Whats the current covid situation like in Phuket?

[KarenBravo]

41 minutes ago, zzzzz said:

For all the ones that visited over the past few years ( pre covid) and had a bad experience, most attributed it to do with the local transport,

FYI: it was not the airport bus but the Patong-Karon bus  

 

Someday , when the officials wake up, they will get a handle on the tuk tuk/taxi mafia

 

Wonder what you all will complain about than? The touts, price of lady drinks, jet skis, the dam hills one has to  drive up and down.,..

 

BUT for every one that had a bad experience, there are thousands, tens of thousands, that had a great time and many return year in year out

 

 

 

That will never happen. These officials are usually elected and guess who can deliver a tuk-tuk load of votes. Nobody bites the hand that feeds them.

The army failed to reign them in, what chance for "officials"?

[Patong2021]

On 3/1/2021 at 8:27 PM, zzzzz said:

phuket -bangkok viet jet airlines 399 baht next week

bangkok-phuket  rerun next day  399 baht

 

Cant get much cheaper than that, Of course a taxi from the airport to downtown kamala, Kata, Patong will set ya back another 6-800 baht

My experience is 800-1000 baht.  When is the last time you had a taxi ride from airport?

[Jeffr2]

2 hours ago, zzzzz said:

For all the ones that visited over the past few years ( pre covid) and had a bad experience, most attributed it to do with the local transport,

FYI: it was not the airport bus but the Patong-Karon bus  

 

Someday , when the officials wake up, they will get a handle on the tuk tuk/taxi mafia

 

Wonder what you all will complain about than? The touts, price of lady drinks, jet skis, the dam hills one has to  drive up and down.,..

 

BUT for every one that had a bad experience, there are thousands, tens of thousands, that had a great time and many return year in year out

 

 

It was the airport run.

 

https://thethaiger.com/news/phuket/Phuket-Airport-Bus-plan-use-van-drivers-reveals-road-ahead

[zzzzz]

1 hour ago, Patong2021 said:

My experience is 800-1000 baht.  When is the last time you had a taxi ride from airport?

[zzzzz]

1 hour ago, Jeffr2 said:

It was the airport run.

 

https://thethaiger.com/news/phuket/Phuket-Airport-Bus-plan-use-van-drivers-reveals-road-ahead

see no mention of any driver being assaulted>>

[stevenl]

1 hour ago, Jeffr2 said:

It was the airport run.

 

https://thethaiger.com/news/phuket/Phuket-Airport-Bus-plan-use-van-drivers-reveals-road-ahead

No, it was not, that story is not related to the beating of a driver. That beating happened 20 years ago or so BTW. And before Covid there was a regular bus running all the way from the airport down to Rawai, stops in Kata, Karon and Patong, ruunning every hour.

[zzzzz]

Phuket taxi fares even cheaper than the airport service:  ????
https://www.taxiphuket.com/fares.php
 

The smart bus was great  Max fare Chalong/Rawai-airport 170 baht

air con and wifi

[KarenBravo]

2 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

It was the airport run.

 

https://thethaiger.com/news/phuket/Phuket-Airport-Bus-plan-use-van-drivers-reveals-road-ahead

 

This is a different incidence. Where they dragged the driver out and beat him was back in the early 90's and it was a bus that served the west coast from beach to beach. The tuk-tuk drivers won as the route was scrapped. This happened on the buse's "maiden voyage".

[Jeffr2]

3 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

 

This is a different incidence. Where they dragged the driver out and beat him was back in the early 90's and it was a bus that served the west coast from beach to beach. The tuk-tuk drivers won as the route was scrapped. This happened on the buse's "maiden voyage".

Yes, thanks. I couldn't find an article about the beating. Just one thing prove there was an attempt at a run from the airport. That article even mentions the mafia problem.

 

Quote

 

Though the airport bus was initially planned to serve Kata-Karon (story here), fear of violent reprisals from local tuk-tuk and taxi drivers necessitated scaling back the route to terminate in Patong

.

The option to extend the route became available after the Army-bolstered campaign removed illegal “mafia-style” taxi groups from Patong (story here) earlier this month, which encouraged Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsab to unveil a new vision for public transport in the beach town (story here).

 

 

[DFPhuket]

I've used this company several times - https://www.taxiphuket.com/ and they are currently charging 550 baht from the airport to Patong. I believe pre-Covid the cost was 700 baht.

 

They do require pre-payment by credit card, but I assume that is because they have been scammed by customers booking and not showing up. 

[zzzzz]

48 minutes ago, DFPhuket said:

I've used this company several times - https://www.taxiphuket.com/ and they are currently charging 550 baht from the airport to Patong. I believe pre-Covid the cost was 700 baht.

 

They do require pre-payment by credit card, but I assume that is because they have been scammed by customers booking and not showing up. 

did u even bother to look above as i posted the link already??

[Chainsaw]

In reply to the OP's original query before the thread got diverted to flight and taxi prices.

 

You say you're coming to Rawai? Great choice! Most  bars and restaurants are open. The live music scene is better than it has been for years, especially along the Rawai beach road. All the beaches are open and not crowded. Come on down!

[Old Croc]

On 3/4/2021 at 7:44 AM, Jeffr2 said:

BS. Phuket has a terrible reputation with regards to "public" transport. Many of us have experienced it first hand. And decided never to go back. Hardly naive.

 

Remember when the mafia there pulled the bus driver out of the first run from the airport and beat him up? Right...probably naive.

 

Phuket does still have a bad reputation with regards to public transport. It is considered the most expensive in Thailand and on a par with western countries.  It can be a shock for the budget conscious, naïve visitor who doesn't do their research before coming. In my time as a tourist to Phuket I knew what to expect before hand. Later as a resident of Phuket I make alternative arrangements to get around.

I think the incident you remember happened about 15 years ago and was with a startup service between beaches, not from the airport. Pre covid, there was an excellent, and cheap, Smart Bus service from the airport that linked all the main beaches costing a maximum of about 180 baht. Some people obviously shape their entire lives on incidents vaguely remembered from history and never move on. Again, sad.

 

Edit: I should have read all later posts before answering. Several others said it before me!

[Jeffr2]

On 3/5/2021 at 4:20 PM, Old Croc said:

Phuket does still have a bad reputation with regards to public transport. It is considered the most expensive in Thailand and on a par with western countries.  It can be a shock for the budget conscious, naïve visitor who doesn't do their research before coming. In my time as a tourist to Phuket I knew what to expect before hand. Later as a resident of Phuket I make alternative arrangements to get around.

I think the incident you remember happened about 15 years ago and was with a startup service between beaches, not from the airport. Pre covid, there was an excellent, and cheap, Smart Bus service from the airport that linked all the main beaches costing a maximum of about 180 baht. Some people obviously shape their entire lives on incidents vaguely remembered from history and never move on. Again, sad.

 

Edit: I should have read all later posts before answering. Several others said it before me!

It's hardly a vague memory for many of us. And we perhaps prefer to spend our money where we're not harassed. Makes sense.

[Old Croc]

30 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

It's hardly a vague memory for many of us. And we perhaps prefer to spend our money where we're not harassed. Makes sense.

You used an incident between Thai factions that happened decades ago as the reason you wouldn't go to Phuket again.

Where in Thailand do you live that hasn't had similar or much worse violence than the one you so vividly remember about Phuket? Where do you spend your money now without any harassment?

Rhetorical only. I don't actually care.

[Old Croc]

Just now, Old Croc said:

You used an incident between Thai factions that happened decades ago as the reason you wouldn't go to Phuket again.

Where in Thailand do you live that hasn't had similar or much worse violence than the one you so vividly remember about Phuket? Where do you spend your money now without any harassment?

Rhetorical only. I don't actually care. I've worked out you're just another who didn't like the high taxi fares.