I am travelling with my husband and 7 year old daughter to Thailand. We will be spending 3 days in Phuket, 3 days on safari in Khao Sok, 2 days in Phi Phi and 3 days in Koh Samui. We want to be in a beautiful area on the beach for some relaxed times with our daughter, but don%26#39;t want to be too far away from some life like bars, shopping,etc.
where would be the best area in Phuket to start looking for a hotel. Any hotel recommendations would be good also. We want to good hotel on the beach.
Thank you
Best Area to Stay - First Time in Thailand
Hi Clemina, really depends on your budget. I suggest Patong beach for first timers. If you want on the beach, then look at Beach Road. Ratathit Road has many hotels, and is a few hundred meters from the beach. There are many booking sites including Tripadvisor....click the hotels button above.
Best Area to Stay - First Time in Thailand
I%26#39;d go with Karon Beach.
It%26#39;s sufficiently quiet when you need it to be, but also busy enough in terms of shopping, dining and entertainment. If you really crave more action you can go to Patong, which is only a short drive (3 km) away.
I personally wouldn%26#39;t like to stay in Patong with a kid, there tends to be quite a few charachters around. Patong Beach is extremely busy, the beach is packed and there are loads of watersport (jetskis) around. Your child would be better off playing on a nice, quieter beach away from all the unsavoury elements.
Some people also like Kata Beach a lot, but it%26#39;s a bit too quiet for me.
Hi Clemina
Tht is a very packed itinerary, you will be spending a lot of your holiday travelling which, if it is in %26#39;high season%26#39; (and especially the peak from mid December over Christmas to end of January) is going to be a bit of a hassle at times.
I wonder about spending 8 days at three different %26#39;beach%26#39; resorts? I would knock off Koh Samui and spend more time in Phuket given your interests but, hey, it%26#39;s YOUR holiday.
Despite what %26#39;Cornflake Girl%26#39; says, I would opt for Patong for a three day stay. (You do not mention the age of your daughter, by the way), but friends of mine who have holidayed with young children have never experienced any problems).
A friend and I have put together a tip sheet over the 15 years or so we have been visiting Phuket.
It is a sort of %26#39;quick start%26#39; for your holiday suggests places to go, places to eat and, of course, places to shop as well as information on things like drinking water, currency exchange and so on! Something to carry with you and totally non-commercial.
If you - or anyone else reading this post -would like a copy, just email me: rfdunedin@ymail.com.
If you wish, I will also include some notes on accommodation.
Cheers!
This depends so much on what you are looking for.
For ';relaxed times'; as you state, I would avoid Patong. Great place to visit for a night out, and see all the sights and sounds, but I really wouldn%26#39;t like to stay there myself. It is like the Blackpool of Phuket.
I would suggest Bangtao beach. Beautiful beach, still with lots of beachside restaurants and bars, and for the evenings, there is also a little village just out the back of the Laguna complex, with more restaurants and bars.
Patong/Karon is within reach by taxi, but I think you get more relaxed days away from these beaches.
holiday inn patong or melin beach resort ( not patong merlin).
your daughter will love the holiday. good markets out the back of the holiday inn at night.
When we were booking our tour to Similian islands and decided to use Patong as our base in December, the tour agency warned us that it%26#39;s not a very good place for young children/families. We had already booked our hotel in Patong however, and we will be spending very little time there. If you go to youtube.com and type in Patong, you can get some idea of what to expect I imagine. Guess we%26#39;ll find out in a couple of months ourselves, lol. :) If we were spending any time there though, we would not base ourselves out of Patong, just based on what we%26#39;ve heard/seen.
Oh and kiwilad, she does mention the age of her daughter.. she is 7 yo.
';...3 days on safari in Khao Sok, 2 days in Phi Phi and 3 days in Koh Samui.';
For the bulk of your trip you will be away from hustle and bustle. So don%26#39;t rule out Patong. Consider it an adventure. As long as you make judicious choices, it%26#39;s truly not as bad as some people make it out to be. Consider the Holiday Inn Patong for your stay, especially the Busakorn section if you can afford it.
';...We want to be in a beautiful area on the beach for some relaxed times with our daughter, but don%26#39;t want to be too far away from some life like bars, shopping,etc.';
So Bang Tao, despite it%26#39;s loveliness, is not a great option. IMO, you want somewhere like a favourite of mine, the Kata Beach Resort, right on the beach in Kata. 20 minutes or so from Patong shopping and nightlife, or Phuket City shopping. Stay in a deluxe room, gives a sea view.
But really, for a 3 day stay, you will be better off in Patong. Stay somewhere like Duangjitt, Amari Coral Beach or Merlin Beach resort and you wont even know you are in Patong (Duangjitt is not on the beach, just a short walk away; Merlin Beach resort has it%26#39;s own rocky beach and is a short tuk tuk ride away from Patong).
Kata beach is a much nicer beach than Patong beach, but you will get plenty of nice-beach life on Phi Phi %26amp; Koh Samui. And if you move away from the jetski areas, Patong beach is certainly nice enough.
Patong will be a good counterpoint to the rest of your trip.
For me it would be Karon as you have Kata to one side of you and Patong to the other and both only cost 100-150 baht by taxi to get to.
Karon has the same kind of shopping and dining as Patong and Kata but is more family friendly. It still has a good nightlife - it%26#39;s just on a smaller scale to Patong. Patong does have a lot to offer as it%26#39;s very busy and more of a Torremolinos/Benidorm type resort packed out with the hustle and bustle and loads of bars. Personally, I%26#39;d rather stay in Karon and visit Patong during the day or for an evening and return to Karon.
Staying in Karon means you can also go to Kata for the Reggae bar with your daughter to see the sunset. It%26#39;s set in to the hillside and offers a great view.
As for a hotel, Baan Suay in Karon has a family suite which may suit you more than a big chain hotel - I stayed there and it is beautiful, the staff are fantastic and it%26#39;s just a 2 minute taxi ride or 10 minute walk to the beach. If you need anything booking, day trips etc, they can either book them for you or help you out for no cost. They are fantastic and very family friendly. The owners%26#39; little boy and girl are there quite a lot.
baansuayphuket.com/phuketpages/accomodation/…
Thank you for all your replies they have been really useful. Think I am going to go to Karon as I can visit Patong and Kata from there.
Thanks
We stayed in patong in august at the holiday inn and my young kids ( 3 years and 1.5 years had a great time)We didnt see anything that offended us or made us uncomfortable ( even though we are middle eastern and come from quite a conservative place) the holiday inn is a great place for families..they have a kiddie pool / toddler pool and a kids club. Easy access to patong beach..Plenty of eateries and shopping close to it.
Maybe coz we visited patong in the low season we didnt see anyting that isnt suitable for kids, but my teenage brother and sister even said that patong wasnt as bad and some people were warning them.
