Phuket

VictoriaB · Bashful Beginner Joined: 13 Apr 2008 Posts: 41

Hi girls,

D and I have been looking at Thailand (phuket) for our holiday. we have all the brochures possible on phuket, however, i am a bit confused where to stay. Patong or karon beach?????

we want to see the sights of phuket, phuket city, lay on the beach, markets and visit other islands as part of the day tours,

I am a bit concerned about whether it is a culture shock like i experienced in Hong Kong recently where the brochures were NOTHING like the real thing there. Thumbs down

Is phuket a clean, safe place to travel. we are also looking at 2 nights in koh samui and phi phi beach as well- maybe (gotta do some convincing) so is also 8 nights in phuket enough

Mrs C · Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 12:03 pm Post subject:

Hi,
We stayed at Karon when we went. It was nice and quiet but still had things to do there. Patong is where the "buzz" is. Its like the heart of it. The resort that we stayed at had a sister hotel a Patong so they had a free shuttle bus that went between the properties. By memory I dont think it was a long trip bout 5mins give or take
Both places have great beaches. It just depends if you want to stay where the crowds are or not.
On the first morning we got up and there was rubbish on the beach. When we went back down it was all clean and tidy. I thought it was like the brouchers. Of course there are the back streets that aren't in the brouchers but you have to expect that. I felt safe.
We only stayed at Karon so cant help with the other places.
Hope this helps
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JoM · Happily Married Joined: 26 Aug 2005 Posts: 932

Hi there

I personally havent been to Phuket (although I would LOVE to) but family and friends have been there and loved it!!! They have been back time and time again.

My GF at work went as part of her honeymoon and had a ball Smile

http://www.merlinphuket.com/merlinbeachresort/index.html

I know alot of people that have stayed here and have raved about it - as others have on tripadvisor.com

My brother is off there in a fortnight!

xx

~* Mrs Zilla *~ · Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 10:25 am Post subject:

This is in another thread, so sorry for repeating myself. Hehehe...

I went to Phuket with 2 friends last November and we stayed in Karon Beach. It's about 20 mins from Patong Beach by tuk tuk (about 300 baht). I liked being away from all the action. Patong was constantly buzzing so it was nice to stay somewhere a bit quieter. There were still things to do though, they have plenty of shops on the street and down at Dino Park, they bring out a baby elephant at night so you can feed it!

We went for a relaxing holiday, so spent lots of time by the pool, at the beach and having massage after massage! We went on a bus tour that took us around to temples, the cashew nut farm and a jewellery store. It doesn't sound that good, but it was because we were taken to areas we wouldn't have found on our own. We also went to Phuket FantaSea (it reminded me of Magic Mountain x Disneyland, but not quite) and on an elephant trek through the jungle. We also hired a scooter.

The best thing we did was take a day trip out to Phi Phi Island. It was spectacular and the snorkelling was incredible. Maya Bay is a must. It's definitely like the brochures! Because it's become so touristy, there are a lot of people and speed boats around. It's still really beautiful though.

Everything is so cheap, you'll have fun shopping. Be prepared to barter though, I got so fed up, especially when I realised I was trying to talk them down from $2 to $1. Hahaha! The food is fantastic as well. I found the night life in Patong a bit sleazy, but it was a good laugh! The 3 of us felt safe and we were out quite late on some nights. It was clean in my opinion, not a lot of rubbish and noone is throwing waste into the streets or anything (I've seen that before!).

Goodluck with your decision! Very Happy

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♥ 7th November 2009 ♥

MelBride · Prime Prattler Joined: 07 Aug 2009 Posts: 80

Definately Patong!!!!!

I went to Thailand for my first overseas Holiday and we stayed in patong. It was FABULOUS!!!! So much to do!!!

We also stayed in Karon .. this area was more geared towards families with younger children.

We also went to Phi Phi Island, where my H2B Proposed.........Absolutely loved Thailand!!

Lia Hayes Photo (Lia) · Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 2:12 pm Post subject:

Hiya,

Both of these beaches are great, as everyone has said, it is about what your style is. We stayed at Patong and wished we had stayed at Karon. We are into the more kind of family oriented, slower paced places rather than the nightlife scene. If you want to party - go Patong.

Thailand is 'safe' persay. Property theft is VERY high, keep your valuables on you and close. Your personal safety is high, so long as you remember to not do abroad, what you would not do here. As in, you wouldn't go to a dodgy part of town and act poorly here, and you will run into big issues doing it in Thailand. Believe it or not, given the media, Thai people are very conservative and look down on bad displays of behaviour.

Take tummy medication. You will get... well, you will end up eating or drinking something that will require it. Smile

Most deaths and inuries in Thailand are road related. Stay aware, stay safe, you will LOVE it.

HTH