rockyysdt Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 Hoping someone can assist. My travels will place me in Surat Thani. Being relatively close, I thought a short beech holiday in Phuket would be nice before heading back north. Can anyone advise the most economical and/or best way to travel between these two places? Would it be by coach or is air travel available? How long does the road trip take? Many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
challenger99 Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 Surat Thani - Phuket down town are only ca. 170 km and is the frequent, normal way bus and coach take coming from the north. Maybe beside the bus / coach you find few Van which travel frequently too. The travel sould be not more then 3 hrs. Take airplane (if really have) make nonsense, expensive and take same time if you count the time you have to be at airport before boarding and after landing until you are in the down town or beach from the airport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbk Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 most economical: local bus but they stop every other 5km next up: van but they stop for awhile each time and it seems to take ages share taxi is good, if you have someone to share a taxi with, this is the most direct road route. airplane, there is a BKK Air flight from Samui to Phuket but I do not believe there is a Surat-Phuket flight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olsen Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 If you intend a beach holiday...why not visit Khanom at the south of Surat Thani? This is less than 1 hour by minibus and the beaches is for sure better than in Phuket and you don't have to share the beaches with thousands of tourists! The beaches here are all rated between 4 and 4.5 Stars compared to 3 Stars in Phuket. Accomodation in Khanom is also way more affordable than in Phuket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeniau96 Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Very curious about who/what would rate Surat Thani beaches much superior to Phuket. Most of world probably have major disagreement with that. Some are crowded and Phuket has nasty tuks-tuks, tailors, time-sharing condo vendors and souvenir sellers, but the beaches are truly tops in world class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lite Beer Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Khanom has a beautiful beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
challenger99 Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 (edited) If you intend a beach holiday...why not visit Khanom at the south of Surat Thani? This is less than 1 hour by minibus and the beaches is for sure better than in Phuket and you don't have to share the beaches with thousands of tourists! The beaches here are all rated between 4 and 4.5 Stars compared to 3 Stars in Phuket. Accomodation in Khanom is also way more affordable than in Phuket. I agree if he don't need bar's, girl's drug's and bad water quality. We can say Khanom have close his virgin beaches, he should google for pictures if he don't believe and certain much cheaper, no risk of thiefs etc. Edited September 21, 2011 by challenger99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockyysdt Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 If you intend a beach holiday...why not visit Khanom at the south of Surat Thani? This is less than 1 hour by minibus and the beaches is for sure better than in Phuket and you don't have to share the beaches with thousands of tourists! The beaches here are all rated between 4 and 4.5 Stars compared to 3 Stars in Phuket. Accomodation in Khanom is also way more affordable than in Phuket. I agree if he don't need bar's, girl's drug's and bad water quality. We can say Khanom have close his virgin beaches, he should google for pictures if he don't believe and certain much cheaper, no risk of thiefs etc. I've read there are march flies in this area. Bites can be pretty nasty. Khanom sounds tempting, but things can be expensive when there are only a few traders (drinks, food, accommodation). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockyysdt Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 I've done this several times. The best option, assuming you don't want to pay a bunch of money for a private taxi, is a shared minivan from Surat. Around 200 - 300 baht. You can get them at the Kaset market area in Surat town, and also outside of Surat at the junction of the Surat highway & the 41 (you will save 45+ minutes in the van if you get it here). The vans make one extended stop near Phangna town, but they are pretty fast. There are no flights from Surat to Phuket. Thanks andy. Is that 300 baht per person? Do you just share with others you might meat at that location? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockyysdt Posted September 24, 2011 Author Share Posted September 24, 2011 (edited) I've read reports in which the beaches at Khanom are exposed to high winds where as Phuket beaches are calm and sheltered. Scooter hire will also get you to many beach vistas around Phuket island and one also has offshore excursions access to places such as Pi Pi Island and others. A secluded holiday at Khanom sounds tempting but might be a little sedate after a couple of days. Edited September 24, 2011 by rockyysdt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phuketrichard Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 (edited) Biggest dif would be Phuket as the Andaman Sea Khanom is the gulf of Thailand. I've read reports in which the beaches at Khanom are exposed to high winds where as Phuket beaches are calm and sheltered. Depends on time of year, Low season, ( may-late oct) west coast has onshore winds so we have great waves and the sea can sometimes be dangerous for swimming, High season, Nov-April) its off shore so flat as glass Accomodation in Khanom is also way more affordable than in Phuket. Just saw a new hotel open in Patong advertising rooms from 199 baht... doubt u can get much cheaper than that... Plus this time of year very easy to find an air con room for under 600 baht. Plus although i have never been to Khanom i would imagine there is more to do in Phuket Edited September 25, 2011 by phuketrichard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katabeachbum Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Good ac pool hotels are still only 500 baht here in Kata, until highseason starts in a week or so Minibusses/vans from Surat leaves every hour during daytime. used to be 180 baht, now 2-300 baht pp. Approx 4 hours. Take you to Phuket town, so unfortunately a tuk-tuk to the west coast will cost you more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SICHONSTEVE Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 If you intend a beach holiday...why not visit Khanom at the south of Surat Thani? This is less than 1 hour by minibus and the beaches is for sure better than in Phuket and you don't have to share the beaches with thousands of tourists! The beaches here are all rated between 4 and 4.5 Stars compared to 3 Stars in Phuket. Accomodation in Khanom is also way more affordable than in Phuket. There is a nice beach in Sichon too!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phuketrichard Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Good ac pool hotels are still only 500 baht here in Kata, until highseason starts in a week or so Minibusses/vans from Surat leaves every hour during daytime. used to be 180 baht, now 2-300 baht pp. Approx 4 hours. Take you to Phuket town, so unfortunately a tuk-tuk to the west coast will cost you more Or take the local bus for 20 baht or don;t they have regular bus's to Kata as they have to Patong, Kamala, Surin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katabeachbum Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Good ac pool hotels are still only 500 baht here in Kata, until highseason starts in a week or so Minibusses/vans from Surat leaves every hour during daytime. used to be 180 baht, now 2-300 baht pp. Approx 4 hours. Take you to Phuket town, so unfortunately a tuk-tuk to the west coast will cost you more Or take the local bus for 20 baht or don;t they have regular bus's to Kata as they have to Patong, Kamala, Surin? good point, every hour, last one at approx 1800, takes you right to the beach hotels presently charging 500 baht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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