Can foreigners already in Thailand enter/exit Phuket?

[4evermaat]

Already in Thailand for several consecutive months.

 

I planned to take a bus and/or drive through there in a week or two.   I will probably end up in Patong.  Anything special that must be done in terms of covid testing or quarantine?

 

Any problems finding a hotel there?

 

 

Edited August 31, 2020 by 4evermaat

[4MyEgo]

6 minutes ago, 4evermaat said:

Any problems finding a hotel there?

I have read it's like a ghost town at the moment, and you won't have any problems driving in and out of Phuket, they will welcome you with open arms, no tests required, and an abundance of hotels available.

Edited August 31, 2020 by 4MyEgo

[moe666]

A friend went down there a few weeks ago, he says good luck finding a place to eat. Some bars are open but other that that a ghost town. Unless you just want to see a ghost town a waste of time.

[Rookiescot]

22 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

I have read it's like a ghost town at the moment, and you won't have any problems driving in and out of Phuket, they will welcome you with open arms, no tests required, and an abundance of hotels available.

Open legs would be better ????.

[4MyEgo]

2 minutes ago, Rookiescot said:

Open legs would be better ????.

[4evermaat]

are the banks still open during the week?  (the standalone ones outside of Jungceylon).   

[pagallim]

I would avoid Patong.   Few expats actually live there, and of course no tourists.   A better bet would be Rawai that has a sizable expat community, many bars and restaurants that are still open, also close to Chalong, again with many bars/restaurants open.

[ChasingTheSun]

Bangla has some bars and clubs that are open.

 

jungceylon and central patong(basement) also has a number of restaurants that are open, as are most of the shops.

 

Nanai road also has a number of restaurants and bars open with decent low season local traffic. The beach is nicely uncrowded as well.

As such, there is stuff to do in Patong. 

 

Kamala also has a number of bars and restaurants open and decent low season local activity. 

[Meat Pie 47]

I just don't understand why almost every thing in Thailand is closed

I live in Western Australian we had no local infection for a few months

and every thing is open as it was before apart from the boarder closer.

So why not open Thailand for Thai or Farang people who live there.

[ChasingTheSun]

22 minutes ago, Meat Pie 47 said:

I just don't understand why almost every thing in Thailand is closed

I live in Western Australian we had no local infection for a few months

and every thing is open as it was before apart from the boarder closer.

So why not open Thailand for Thai or Farang people who live there.

Its mostly just establishments that are focused on FOREIGN TOURIST revenues in tourist hotspots that are closed. 
 

Most places that mainly cater to locals/expats are open for business.

 

 

Edited August 31, 2020 by ChasingTheSun

[Meat Pie 47]

4 minutes ago, ChasingTheSun said:

Its mostly just establishments that are focused on FOREIGN TOURIST revenues in tourist hotspots that are closed. 
 

Most places that mainly cater to locals/expats are open for business.

 

 

so according to you Thailand does not need tourists? Going by reports saying Thailand

is free of Covid-19 why not open it?

[ChasingTheSun]

1 hour ago, Meat Pie 47 said:

so according to you Thailand does not need tourists? Going by reports saying Thailand

is free of Covid-19 why not open it?

I never said or implied that  “thailand does not need tourists”.  
 

The reported cases of local kungflu spread are currently zero. 

However, as soon as they open the borders, the kungflu will come back swiftly, as it has around the world, up until a herd-like immunity occurs,

[beechbum]

6 hours ago, Meat Pie 47 said:

so according to you Thailand does not need tourists? Going by reports saying Thailand

is free of Covid-19 why not open it?

Going by reports saying Perth

is free of Covid-19 why not open it?

[Don Mega]

3 minutes ago, beechbum said:

Going by reports saying Perth

is free of Covid-19 why not open it?

Closed border because the rest of Australia is not covid free.

[Olmate]

7 minutes ago, beechbum said:

Going by reports saying Perth

is free of Covid-19 why not open it?

Perth doesn’t need tourists, even other states.

[stevenl]

7 hours ago, Meat Pie 47 said:

I just don't understand why almost every thing in Thailand is closed

I live in Western Australian we had no local infection for a few months

and every thing is open as it was before apart from the boarder closer.

So why not open Thailand for Thai or Farang people who live there.

It is open for Thai and foreigners living here.

[ChipButty]

Go to Phuket town not many farang there and it's quite busy some good trendy bars and restaurants more locals 

[charmonman]

6 hours ago, Meat Pie 47 said:

so according to you Thailand does not need tourists? Going by reports saying Thailand

is free of Covid-19 why not open it?

I don’t think he said that if you read carefully. The places that depend on foreign tourists rather than expats or locals are going out of business fast simply because they have no customers. Not all businesses rely on foreign tourists, but a huge chunk of the economy does. They want to keep COVID-19 out so they don’t have to close the rest of the economy. As someone who got stuck outside Thailand I wish they would come up with a practical plan to allow people to safely enter the country and stick to it.  Creating some certainty and predictably would’ve in itsef be helpful even if the start date is still months away.

[Old Croc]

For people who have trouble understanding:

 

Phuket is no more closed than anywhere else in Thailand.

Pre covid, Phuket's economy was based on international tourism, perhaps more than anywhere else in Thailand. Most would know that the Thai government is still keeping international tourists out of the country, but is strongly promoting internal tourism.

 

Many businesses that traditionally cater to international tourists, particularly in towns like Patong, cannot afford to open, and pay staff, when there are virtually no customers. Consequently it should come as no surprise that many of them have shut down temporarily or even permanently. Patong is just one town in the Province of Phuket, it is not an accurate indication of all life in the Province.

 

Domestic tourists and local residents still need to eat, shop and recreate as normal. Hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, bars, etc. are still open everywhere, just not in the same numbers as previously.  Bargains can be found everywhere, particularly with accommodation.  If you miss the throngs of SEA tourists, and their large smelly buses clogging up the highways then Phuket is not a place to visit just now. 

If you want a less crowded holiday reminiscent of a simpler time decades ago, come and enjoy Phuket as it is now.

Ignore the critics with their opinions expressed from afar and tainted by personal bias.                                                                                                                                                                         

[Rimmer]

A post with unattributed multi quotes has been removed

 

5. Please do not quote multiple nested quotes. Quote only the relevant section that you are discussing. Moderators will snip excessively long nested quotes. 

[DFPhuket]

I live in Patong and have driven to Kamala, Karon and Kata in the past week. While 90% of the businesses in Patong are closed, it seems to have more restaurants open than the other beaches. On the entire stretch of Patong beach road I know of 5 restaurants that are open (where there used to be 50+), including Kudo beach club and one of the Starbucks. If you drive (or rent) a car, parking on the beach road is easy. 

 

Bangla has about 10% of the bars open. It's busier on Friday and Saturday nights. With no tourists, there are more locals going and many work Monday to Friday so the weekday crowd is quite small.

 

Jungceylon mall is struggling. Each week more shops are closing. The entire basement and much of the second floor is now closed. A few restaurants, including Wine Connection (with any pizza or pasta plus a salad and drink for 199 Baht lunch special), McDonalds, Starbucks, Coffee Club and Pizza Hut are open. 

[zzzzz]

10 hours ago, ChasingTheSun said:

Bangla has some bars and clubs that are open.

 

jungceylon and central patong(basement) also has a number of restaurants that are open, as are most of the shops.

 

Nanai road also has a number of restaurants and bars open with decent low season local traffic. The beach is nicely uncrowded as well.

As such, there is stuff to do in Patong. 

 

Kamala also has a number of bars and restaurants open and decent low season local activity. 

FYI:
nothing in jung ceylon open but Big C and a few shops near Big C and the wine connection plus of course the lady's selling condos
patong is truly a ghost town with 90% of the town closed during the day>>

I live in kamala and its fine here, lots or bars, restaurants & shops open and the beach is very nice with a min of around 20 people ( lots of boards for rent )during  the week at 4 pm LOL

 

FYI:
driving thru Patong sunday  afternoon and daily here in Kamala there is lots more open
Central mall in Town is also open and few people even on thewekends

Edited September 1, 2020 by zzzzz

[ChasingTheSun]

2 hours ago, zzzzz said:

FYI:
nothing in jung ceylon open but Big C and a few shops near Big C and the wine connection plus of course the lady's selling condos
patong is truly a ghost town with 90% of the town closed during the day>>

I was there at the beginning of August and most shops were open on all three floors In the building with the big C. Most shops were also open on the ground floor of the 2nd building with the MK restaurant. 1/2 of the restaurants were also open. 
 

It is quiet, but still some fun to be had in Patong if expectations are reasonable.

[Meat Pie 47]

5 hours ago, Olmate said:

Perth doesn’t need tourists, even other states.

Rubbish

[beechbum]

9 hours ago, Olmate said:

Perth doesn’t need tourists, even other states.

I know plenty of people at home in WA that disagree with you.

[4evermaat]

I may have to go run an errand at Bangkok Bank there on Rat u thid 200 road.   of course there could be other things to do.   Maybe I should have put that in the first post.    I wanted to confirm the standalone banks are open as normal.

[Olmate]

7 hours ago, Meat Pie 47 said:

Rubbish

 

2 hours ago, beechbum said:

I know plenty of people at home in WA that disagree with you.

Tourism accounts for less than 5% of WA revenue,so 95% agree with me!

[beechbum]

35 minutes ago, Olmate said:

 

Tourism accounts for less than 5% of WA revenue,so 95% agree with me!

what a hero.

[Meat Pie 47]

3 hours ago, beechbum said:

I know plenty of people at home in WA that disagree with you.

Yes and I am one of them

[Meat Pie 47]

54 minutes ago, Olmate said:

 

Tourism accounts for less than 5% of WA revenue,so 95% agree with me!

Do you live in Perth if not keep quiet.