Phuket In June

[cluqduck]

Hi,

I hope this forum is an appropriate place to ask these questions. If not, please direct me elsewhere. I appreciate the time some of you will (hopefully!) take to clue us in..

My girlfriend and I are planning a trip to Thailand, departing Australia on the 10th of June. We plan to spend 2 nights in Bangkok and 8 nights in Phuket. I've got a couple of general questions (mainly related to the Phuket leg of the trip) that I haven't yet been able to find good answers to.

I should say that the type of of holiday we're aiming for consists of a little bit of shopping, a little bit of partying, but mostly we're after a relaxing break with plenty of good food and drink, some water sport/activity and, of course, experiencing the Thai culture (as much as possible given our 'touristy' destinations).

We are aiming for a 4.5 or 5 star resort, but our budget isn't limitless, so we want to make sure there are options near our resort for good food and drink. I've read that most of the resorts are quite expensive (comparable to $AUD) to eat and drink at. So with that in mind, we are conscious of the proximity of our hotel to other restaurants. We have tentatively booked into the Le Royal Meridien Yacht Club (Nai Harn Beach) but friends have told us that we will end up paying a lot travelling to/from Patong Beach, not to mention the travel time (~30 mins each way).

We don't want to stay 'in the thick of it' at Patong, so other options we've looked at are The Chedi (Pansea Beach) and Merlin Beach Resort (Tri-Trang Beach). The Le Meridien won't re-open in time for us (it seems to be a favourite)..

Is there much to do in/around the Le Royal Meridien Yacht Club?

Should we stay closer to Patong Beach?

How much will it cost us (roughly) to travel to/from Patong?

Weather in mid-June. I don't feel like I've got a straight answer on this one - some say "it'll be fine", others say "it'll be rainy", others say "it'll be fine during the day but it'll bucket down at about 4pm and overnight". The only assumption I'm making is that it's going to be hot and muggy regardless. I'd appreciate some honest advice! What's the UV like compared to Australia? Am I going to crisp up in 15 minutes?

What's the weather situation in Phuket around mid-June?

Water sports/activities. I've noticed on a number of the hotels' web sites that they say they don't offer any water sports during this period. Why's that? Neither of us have any grand plans for diving extravaganzas, but I personally would like to give para-sailing a go (presumably less dependent on the weather?). A brief rundown of what sort of stuff we will and won't be able to do would be greatly appreciated. If the hotels don't offer it, can we look elsewhere? Any safety issues?

What kind of water sports/activities can we expect to be available?

Finally, in my reading I've come across a lot of people saying that they'd steer completely clear of Phuket. This is from people who seem to have been on more adventurous trips throughout Thailand and compare Phuket to Australia's Gold Coast (full of fat sunburnt tourists). We're not looking for an Indiana Jones adventure, but we're definitely keen to experience some of Thailand's culture, so any tips for 'things to do' in line with that goal would be greatly appreciated. Neither of us have been to an Asian country before, so we're looking forward the culture shock!

I've found it quite hard to plan this holiday without having been there before, if you know what I mean. I've been to Europe once and now have a much better idea of what I'd do if I went there again, so by posting this I'm hoping to benefit from other people's Thailand/Phuket experience.

Thanks!

[Goldenbead]

Hi, I will try to give you a few answers.

1. Is there much to do in/around the Le Royal Meridien Yacht Club?

There are a few cool bars in the area and it is close to Rawai which has some good restaurants and bars as well. No party places like clubs in the area though. Yoonique Stone is the coolest bar in the area. http://www.yoonique.uni.cc/

2.Should we stay closer to Patong Beach?

Yes, if you want more nightlife you should. The Naiharn/Rawai area is fairly quiet. Kata is a good in between area.

3. How much will it cost us (roughly) to travel to/from Patong?

Not sure about tuk tuk or taxi fares but pretty expensive I would guess. Best bet is to hire a Suzuki jeep which you can get for about 600 - 700 baht per day. They will probably ask for more but you can haggle.

4. What's the weather situation in Phuket around mid-June?

Hard to predict. It is raining cats and dogs at the moment and has been all weekend. It may be beautiful or it may be stormy. 50/50 there.

5. What kind of water sports/activities can we expect to be available?

The reason the hotels don't offer watersports at this time of year is that the sea is not calm in the low season and it can be quite dangerous with currents etc. Naiharn beach can be downright dodgy at this time of year. You may be able to get some parasailing off Rawai beach though. Diving will still be available and I am sure the hotel can put you on the right track with that info. From Rawai you can take a long tail or a speed boat over to one of the small islands offshore for a beautiful day of lounging on the beach, snorkelling and similar.

I am partial to the Naiharn area as that is where I live. Kata is also fun and is between Naiharn and Patong so you may want to look into that area. There is a Club Med there as well as other upscale hotels.

Good luck. Let us know what you decide.

Cheers!!

[andy50]

when you hire a vehicle in los, the hirerer may/will require your passport as surity,

this is not good ,as you are suppose to carry it at all times,(also its foolish to entrust your p/p to these people, as some(some not all) will find a dent or scratch on the vehicle when you return it, that was already there, and refuse to give you back your p/p until u pay up!

you can take photocopys of all the relevant pages in your p/p, and try to negociate ,i tryed this last xmas, but none of them would hire me a motor/cycle without leaving my p/p which i wasn,t prepaired to do

so i walked or taxied everywhere instead

as luck would have it, the tsunami washed everything away on beach road in patong ,so if i had left my p/p with them ,i wouldnt have got it back !

you may be able to hire a jeep from the hotel that you stay at ,they wont require your p/p , dont forget to take an international driving licence with you as well ,or the police may ask you for some "tea money" if they stop you, and you havent got your int ,d/l --your normal d/l and your p/p with you !

and dont forget, driving in los is very risky , if your involved in an accident its normally your fault regardless, as the accident wouldn,t have occurred if you(as a farang visitor) hadn,t been there (thai logic!)

Edited May 10, 2005 by andy50

[cluqduck]

Thanks a lot to those that replied and apologies for my late response.

After much indecision, we decided to change to 'The Chedi' on Surin Beach. We had some doubts but figured it was in a better spot for what we wanted to do. We leave on Friday, spend a 2 nights/1 day in Bangkok then touch down in Phuket.

Looks like the weather has been terrible! Hopefully we can bring some good weather with us Or perhaps a few board games?

Getting excited now! Looking forward to 8 days of bludging and over-eating. Any last minute advice?

Cheers!