Moving Samui To Phuket

[simon43]

Taxin - I agree with your comments. Most of my hotel guests have been to Patong - and vow never to visit again!

Luckily, I don't have 100 guest rooms to fill . . . this quiet area of Phuket still generates enough hotel customers

Simon

[southwest19]

Can I just say one thing?

PATONG IS NOT PHUKET!!

Patong and it's environs is just one very small region of Phuket where the 'kiss me quick' tourists go. Phuket is a large island that many tourists fail to explore.

Where I live in Phuket, I can walk on a 8km golden sandy beach (much longer than Patong beach). It's rare to see another westerner on that beach.....

I can safely swim all year round at our local beach, even in the monsoon storms, (due to the offshore coral reef).

My hotel guests can hire motorbikes from the local shops at just 150 baht for 24 hours

We buy fresh fish from the beach - can't get fresher than that

I can walk from here to the airport - no ripoff taxis or tuk-tuks

If you think Patong is like the rest of Phuket, then you are not getting out and about enough!

Simon

Simon, I totally agree with you but people will always see Patong as Phuket and this will never change ! In terms of land mass and how much sand is on the beach of course Patong is a tiny part however, at the end of the day to the tourist eye it comes down to "activity", and Patong is the activity centre of Phuket when it comes to tourism.

Ask all the guests in your hotel how many of them visited Patong, and then ask a load of hotel guests in Patong how many of them visited your beach. I think will know what the result will be.

I, like you work in the tourism industry and get frustrated just the same when people think that Phuket is in Patong ! Yes, believe it or not I have had people ask me this.

Im guessing what you actually meant in your post was "If you think the rest of Phuket is like Patong...". If so you will find as I have that people do not actually think this, if they did then they would be staying there. They just will not go there because the perception is there is nothing to do. We are still and always will be in a world wear "activity" holidays will always out-weigh peace and tranquility.

Fact is, Patong has been in the past marketed very well, whereas the other places havent. Lets face it, how easy is it to market a beach with no people on ?

Its the same on samui. Chaweng Beach is not Samui. If someone thinks Samui is one big traffic jam they have obviously never left Chaweng.

[limbos]

At times, the ringroad is a traffic jam, unfortunately.

Ever tried the section between Bophud traffic lights to Maenam or just going through Maenam?

[borracho]

^^^ I know it's trendy to hate Patong, but I love it.

Patong is a wonderful aspect of Phuket. The only place that comes close for diversity is Pattaya or Bangkok. (the air in Bangkok is intolerable so not a realistic venue for the outdoorsy person)

But you can go 5 minutes in either direction out of Patong and find very nice beaches.

[ToTheBeach]

One of the great advantages of Phuket is that there is still choice. Either nightlife or a quiet beach, it is still out there. Phuket has the ability to cater to very different residents and tourists, something what makes it so popular.

For me, as Phuket resident, an easy choice. Would love to life on Phuket but would never considering moving to Samui.

[soandso]

Interesting to follow all the pros and cons for both islands (which I know quite well).

Maybe we should not judge them from what we consider them to be right now but take a look at what they used to be like a few years ago and how they will probably be like in a few years from now .

I'm sorry to say that Samui has totally lost it! I see no way out of the grip of the Surat Mafia and English & Australian beer bar loosers . The size of Samui is absolutely limiting its capacity of people. There is no law and there is no development plan for the future!

My judgement & prediction: It's no longer a place to settle down and it will get worse still.

Phuket is much bigger which is a big advantage. But tourism is heavily promoted for this area and I don't mean the western tourists (short or long term, low life or 5 star).

We will see more and more Chinese and I'm taking masses! They will be carried around in huge coaches and they will want to have it all (they are Chinese! ).

The local /regional authorities are only interested in making money and the reason why Phuket is not as disgusting as Samui is simply a question of time!

Phuket is surely nice in some areas but I'm afraid this will change soon. If you're rich enough you can hide in one of the high class golf clubs and residential projects.

I you're fed up with Samui now Phuket could give you the same feeling soon ...

[taxin]

I you're fed up with Samui now Phuket could give you the same feeling soon ...

Phuket will never get as bad Samui when it comes to being over-developed. As one poster said Phuket is much bigger than Samui and would take a long time to get to that stage. Also, as Phuket has been around much longer than Samui wouldnt it make sense that Phuket would be over-developed 1st ? Simple logic says so.

Secondly Phuket has overspill areas that will get bigger in line with the growth of Phuket. Just take a look at what Phuket has as its neighbors, Khaolak, Krabi, Phang-Nga, Pi-Pi all growing at a similar pace.

What has Samui got ? 2 tiny islands, one thats only known for its drunken pill taking yobs (sounds like Samui doesnt it) and the other that has absolutely nothing to offer unless your a diver ! And as a diver myself I have to say probably the worse dive site in this part of the world ! Samui does not have a Krabi or a Khaolak, can you imagine Surat Thani being the next Krabi ? I dont think so !

Phuket and its surrounding areas are for me the pride of Thailand. Excellent infrastructure, an international airport, great housing, education, friendly people and most of all, SAFETY !

Although Samui is a not a bad holiday spot (I know worse) it really is only that, on the other hand it has NOTHING to offer the long term expat in terms of a having a permanent home there.

Phuket is and will remain the number 1 spot, with its diversity and ability to cater for just about every taste it simply will not and cannot be beaten !

[soandso]

I'm afraid I can't share the optimism that Phuket will not turn (much) worse in the near future (and rather even sooner).

Taxin refers to logic when pointing out some major (and correct) differences between Phuket and Samui. But it's this (his own) logic, which makes me believe to see some dark clouds over Phuket:

1. It it by far the most attractive area for foreigners who seek nature, infrastructure and good living conditions at the same time in Thailand. Only Phuket can offer this and more and more people are aware of this. They will come here!

2. New markets are yet to be discovered. The mainland Chinese and the Russians have not fully discovered the charms of Phuket as a tourist and a residential destination. They will and they are daily fun as neighbours!

3. Phuket is and will always be an island. It won't help much to have "overspill areas" around when it's bustingly crowded. Try get around in the populated and tourist areas (at least 50% of the island?) during rush hours: it's already over the limit and there are no ways in sight for this to get better.

Don't get me wrong: I really do wish that Phuket will at least stay as it is because I'm moving there myself soon. But wishful thinking won't help, only rigid measures by the authorities before it's too late.

This did not work in Spain (Mallorca, Ibiza) and it won't be the case on Phuket.

Money making options are just too teasing ...

[smartecosse]

you think phuket is busy?

a major traffic jam is it taking 20 mins to chaklong from tesco at rush hour rather than 15

just head up to big budhha (??) on a clear day and look at the amount of land and then what is actually developed - plenty left for yrs and yrs to come

the island is only 40 mins long anyway and they are improving the road system immensly