Chalong it is 9.9 km (13 minutes) to Old Town, 9.2 km (13 minutes) to Kata and 11.1 km (18 minutes) to Nai Harn. The airport is 37.7 km away, versus 46.8 km from Rawai

Who should look elsewhere

• Anyone who wants to step out onto a beach. Chalong has no swimming beach, and Chalong Bay is an anchorage for boats and yachts. Kata is 9.2 km away and Nai Harn 11.1 km
• Anyone counting on the Smart Bus. The airport route does not pass through Chalong: it turns from Kata towards Sai Yuan and Rawai. An electric bus from Chalong Pier to Supercheap in Samkong runs 05:45-17:30 per TAT (11 July 2025), which we could not confirm on the provincial website. There are no official songthaew routes
• Condo buyers who want a wide choice. Only 7 residential condo buildings with issued titles are in the Treasury register (33 in Rawai, 44 in Patong), and half of them are valued at THB 29,250-62,750 per m²
• Anyone who wants beach bars and a promenade. Chalong has none: this is residential southern Phuket, ten villages (mubans) strung along the roads

Beaches and the sea near Chalong

Chalong has no swimming beach. The province’s top-10 list names Kata, Karon, Patong, Surin and Nai Harn among its beaches and only the temple from Chalong. The nearest places to swim:

Season: in the TMD normals January to March is driest (24-81 mm of rain), September and October wettest (350 and 336 mm). West-coast beaches get rough in the May-October monsoon; for alternatives see calm beaches in Phuket.

Property and prices in Chalong

The Treasury register (snapshot 2024-08-05) has 7 residential condominiums with issued titles in Chalong. The median valuation is THB 51,750 per m², the middle half THB 29,250-62,750, against an island median of THB 48,250. Seven buildings is a small sample: one new valuation can move the median noticeably. The appraisal is used for transfer fees and taxes; it is not a sale price.

Chalong’s market leans to villas and housing estates rather than condos. Our register has 25 projects here. Some with EIA approval:

On sale now, per developers’ sites checked 2026-10-17: Wyndham Fantasea Chalong (studios to two-bedrooms by Chalong Bay), Star Silas Villa (14 villas in Palai, from THB 30.8 million) and Sea Central (six four-bedroom villas in Palai, from THB 43.8 million).

Foreigners usually hold villas through a land lease and condos as freehold within the 49% foreign quota. Ownership type and quota are always confirmed project by project; see our freehold and leasehold guide. Island-wide collections: villas and ready to move in (catalogue in Russian). We do not publish rents until we have our own dated measurements.

Living in Chalong: schools, hospitals, shops, transport

Schools. The Ministry of Education’s private school register (OPEC) lists seven international schools in Chalong, more than in Rawai, town or Wichit, the other subdistricts we checked:

• Berda Claude International School of Phuket
• Montessori House Phuket International School
• Buds International School Phuket, Soi Palai 2
• Ruamrudee International School Phuket
• Kinderville Nova International School
• Lighthouse at Chalong International Kindergarten, Soi Chao Fa 57
• Prasan Gateway International School

State schools on the OBEC list are Ban Chalong on Chao Fa Road (kindergarten to grade 6, 565 pupils in 2020) and Wat Latthiwanaram (310 pupils). International school fees change every year; check the schools’ own sites.

Hospitals. Chalong has the state Chalong Hospital (Ministry of Public Health, code 41 436 in the HA accreditation data), officially opened on 29 January 2024. OpenStreetMap places it at 99 Chao Fa West Road, 3.2 km from Wat Chalong (route). We could not confirm a 24-hour emergency department because the hospital’s site sits behind a Cloudflare check. Licensed private hospitals (HSS list, 2026-07-31) are in town and Wichit: Bangkok Hospital Phuket is 10.5 km away, about 14 minutes (route), with Bangkok Hospital Siriroj and Dibuk Hospital in Wichit.

Shops. OpenStreetMap shows 13 places tagged as supermarkets, 2 malls and 3 markets in Chalong as of 2026-10-17, including Villa Market, Lotus’s, two Tops daily and the Robinson Lifestyle Chalong mall. The chains’ locators would not load, so locations are map-only. The province names Ban Na Kok market as one of the island’s notable community markets.

Transport. Phuket Smart Bus does not pass through Chalong: the airport route turns from Kata to Sai Yuan and Rawai. According to TAT (2025-07-11), a provincial electric bus runs from Chalong Pier to Supercheap in Samkong, 05:45-17:30, for THB 15-40; we could not confirm this on the provincial administration’s site, which would not load. There are no official songthaew routes either. In practice people get around by scooter, car and ride-hailing apps: see taxis in Phuket.

Getting to the airport, town and beaches

OSRM free-flow estimates on OpenStreetMap data, 2026-10-17. For airport transfers see our Phuket airport guide. The Big Buddha sits on Nakkerd Hill above Chalong, reached by a road from the south of the area.

Chalong vs its neighbours

Sources: DOPA (December 2025), Treasury (snapshot 2024-08-05, our calculation), OSRM (2026-10-17).

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