sea is ok for swimming during december ?

[kiever]

hi for all
i was in phuket in agust and september but sea wasnt suitable to swim. i stayed in surin. i checked everywhere from from bang tao to nai yang and almost all beaches had red flags and banned to swim because strong waves and current. i travelled khao lak and phang nga  and sea was same there. after december sea is ok to swim in phuket ? currently im in samui but didnt like here at all, traffic is just crazy, overcrowded. plan to move phuket but i want to be sure about sea during this year. many thanks

[Puchaiyank]

There have been several instances of tourists getting in trouble in the Phuket surf lately...

 

I would be more concerned with polluted waters...

[ChasingTheSun]

44 minutes ago, Puchaiyank said:

There have been several instances of tourists getting in trouble in the Phuket surf lately...

 

I would be more concerned with polluted waters...

Kamala beach has one of the best, if not the best, year round swimming beaches in terms of relative safety.

 

Unlike most other of Phuket beaches that have short steep drop-offs, Kamala beach has a long gentle slope, so it is far more safe even during the wavy/stormy months june-oct.

 

That being said, the water is normally Relatively calm or almost flat from late-november until April/May on all the west coast beaches. 

 

 

 

[Felt 35]

As a previous ocean swimmer I would say usually the monsoon are gone mid November and I think too remember only a few years there have been to bad to swim in December but it happens now and then.

My swim personal preference I Phuket have always been Bang tao and Nai Harn where you in high season also will see and/or meet swimmers already early morning doing their lengths. 

 

[Bruno123]

Was fine where I stayed, in the south-east.

[legend49]

On 11/9/2019 at 1:51 AM, Puchaiyank said:

There have been several instances of tourists getting in trouble in the Phuket surf lately...

 

I would be more concerned with polluted waters...

Spot on about pollution. I wonder if any of the authorities maintain a water sampling process to check how bad it is. Years ago Bali was the place for tourists. As per usual they went into overdrive and built many hotels with no sewage or grey water systems, it all went into the sea. Until a tourist was bumped swimming by a blind brown mackerel, then people didnt go into the water as skin diseases and other issues occurred..

[stevenl]

Yes, seas are safe in December.

 

I personally like to swim at Nai Harn.

[alien365]

Any jelly fish around at this time of year?

[Old Croc]

In December the prevailing winds will be coming from the east. The west coast beaches will be mainly like mill ponds with only small waves. Very safe for swimming as long as you know how. 

The usual Phuket detractors living elsewhere, like to talk about pollution because of occasional isolated incidents.  The people of Thailand are among the biggest polluters in the world, so nothing is guaranteed, but because of geographical reasons, waters here are probably the cleanest you will find anywhere in the country.  

If you are the precious type of person requiring guarantees before dipping a toe in the ocean, you should skip Asia altogether and only swim in Australia or similar.

[Tarteso]

1 hour ago, alien365 said:

Any jelly fish around at this time of year?

Dec. of last year, I saw full invasion of these killers on the sand beach in Chantha. (Chao Lao)

[ianezy0]

24 minutes ago, Tarteso said:

Dec. of last year, I saw full invasion of these killers on the sand beach in Chantha. (Chao Lao)

Killers? Do you mean Irukandji, box jellyfish?

[Tarteso]

6 hours ago, ianezy0 said:

Killers? Do you mean Irukandji, box jellyfish?

https://www.fodors.com/world/asia/thailand/experiences/news/dont-let-this-underwater-monster-ruin-your-vacation

[ianezy0]

6 hours ago, Tarteso said:

https://www.fodors.com/world/asia/thailand/experiences/news/dont-let-this-underwater-monster-ruin-your-vacation

Thanks for the info. I didnt know they were around Thailand. They are around the North coast of Australia and they have bottles of vinegar adjacent to warning signs  to pour on the wound and neutralise the sting. It works well. I speak from painful experience...ouch. Cheers

[TTL2]

Read your weather, why the trip is cheap and the hotel is cheaper than usual?!?!? It's monsoon storm season, for cries sake!

[ThaiWai]

HAHA moving from Samui to Phuket to get away from the traffic???  I just went the opposite direction for the same reason.  Your research is dramatically flawed.  If you think Laem Sor has too many cars you are gonna be on suicide watch in Phuket.  That said, south of Surin the only major beach that is not visibly gross is Nai Harn but that is when the sand is holding back the lagoon **cough swamp** from dumping into the sea on the south side. Its amazing to see that no one swims in the lagoon itself yet there are tons of families putting their infants in the same water after it is somehow magically sanitized after passing under the road??  If it was not for the Wat owning most of the land behind Naiharn beach it would be a hotel cesspool as well.  Even Yanui beach around the corner from Naiharn has become a natural plastic trap to the left of the rock outcropping. The cut off is Kata Noi but once you hit Kata that brown/green mucus that covers the beach at low tide that smells like urine is let's say... unappealing. I have actually seen people wading into thick brown bubbling slime there. Stay in Surin unless you want to swim in human waste and sit in a traffic jam to get to it and home from it.  My advice before you go to any beach in Thailand is to visit on google maps first. Take a look at what is visibly draining into it and ask yourself if you would swim in that.  Watch how fast you start looking for a house with a pool.

[Amanpuri Phuket]

On 11/12/2019 at 8:11 AM, legend49 said:

Spot on about pollution. I wonder if any of the authorities maintain a water sampling process to check how bad it is. Years ago Bali was the place for tourists. As per usual they went into overdrive and built many hotels with no sewage or grey water systems, it all went into the sea. Until a tourist was bumped swimming by a blind brown mackerel, then people didnt go into the water as skin diseases and other issues occurred..

I live in Naithon Beach half the year and I’ve never once seen any pollution in the water at my beach. I’m either at Naithon, Banana Beach, Layan, Kamala, or at one of the private beaches in the area. Never seen polluted water.  Occasionally, there is some trash piled up at the edge of the beaches during high season but I’ve started a non profit where we go around and pick up the beach trash in our communities on the weekends. We’re making a significant dent in beach cleanliness.

 

The only beach water that I’ve ever seen polluted in Phuket is in Patong Beach. Patong Beach is not a nice beach, albeit it’s significantly better than other popular beach areas in Thaialand such at Pattaya and Hua Hin. Patong is a fun beach but it’s not nice by any means. And yes, it’s quite polluted. 
 

It’s funny how everyone correlates Phuket with Patong Beach though. Phuket is so much more than Patong but sadly 90% never explore the island much beyond that. With the cost of taxis here being more than Tokyo, Japan, it’s no surprise that people stay in once place when they come to Phuket.

 

That said, Phuket has some amazing pollution free beaches that people should explore ( Naithon Beach is easily the best beach on the island, I go surfing there when I can. Naithon is also one of the few beaches in Phuket that is Tsunami proof due to the shape of the beach. Naithon also has the best street food vendors in all of Thailand. Grab a box of shrimp fried rice for 70 baht and tell me I’m wrong, 8-10 big shrimp are included  ).
 

This, coming from someone that owns beachfront property in Maui, Hawaiian Islands as well. I would pick Phuket over Maui ( well maybe not but it’s very close, Phuket is definitely far more fun and entertaining than Maui, that’s for certain ). 

[Amanpuri Phuket]

12 hours ago, ThaiWai said:

HAHA moving from Samui to Phuket to get away from the traffic???  I just went the opposite direction for the same reason.  Your research is dramatically flawed.  If you think Laem Sor has too many cars you are gonna be on suicide watch in Phuket.  That said, south of Surin the only major beach that is not visibly gross is Nai Harn but that is when the sand is holding back the lagoon **cough swamp** from dumping into the sea on the south side. Its amazing to see that no one swims in the lagoon itself yet there are tons of families putting their infants in the same water after it is somehow magically sanitized after passing under the road??  If it was not for the Wat owning most of the land behind Naiharn beach it would be a hotel cesspool as well.  Even Yanui beach around the corner from Naiharn has become a natural plastic trap to the left of the rock outcropping. The cut off is Kata Noi but once you hit Kata that brown/green mucus that covers the beach at low tide that smells like urine is let's say... unappealing. I have actually seen people wading into thick brown bubbling slime there. Stay in Surin unless you want to swim in human waste and sit in a traffic jam to get to it and home from it.  My advice before you go to any beach in Thailand is to visit on google maps first. Take a look at what is visibly draining into it and ask yourself if you would swim in that.  Watch how fast you start looking for a house with a pool.

He has the right idea of moving to Phuket over Samui. Samui is extremely boring and too remote to live for any substantial amount of time. Phuket has everything you need within driving distance and has an excellent health care system. I’m from the US but the best dental work I ever had done was here in Phuket. My dermatologist in Phuket is also amazing.

 

Tops, Villa Market, Wish Beer, and Tesco all offer online grocery delivery for free so you don’t really need to drive anywhere that often in terms of getting things. IKEA does free furniture delivery as well. And Macro will offer delivery soon. I have a personal messenger that I pay 100 baht per delivery to get me anything I can’t find online. All the local pharmacies in Phuket have every drug you could possibly ever want OTC, all pharmacies are within walking distance so no need to drive anywhere for medication.

 

Anything you can’t find in Phuket can be ordered online through Lazada and delivered to your within 2 days. And if you really can’t find something, the airport is only a 10 minute drive ( at least for me since I’m in Naithon ) and you can be in Bankgok in about the same time it would take you to drive to Patong from Naihton. In fact, the flight from Phuket to Bangkok is often cheaper than a taxi from Naithon to Patong. I actually now fly to Bangkok once a month to get my hair cut because the only decent barbers I could find were in Patong. It’s such and quick and easy flight and love being able to just shoot over to Bangkok whenever I want. This wouldn’t be possible in Samui as Samui to Bangkok is outrageously expensive and takes forever.

 

Phuket also has world class gyms and heath centers like Thanyapura, owned by billionaire Klause Hebben. Professional athletes from around the world come and train in Phuket at Thanyapura. Thanyapura also has an onsite private school that is a feeder to school to Ivy Leagues in the US like Stanford and Harvard. My neighbor’s daughter just got a full ride to Stanford after graduating Thanyapura.

 

Phuket also has lots of stem cell centers and alternative cancer treatment centers, one run by world famous American cancer doctor, Dr. Thomas Lodi, in Naithon Beach.

 

Phuket also has lots of wealthy people to network worth. For example, Gulu Lalavani who dated Princess Diana of the United Kingdom lives here in Phuket and runs the Royal Phuket Marina. Gulu likes to invest in Phuket projects and help out the locals with business opportunities. Beyoncé and Leonardo Di Caprio are also regulars here in Northern Phuket and are very friendly.

 

i also think that the beaches in Phuket are nicer than Samui. I highly recommend checking out Naithon Beach, Banana Beach and Layan Beach. We don’t have traffic in North Western Phuket. 
 

Samui is definitely cheaper than Northern Phuket but it’s too isolated for my taste.

[ChasingTheSun]

4 minutes ago, Amanpuri Phuket said:

He has the right idea of moving to Phuket over Samui. Samui is extremely boring and too remote to live for any substantial amount of time. Phuket has everything you need within driving distance and has an excellent health care system. I’m from the US but the best dental work I ever had done was here in Phuket. My dermatologist in Phuket is also amazing.

 

Tops, Villa Market, Wish Beer, and Tesco all offer online grocery delivery for free so you don’t really need to drive anywhere that often in terms of getting things. IKEA does free furniture delivery as well. And Macro will offer delivery soon. I have a personal messenger that I pay 100 baht per delivery to get me anything I can’t find online. All the local pharmacies in Phuket have every drug you could possibly ever want OTC, all pharmacies are within walking distance so no need to drive anywhere for medication.

 

Anything you can’t find in Phuket can be ordered online through Lazada and delivered to your within 2 days. And if you really can’t find something, the airport is only a 10 minute drive ( at least for me since I’m in Naithon ) and you can be in Bankgok in about the same time it would take you to drive to Patong from Naihton. In fact, the flight from Phuket to Bangkok is often cheaper than a taxi from Naithon to Patong. I actually now fly to Bangkok once a month to get my hair cut because the only decent barbers I could find were in Patong. It’s such and quick and easy flight and love being able to just shoot over to Bangkok whenever I want. This wouldn’t be possible in Samui as Samui to Bangkok is outrageously expensive and takes forever.

 

Phuket also has world class gyms and heath centers like Thanyapura, owned by billionaire Klause Hebben. Professional athletes from around the world come and train in Phuket at Thanyapura. Thanyapura also has an onsite private school that is a feeder to school to Ivy Leagues in the US like Stanford and Harvard. My neighbors daughter just a full right to Stanford out of Thanyapura.

 

Phuket also has lots of stem cell centers and alternative cancer treatment centers, one run by world famous cancer doctor, Dr. Thomas Lodi, in Naithon Beach.

 

Phuket also has lots of wealthy people to network worth. For example, Gulu Lalavani who dated Princess Diana of the United Kingdom lives here in Phuket and runs the Royal Phuket Marina. Gulu likes to invest in Phuket projects and help out the locals with business opportunities. Beyoncé and Leonardo Di Caprio are also regulars here in Northern Phuket and are very friendly.

 

i also think that the beaches in Phuket are nicer than Samui. I highly recommend checking out Naithon Beach, Banana Beach and Layan Beach. We don’t have traffic in North Western Phuket. 
 

Samui is definitely cheaper than Northern Phuket but it’s too isolated for my taste.

i have a buddy living in HK who had been a frequent visitor to Samui.

 

He came to Phuket for the first time earlier this year and I gave him a tour along the west coast of Phuket. 
 

He told me he was amazed at the variety of great beaches we have in Phuket, and the great nightlife(in patong) as well. He told me he will never go back to Samui after seeing Phuket.

 

 

[London Lowf]

@Amanpuri Phuket - you forgot to mention a few more of Naithons attributes:-

 

• Squeeky sand!
• No jetskis or beach vendors - all of the business stays on the beach road.
• Mango smoothies only 30B - that's half what many other places charge.
• Easy parking, four wheels or two, even in peak season.
• Free showers hidden in the trees - well, ok, free hose pipes.

[stingertale]

On 11/13/2019 at 4:14 AM, ianezy0 said:

Thanks for the info. I didnt know they were around Thailand. They are around the North coast of Australia and they have bottles of vinegar adjacent to warning signs  to pour on the wound and neutralise the sting. It works well. I speak from painful experience...ouch. Cheers

They're around. There have been numerous reports of box jellyfish stings on Koh Samui and neighbouring islands over the years. This year it appears the numbers are slightly down, though I'm reliably informed 3 people were stung at Chaweng on Tuesday including 1 where life-saving CPR was required and the victim - male French national - ended up in ICU, the outcome is unknown at this stage though can assume he's thankfully ok. And this recently:

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/calamity/2019/10/31/box-jellyfish-stings-10yo-russian-boy-on-koh-samui/

[gk10002000]

i have often been in Phuket during the high season, but the last trip was only as recent as 2015 at Karon beach and Kata beach.  I did go to Patong but did not bother swimming.  Some days the breaking waves did bounce me around a little bit, but nothing unsafe as far as surf conditions.  Lately there have been reports coming and going of black effluent, sludge etc. showing up in that area.  But I can't speak to that.  I liked Karon beach because if you turn around and look up at the hills, you see the top half of the big white buddha.  Very serene.

[ChasingTheSun]

2 hours ago, London Lowf said:

@Amanpuri Phuket - you forgot to mention a few more of Naithons attributes:-

 

• Squeeky sand!
• No jetskis or beach vendors - all of the business stays on the beach road.
• Mango smoothies only 30B - that's half what many other places charge.
• Easy parking, four wheels or two, even in peak season.
• Free showers hidden in the trees - well, ok, free hose pipes.

Naithon is a picturesque beach.

couple of things to note about it..

- it is a relatively small beach.

- The area is super quiet(some would say super-boring) at night

- it Is very far from Patong nightlife and the shopping malls.

- as it is very small, there is only a small selection of hotels and f&b outlets nearby to choose from

- like all the popular beaches on the west coast, i believe there is also a klong and/or sewage pipes draining into the beach during rainy season

Correct me if I am wrong, but i believe it also has a relatively steep dropoff from the beach and is thus relatively dangerous during the May-October months with the possibility of rips as well??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[London Lowf]

@ChasingThe Sun

 

I have no arguments with your personal opinions of Naiyang, but I'll pull you up on a fact - the drop off is spectacularly gentle - you can generally walk out a helluva long way!

[stevenl]

4 hours ago, London Lowf said:

@ChasingThe Sun

 

I have no arguments with your personal opinions of Naiyang, but I'll pull you up on a fact - the drop off is spectacularly gentle - you can generally walk out a helluva long way!

He mentioned the gentle drop off for naiton, not Nai Yang. Right or wrong I don't know.

[Old Croc]

On 11/14/2019 at 5:22 AM, ChasingTheSun said:

 

- like all the popular beaches on the west coast, i believe there is also a klong and/or sewage pipes draining into the beach during rainy season

 

Water that falls from the sky, known as rain, has a tendency to run in channels to the sea. Beaches are most likely to be the end destination of these outflows because of the elevation factor. It's not unusual for man to buttress the sides of these water courses to keep the flow contained. Klongs or canals are just natural waterflows that have been modified.

Phuket is hilly and has a very high rainfall. Very little of this water is retained in dams, the rest runs off in these water channels. I'm always surprised that people regard these natural features so negatively.

Yes, being Thailand, idiots will sometimes use these channels to dispose of rubbish or worse. These days the authorities on Phuket generally investigate and take action against transgressors. Many wrists are slapped. However, it doesn't mean all beaches on Phuket are continually swimming in effluent and all tourists should keep away or risk cholera or typhoid. 

Here are some examples of water courses elsewhere in the civilized world:

Los Angeles River

 

Thames River

[ChasingTheSun]

6 hours ago, Old Croc said:

Water that falls from the sky, known as rain, has a tendency to run in channels to the sea. Beaches are most likely to be the end destination of these outflows because of the elevation factor. It's not unusual for man to buttress the sides of these water courses to keep the flow contained. Klongs or canals are just natural waterflows that have been modified.

Phuket is hilly and has a very high rainfall. Very little of this water is retained in dams, the rest runs off in these water channels. I'm always surprised that people regard these natural features so negatively.

Yes, being Thailand, idiots will sometimes use these channels to dispose of rubbish or worse. These days the authorities on Phuket generally investigate and take action against transgressors. Many wrists are slapped. However, it doesn't mean all beaches on Phuket are continually swimming in effluent and all tourists should keep away or risk cholera or typhoid. 

Here are some examples of water courses elsewhere in the civilized world:

Los Angeles River

 

Thames River

 

Unfortunately, most of the rivers across thailand are used as untreated sewage dumps. 
 

As such, I recommend not swimming anywhere near a beaches klong/river until 24hours after a rainfall.

[ChasingTheSun]

10 hours ago, stevenl said:

He mentioned the gentle drop off for naiton, not Nai Yang. Right or wrong I don't know.

Correct. I was referring to beach drop-off at Naithon beach.

I can’t remember if it is steep or gentle sloping?? 

[Pilotman]

There are very few places in the World that I would now swim confidently.  Most are polluted in one way or another.  I haven't swum in the sea around Thailand for over 15 years and I never will again.  It's always the pool for me. 

[beechbum]

Some seriously black water runs into the ocean at the northern end of Naithon near the Pullman.

[London Lowf]

7 hours ago, ChasingTheSun said:

Correct. I was referring to beach drop-off at Naithon beach.

I can’t remember if it is steep or gentle sloping?? 

My bad - for some reason I had Nai Yang in my mind - probably another thread that I'd just read.

 

Yes, the drop-off at NaiThon is quite brutal at high tide and you can feel the undertow even in the high season.