Where To Rent In Phuket?

[afx]

Hello,

New to the forum and this is my first post.

I'd be interested to hear people’s opinions of where to rent in Phuket.. ie. North vs. South vs. Central.

I've been to Phuket a couple of times (once to Mai Khao & once to Kata) and my plan is to rent a house for a minimum of 6 months to use as a base to explore the rest of Thailand and Asia I haven't been to.

I have a friend in the North who says I should rent in Nai Yang as it's a lot cheaper than in the South. I love Nai Yang beach and it's handy being near the airport, but apart from that, it seems to me anyway that the North is a bit isolated and there’s less to do there. Also, even if it is half the price of the South it would be easy to rack up a fortune in cab fares if I wanted to go out in Kata, Karon, Patong etc.

I suppose where to live is quite subjective based on what each persons situation requires. I should add that I'm a 34 yr old male Brit travelling alone, that said I've got no plans to live in Patong for 6 months. ;-)

I'd be interested to hear from expats / long term renters what their opinions are based on own experiences.

thanks in advance..

[LivinLOS]

Kamala / Karon / Kata.. all as beach side west island high tourism density areas..

Rawai / Nai Harn.. More expaty, more village feel, bit far from some things. Chalong a bit closer and a bit less of the nice village feeling.

Kathu is central to everything but close to nothing.. I like that compromise but have mates spread all over the island so drinks in Rawai one night, Kamala or Surin the next.

You really need to suss it out yourself, find your own preferences and compromises.

[afx]

Ok thanks for the advice. Reckon I'll probably just take a hotel for a couple of weeks in Kata, hire a bike and ride around till find something I fancy.

Kamala / Karon / Kata.. all as beach side west island high tourism density areas..

Rawai / Nai Harn.. More expaty, more village feel, bit far from some things. Chalong a bit closer and a bit less of the nice village feeling.

Kathu is central to everything but close to nothing.. I like that compromise but have mates spread all over the island so drinks in Rawai one night, Kamala or Surin the next.

You really need to suss it out yourself, find your own preferences and compromises.

[69690jay]

LivinLOS spot on, after twenty years of visiting Phuket i returned to Rawai to live: close to Nai Harn Beach, great beach if not the best on Phuket. Good fishing and diving out my front door. Good restaurants and a few bars, a few too many but that will never change here in the LOS.

Regardless of what the media paints Rawai is a relatively safe place. Village life here is good, local Thai community is friendly if you give them the time of day and respect. 4 years here with no plans to leave. The place is changing fast....., going over the hill 15 yrs ago from sunset bungalows at Nai Harn to visit Kata and Patong, it was similar to Rawai now. I expect Rawai is not far behind. There are many houses/bungalows for rent at better and better value.

[JiveTalker]

Phuket town. Dead centre, nice cheap place to live and good mix of Thai / foreigners. 20 minutes from most of the decent beaches.

[afx]

Phuket town. Dead centre, nice cheap place to live and good mix of Thai / foreigners. 20 minutes from most of the decent beaches.

thanks for the replies so far.

[Belynda]

I recommend you contact Marc (also British and same age) who can help you with your decision process and a property rental. If you want to come to an island for 6 mths wouldnt you prefer being along the coast. I have lived and worked in Phuket for 3 years and lived in Kamala and Phuket Town. They both are very different experiences. I prefer Kamala Beach and found it very central. Hes a great guy and you can liaise with him regarding all you need to know about the pros and cons of the different areas in Phuket.

Good luck

[LeungKen]

We don't want you young bucks in Nai Yang upsetting the tranquil flow of wheel-chairs & zimmer-frames..

[steelepulse]

I certainly wouldn't recommend Phuket Town. Rawai you could get yourself a pretty quiet place, while in Kata you'd be close to the beach, nightlife, restaurants.  Nai Yang would be good during the low season if you like to kitesurf, but besides that get ready to hear the jungle grow.

[afx]

Thanks again for all the advice. I definately want to be near the coast and enjoyed Kata on my last visit there. Never been to Kamala area or Kamal beach. Will have to check it out.

Belynda, how do I contact Marc ?

[katabeachbum]

Thanks again for all the advice. I definately want to be near the coast and enjoyed Kata on my last visit there. Never been to Kamala area or Kamal beach. Will have to check it out.

Belynda, how do I contact Marc ?

If you plan to go to Patong some nights, Kata may be the better choice because safer road between Patong and Kata.

[geriatrickid]

make a list of the top 5 or 10 things important to your "happiness", i.e. proximity to beach, shopping, hospital, national park (for hiking etc.), cost of rentals, and then rate the various locations on a scale of 1 -5. If you use a numeric weighting it can help guide you through the choices. The more important criteria can be given a higher value for the exercise. At the very least you will get an indication of what your preferences are. The good thing about Phuket is that while some choices are better than others, none is really a bad choice.

I don't like to drive so being within a 15 minute walk of Jungceylon and the beach is important. Although I much prefer the beach in Karon or the Bang Tao area type of people. I don't even go into the water in Patong, and I stopped visiting bars. (My local friends are all hitting their late 20's early 30's and none of us has the energy anymore.) However, Patong works for me because it is close to where I have to be, even though I detest the place, the ability to walk everywhere was a big factor. Probably the worst place to live though and you are at least right on not wanting to live there. Overpriced compared to other parts of the island as well. Now if they had a Tesco's in Karon and the hospital close by, I'd be there in a flash

[Atmos]

as others suggest, spend some time looking round - took me 5 weeks to settle on the area - for me this was Chalong/Rawai, and another week to find what is for me the ideal place, 1bdr bungalow about 1km inland from main road - suits my hermit lifestyle and my cycling/running habits, lots of good roads away from the 4-laned stuff; supermarket within 10min cycle, and no bars/massage places nearby. Quiet!

I found some owners were more negotiable than others on rent, esp as - similar to you - 6mths will extend through their high seaosn, so ensure your rent is 'fixed' for duration of your lease, not almost doubling December/Jan. Place I took has clearly been vacant for months and they gave it a very good cleanup before i moved in, most places I looked at had similarly been vacant some time, maybe as awy from the beach they're harder to rent off-season.

I'm here with backpack and bicycle and didn't want to be buying too much in the way of bedding, was able to get this supplied as well as ADSl/cable tv - took some haggling but I paid first 3mths up front and all was happy. I had no luck with newspaper ads eg Gazette, rented a scooter one day and just hit the road - fortunately I had a Thai friend with me that really helped - fronted up or rang the advertised number of the ones with signs at the gate (ha - if there was a gate), in most cases owners lived nearby and were happy to meet me.

good luck! if you're not happy with the deal, just walk away there is plenty on offer.