(ภาษาไทย) My first Phuket trip! Read about our stay in Patong beach, ideas for City tours, Fishing/Snorkeling trip around Racha Yai Island, hotel information, flights, transportation, and more… check it out!
It’s true that everybody wants to go to Phuket, one of the most popular beaches in Thailand and I think it’s also a world famous beach!
Especially in the social media world, I saw many famous people posting pictures of their visit to Phuket. And I’ve been requested many times for a Phuket posting – it’s time to go there!
But it was funny when I met someone in the elevator at work (who I can’t figure out who he is (even now)) he asked me where am I going for this long holiday and when I told him “Phuket”, he kind of pointed back at me and said “See you in Phuket!”…
It made me chuckle and it became our theme for this trip…. See you in Phuket!!!
Anyway, I don’t think he can find me in Phuket because it’s Thailand’s largest island. How big? It’s so big that the island is actually a province (we have 77 provinces now). Phuket is as large as Singapore!
Phuket is in the Andaman sea side where there is crystal clear water and a host of hi-octane water-sports. SCUBA diving is a popular activity for visitors to the island waters.
But let me tell you about the news in memorial about Phuket. Phuket was badly hit by a tsunami on the morning after Christmas 2004 when most people were still in their homes or hotel rooms! There were at least 5,000 deaths reported, with another 2,800 missing!!!
From that number I thought the whole island was hit!!! but it’s actually only at some beaches like Patong, Kamon, Kata, Kara and Nai-yang, and it effected about 500 meters away from the beach (inland). Other parts of Phuket were primarily unaffected, and remain the same…
Try the movie “The Impossible 2004”, it’s the real story from tsunami victims in Phuket. It’s really good movie even if it’s so sad, and for me… Close to home!!!
Phuket continues to attract families, honeymooners, couples, groups of young travelers and organized tours aplenty. You won’t see a trace of evidence form the tsunami at all. But you will see more warning signs about Tsunami evacuation routes, it’s good to know where to go so check these out just a little bit when you get there….
The island has over a dozen golden sandy beaches, the big 6 being Patong, Karon, Kata, Kamala, Surin and Rawai. The most popular of these are Patong, Karon and Kata. But this trip we stayed in Patong which is particularly well developed with 5-star resorts, chain hotels, guesthouses and a plenty of restaurants, bars and even a night walking street!
There are more than 4 piers in Phuket and most of the tour packages will include the transportation to the pier…
Phuket has an international airport and it’s the 2nd busiest airport in Thailand. About 10 airlines are on service and more than 27,000 flights per year. There are many countries that have a direct flight to Phuket. So it’s not that surprising that it is so busy! See the map in case you need to find the immigration section and visa on arrival.
We flew from Bangkok to Phuket, there are a few airlines from Donmuang Airport (the old airport) to Phuket and it takes about 1hr and 20 mins. We went with Air Asia this time and we felt a little disappointed. The “low cost” airline wasn’t that cheap at all! So many extra charges!!! The airfare always starts at very low number and then they add additional cost per bag, VIP seat, food, etc)! The final cost to Phuket was 7,xxx baht ($240), it’s the same cost with Thai Airways (Thai Smiles) that operates to Phuket, but with much less hassle!
Other options to Phuket include Nok Air and Bangkok Airways (this airline is out of Suvarnabumi airport).
If you drive from Bangkok to Phuket it takes about 11-12 hrs. You have to drive to Phang-nga province where the bridge connection to Phuket is.
Or Thai public bus is about 13-14 hrs from Bangkok. The train is another option (but not ,my option!). If you go by train it takes about 9-11hrs to Surathani province (Get off at Punpin city), and then take the bus for another 4 hrs to Phuket.
If you have never been in Phuket, remember that there are so many islands here. So be careful when you pick the hotel! You don’t have to worry about how far away you are from the airport because it’s far away for all the beaches!
I stayed near Patong beach so we tried to find the one that is not far away from Patong Walking Street. And we found Sea Pearl Villas Resort (Patong) which is about 2 kms away.
It’s a 5-star hotel and we were impressed with the room, we got one bedroom, Living room, kitchen area, 2bathrooms and the private Jacuzzi! All we paid about 4,4xx baht per night ($146)!!!!
But we were a little disappointed about its location! The resort is located in the middle of a mountain road and the turn into the hotel is on a blind spot for the other cars. Our car took a while to turn in the hotel! So our plan to rent motorcycle was stopped right away!
The hotel provides a shuttle bus between hotel to Patong city from 7am to 8pm. But I think it’s too early to stop the service at 8pm because it’s time to start the night life in Patong!!!
I would recommend the hotel for a family (lots of Chinese families here), it’s big and you will feel like your staying at a service apartment or your private condo.
Only some comments we left at the General manager, they were not good about little things like trash around the pool (we saw the same trash for 3 days!), maid forgot to clean our room on the 3rd day, the security guard couldn’t remember me on the last night (and he was asking me to register myself at the lobby!), some boards around the pool stuck up and provided ample opportunity to trip, and there was this screw on the stairs by the pool that stuck out waiting for some poor kid to walk by… It’s just little things that made me scratch my head.
But the General manager took our comments, with a nice apology. I wasn’t mad, it was a nice room, they just need to improve some little things. Attention to detail!
I have some hotels in mind for our next visit in Patong (see the map), I’d like to try the Patong Merlin Hotel and/or the Holiday Inn. Those 2 hotels look good because one side connects to the main street (close Hard Rock & Hooters) and the other side of the hotel connects to the Patong beach road.
Or else try the Novotel’s, one is Novotel Phuket Vintage Park Resort, right in front of the Big Shopping mall and it’s almost opposite from the Walking Street. The other Novotel is Novotel Phuket Resort, it’s in front of the beach road. Both of them look good to me!
For Thai people, Sripanwa hotel is the dream-resort and hotel in Phuket. I don’t know why? I only know that most of the hi-so or Thai celebrities stay there. I can’t effort this resort, the lowest price is about 12,xxx baht ($400)!!! So if you want to treat your Thai girlfriend, take her there!!!
How to get around PHUKET???
It was so easy to find a taxi or vehicle in the Airport. The fare is controlled, so it’s ok and easy to find one here. Or else, you just take the taxi meter (turn right when you are out the airport terminal). Remember it’s 100 baht additional from the meter if you take taxi from airport.
Normally, it costs about 700-1000 baht from Airport to ohter part of Phuket. For our trip to Patong, it costs 800 baht but our taxi meter was 615 baht when we arrived the hotel. Plus another 100 baht from airport service charge and a little tip, so we paid 800 baht totally for the fare. It’s a little cheaper than if we took the hotel car which is about 1,200 baht per leg.
Luckily we got a nice taxi driver, so we asked for his name card and we called him for a City tour. He is polite and charged us less than the other cars.
For a hired car (include driver and gasoline), it’s about 2000 baht for 5 hrs, and 2,500 baht for 8 hrs. with each additional hour charged at 300 baht (different kind of car is different prices)
Tuk Tuks here are insane!!! I never feel like a local when I rode tuk tuks here. Can it really be 300 baht for 10-15 mins ride??? I don’t know we paid 250-300 baht for riding tuktuk back from Patong city to our hotel every night! That’s three times what it should be, it’s so expensive!!! But they all charged the same. This gets back to an earlier comment about our hotel shuttle, it would have been nice if they ran late enough for us to have dinner. That way we could avoid these robbers.
Motorcycle for rent? It’s at your own risk but it’s cheap and it’s everywhere in Phuket! The rental starts at 200 baht per day (24hrs – exclude gasoline, they will fill up for you and you have to fill-up when you return).
Car for rent? It would be another option if we had our GPS with us! The rental starts at 800 baht (depends on what kind of car, old or new, etc).
Food in Phuket
Phuket offers lots of fine local restaurants, many with some delicious fresh seafood. If you would like to taste the real local food, you should take the city tour and try the Hokian Noodles, Dim Sum, etc.
Phuket also offers places like HardRock and Hooters at the same building in Patong.
For us, we really were impressed with the Thai food at Raya restaurant (this is in the heart of Phuket town), you can read more in my City tour reviews.
Famous local Phuket products are; Cashew nuts, Pearls and Batik Paintings.
For our 4 days 4 nights trip, I didn’t do much Island tours because it wasn’t a good time for me!!! But here are some ideas from our trip.
Day1: Friday 8th Aug, arrived Phuket and checked in our hotel about 6PM. And we went to have dinner at Hooters and check out Patong City (my boyfriend said I was the best girlfriend ever!). Read all about what we found in Patong …
Day2: Saturday 9th Aug, today we hired taxi meter to explore Phuket. Almost the same as what they called “Phuket City tour”, we visited The Chalong temple, Big Buddha Temple, View Point “Phom Thep Cape” and shopping at Weekend Night Market. Read all about this trip…
Day3: Sunday 10th Aug, today we signed up for FISHING trip. The trip is included snorkeling at Racha Yai Island. It’s fun and we had lunch from our fish! Read all about this trip…
Day4: Monday 11th Aug. I’ve heard that Phuket is good for both beach and mountain lovers. Today, we went to do something crazy “Zip line” at Flying Hanuman. It’s good for the screamer like me! Read all about this trip…
Day5: Tuesday 12th Aug, returned home safely!
Phuket offers many activities to keep tourists coming back! I’ll plan to visit James Bond Island, Phi Phi Island, and a SCUBA dive for our next trip.
Also, you can try to see the great show Phuket Fantasia or Phuket Siam Niramit (they have one in Bangkok) or the famous ladyboy show called “Simon Cabaret”…
Just stop by to get some brochures at the airport, or you can find the tour agency booths everywhere. Just book a day in advance!
The summary of our expenses
| Air Asia Ticket (Bangkok – Phuket) | 7,216 Baht | $240 |
| Sea Pearl Villas Resort – 4 nights included Breakfast (4,416 baht per night) | 17,664Baht(2person) | $147 |
| Phuket city Tour | 1800 Baht | $90 |
| Fishing Trip | 1700 Baht | $57 |
| Flying Hanuman (Zipline) | 2800 Baht | $93 |
| Taxi Meter from Phuket to Hotel (Roundtrip) | 1600 baht(2person) | $53 |
| Tuktuk from Patong to Hotel (4nights x 250baht) | 1000 Baht(2person) | $33 |
| Tatal Cost (per person) | 23,648 Baht | $788 |
***Exchange rate 1USD: 30Thai Baht
Travelled Date: 8-12 Aug 2014
