So, if someone wants to go to Phuket (Patong) now:
1) 90% of restaurants/cafes/bars are closed. 
2) Nobody on the streets, in evening/night everything looks really creepy.
3) Some restaurants/cafes/bars offer discounts or deals like buy one get one free. But they still charge like it is high season.
4) Bangla Road is partially working, but there are like 2-4 peoples in each bar, mostly expats and some locals
5) Prices for taxi/tuk-tuks/bikes the same as in high season (<deleted>, really?). Paid 700thb from airport to Patong (plane ticket from Bangkok is 480thb!). Paid 900thb Patong - Airport (Grab).
Going to Karon? Pay 400-500thb for a tuk-tuk, no discounts. Going to Kathu, 200thb for bike taxi. I can't drive a car/bike and a blue bus/smart bus is not working now. 
6) Central Phuket/Phuket Town looks better, all shops are open in the new Central Festival, local markets are open.
7) Water is dirty and Patong beach not looking good (I know it is not the best time to go there), we spend one day helping locals to collect garbage from the beach, some entertainment.

 

So if you want to go there take this into account. If you can drive, you will get a better experience overall, prices for renting car/bike went down a bit.

So after thr Phuket wonderful experience,  You going to visit another country for entertainment...or maybe go up north to one of the national parks and see if you can avoid irate elephants?  ????

59 minutes ago, clearance said:

Paid 700thb from airport to Patong (plane ticket from Bangkok is 480thb!). Paid 900thb Patong - Airport (Grab).

There's no comparison between the cost of a flight ticket and hiring a taxi (you might have noticed that your average taxi doesn't have 150 seats in the back).  

 

For arguments sake, 700 baht is currently about GBP 17.50, which isn't bad considering it's at least a 45 minute journey as long as hypersonic speeds aren't involved and you obviously got to Patong Beach alive, which is also a bonus.  

still amazing Rip OFF Thailand zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

4 hours ago, torturedsole said:

There's no comparison between the cost of a flight ticket and hiring a taxi (you might have noticed that your average taxi doesn't have 150 seats in the back).  

 

<snip>

Your average taxi doesn't pay tens of thousands of baht for fuel for one trip (4,000 litres BKK - HKT), make lease payments on a 1 billion baht vehicle (35 million USD), pay for airport gate and facilities rental, spare parts inventory, salaries for mechanics, cleaning crews, ramp and customer service agents, pilots, and flight attendants, IT, administrative and other capital expenses and much, much more.

 

A taxi driver making just 3 runs per day will gross over 2,000 baht. The cost of fuel (LPG) is negligible, and car payments and insurance under 300 baht/day.  Now compare that to the average skilled Thai worker who is lucky to earn 800-1000 baht per day.

6 hours ago, clearance said:

night everything looks really creepy.

At least something is normal!

I see one bar I know put it's prices up, not in Patong

2 hours ago, DrDave said:

Your average taxi doesn't pay tens of thousands of baht for fuel for one trip (4,000 litres BKK - HKT), make lease payments on a 1 billion baht vehicle (35 million USD), pay for airport gate and facilities rental, spare parts inventory, salaries for mechanics, cleaning crews, ramp and customer service agents, pilots, and flight attendants, IT, administrative and other capital expenses and much, much more.

 

A taxi driver making just 3 runs per day will gross over 2,000 baht. The cost of fuel (LPG) is negligible, and car payments and insurance under 300 baht/day.  Now compare that to the average skilled Thai worker who is lucky to earn 800-1000 baht per day.

At the moment the average taxi driver is lucky to get one airport run a week! In a normal low season they might get one or two trips a day so they have to make any money during high season, which was curtailed early this year. They're suffering like anyone else in the tourism business.

6 minutes ago, madmitch said:

At the moment the average taxi driver is lucky to get one airport run a week! In a normal low season they might get one or two trips a day so they have to make any money during high season, which was curtailed early this year. They're suffering like anyone else in the tourism business.

They don't deserve sympathy.

17 minutes ago, madmitch said:

At the moment the average taxi driver is lucky to get one airport run a week! In a normal low season they might get one or two trips a day so they have to make any money during high season, which was curtailed early this year. They're suffering like anyone else in the tourism business.

They suffer and the tourists who have to use them suffer. A lot of suffering ????

They've been at it for years they need to real their necks in, many years ago I'd gone to patong for a night out so I got a taxi from home didn't want to drive lets say about 17 years ago from Nai Harn to patong then 600 Baht, later in the night when I wanted to go home I walked down the beach front I wasn't <deleted> They are all on your case I was being quoted 4000 Baht 

12 hours ago, torturedsole said:

For arguments sake, 700 baht is currently about GBP 17.50, which isn't bad considering it's at least a 45 minute journey

Yes, but in Bangkok, for the same ride, you will pay around 400-500thb including toll roads.
And how about going to Karon (around 7km) for 500thb? In Bangkok, you will pay 100thb for it. I know about Phuket taxi mafia and stuff, but why not lower prices now? Around 20 empty tuk-tuks near Bangla enterance, no clients, but no, they will charge the same price, no bargain.

 

27 minutes ago, clearance said:

Yes, but in Bangkok, for the same ride, you will pay around 400-500thb including toll roads.
And how about going to Karon (around 7km) for 500thb? In Bangkok, you will pay 100thb for it. I know about Phuket taxi mafia and stuff, but why not lower prices now? Around 20 empty tuk-tuks near Bangla enterance, no clients, but no, they will charge the same price, no bargain.

 

Phuket taxi pricing has always been one of the great mysteries and frustrations of humankind.

 

In a free-economy, the demand/supply of a service normally leads to efficient price discovery over the medium/long term. This is obviously not the case with Phuket taxis.

Most locals don't use taxis, so I don’t  hear too many complaints about it. However, i can understand why some tourists get a bit peeved about the relatively high Phuket taxi prices compared to cheap Bangkok taxis.

 

That being said, Phuket taxis are still allot cheaper than taxis in developed countries. Indeed, 45 minutes in a standard airport taxi could easily cost close to 3000 baht or more in lots of other countries, but only 700 baht here in Phuket.
 

In addition, if you chose a hotel in the most popular west coast towns, you should be able to walk to everything and seldom need a taxi service anyway. 

There is a also the option of using the cheap pickup-truck bus service that mostly caters to Thai workers hoping between Phuket towns.

phuket pirate island, better avoid at all cost

14 hours ago, clearance said:

7) Water is dirty and Patong beach not looking good (I know it is not the best time to go there), we spend one day helping locals to collect garbage from the beach, some entertainment.

During the rainy season, after a big storm,  plastics, tree limbs, and coconuts etc floating around the adaman sea tends to migrate to the west coast beaches of Thailand. This happens several times each rainy season. 
 

Thankfully for beachgoers, it does get cleaned-up or washes back out to the sea fairly quickly, within a few days after arrival.

Other than the floating plastic debris caused by the storms, the actual water quality is allot better now because of far less tourists.

6 minutes ago, Bender Rodriguez said:

phuket pirate island, better avoid at all cost

Yes there are many pirates sailing around the island in their pirate ships and doing all sorts of the awful pirate things that pirates do.
 

Be on the lookout for pirate flags and one wooden-legged guys with hooks on their hands, and especially avoid those pirates wearing an eyepatch.

I enjoy my time on the island, but straight over & get myself a cheap car hire for the duration.

Takes the hassle out of it

8 hours ago, DrDave said:

Your average taxi doesn't pay tens of thousands of baht for fuel for one trip (4,000 litres BKK - HKT), make lease payments on a 1 billion baht vehicle (35 million USD), pay for airport gate and facilities rental, spare parts inventory, salaries for mechanics, cleaning crews, ramp and customer service agents, pilots, and flight attendants, IT, administrative and other capital expenses and much, much more.

 

A taxi driver making just 3 runs per day will gross over 2,000 baht. The cost of fuel (LPG) is negligible, and car payments and insurance under 300 baht/day.  Now compare that to the average skilled Thai worker who is lucky to earn 800-1000 baht per day.

 

Facts lost on a collective of galactic ignorance on how to run business in these difficult times. To continue demanding rates that are way beyond the available people wanting the service is risible to say the least. A classic case of Somchai failing to heed the warning/advice to not drink from the same well too often. On the other hand, perhaps they are following the mantra from the TAT and holding on to the forecast of X (insert your own guess here) millions of tourists due anytime soon.  

 

 

How about the girls?

Few? Many? Only the leftover ugly? 

And prices like usual in the high season?

4 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

How about the girls?

Few? Many? Only the leftover ugly? 

And prices like usual in the high season?

Are you interested in using their services ?

9 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

How about the girls?

Few? Many? Only the leftover ugly? 

And prices like usual in the high season?

Still available but the restaurant bill could be a bit on the high side.  

 

Since the roads are fairly empty and parking in Patong is simple, you might look at renting a car from the airport and then returning it at the end of your trip. Then you could avoid all of the issues of the taxi mafia and visit some of the other beaches. 

Spent 7 days on Patong. 

 

 Didn't they tell you, Stay Healthy, Stay Safe ,Stay Home?

6 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

They don't deserve sympathy.

Two many of them are cheats, in the pouring rain at the Northern bus terminal, one wanted 500Bt to take me to Mochit BTS, I am told the fare is about 60Bt.

14 hours ago, torturedsole said:

There's no comparison between the cost of a flight ticket and hiring a taxi (you might have noticed that your average taxi doesn't have 150 seats in the back).  

 

For arguments sake, 700 baht is currently about GBP 17.50, which isn't bad considering it's at least a 45 minute journey as long as hypersonic speeds aren't involved and you obviously got to Patong Beach alive, which is also a bonus.  

But it's only 1,000 baht from Pattaya to Swampy...140kms and 1.40 hour drive....that includes tolls at 120 also, so in effect only 880 Baht

57 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

Are you interested in using their services ?

Only if the prices have dropped from the extortion they used to charge.

Heres stupidity...I buy shades at Tukcom for 39 baht...lose them, drop them who cares...just out of interest, I asked a lady with a small stall on Jomtien Beach Road how much her sunglasses were...almost same same cheap rubbish as mine...400 she said.... Muppets, all of them

9 hours ago, DrDave said:

Your average taxi doesn't pay tens of thousands of baht for fuel for one trip (4,000 litres BKK - HKT), make lease payments on a 1 billion baht vehicle (35 million USD), pay for airport gate and facilities rental, spare parts inventory, salaries for mechanics, cleaning crews, ramp and customer service agents, pilots, and flight attendants, IT, administrative and other capital expenses and much, much more.

 

A taxi driver making just 3 runs per day will gross over 2,000 baht. The cost of fuel (LPG) is negligible, and car payments and insurance under 300 baht/day.  Now compare that to the average skilled Thai worker who is lucky to earn 800-1000 baht per day.

I have no respect for the (Moto)taxi drivers of this country that spend all day sat on their <deleted> waiting for one chance to rip someone off for their daily 300B rather than offer a decent service. However, I have always found the prices Phuket taxi drivers charge to be OK. I’m not saying it’s a bargain, but the island is a pretty big, I think most offer an honest service. 
I think the average run must be over an hour, once sat in the roadworks, and it is an international tourist destination, where overseas visitors are quite happy to pay 20 quid for the journey. The average working local wage has nothing to do with it.

10 minutes ago, recom273 said:

I have no respect for the (Moto)taxi drivers of this country that spend all day sat on their <deleted> waiting for one chance to rip someone off for their daily 300B rather than offer a decent service. However, I have always found the prices Phuket taxi drivers charge to be OK. I’m not saying it’s a bargain, but the island is a pretty big, I think most offer an honest service. 
I think the average run must be over an hour, once sat in the roadworks, and it is an international tourist destination, where overseas visitors are quite happy to pay 20 quid for the journey. The average working local wage has nothing to do with it.

What would you have the moto guys do whilst waiting for a fare? 

15 hours ago, torturedsole said:

There's no comparison between the cost of a flight ticket and hiring a taxi (you might have noticed that your average taxi doesn't have 150 seats in the back).  

 

For arguments sake, 700 baht is currently about GBP 17.50, which isn't bad considering it's at least a 45 minute journey as long as hypersonic speeds aren't involved and you obviously got to Patong Beach alive, which is also a bonus.

Dear Thai Apologist

 

Instead of comparing with aircraft costs, how about comparing the cost of transport in Phuket with what is charged elsewhere in Thailand. That is far more relevant.