Quoting tamlyn
Hi there,
My friend and i will be travelling around Asia in May.
We will be in Koh Samui from the 6th to the 9th May, Koh Phanang on the 9th May for the full moon party, then back to Koh Samui for the 10th May before heading to Phuket for the remainder of our trip. We have been looking at so many places to stay but we are now confused as which are the best beaches to stay on in Koh Samui and Phuket. Also which are the best hotels - there seeem to be so many...
We would love it if you could recommend hotels 4and 5 star, as well as the best beaches to stay in Koh Samui, Koh Phanang and Phuket. We are 25yr old females... so we are looking for relaxtion, exploring, having fun and partying! we also need to be in safe areas as we are travelling alone.
Please help with recommendations, and any other advice on things to do/see etc while we are in Southern Thailand!!
thanks so much
Kind Regards,
Tamlyn
If you want to party, you need to go to Patong Beach in Phuket. All the other resorts cater mainly for families with children. I agree with kevin that it's a bit of a den of iniquity, but it has some of the best restaurants on the island and fantastic beaches. It's also a small resort surrounded by very steep hills on three sides. Hotels located on Nanai Road are mainly those located on the outskirts of town on those hills. If you decide to stay there, you'll wake up to great views of the resort every morning, but will have to take a taxi into town to party.
Alternatively, if you decide to stay in town somewhere, then the views of the surrounding hills makes you feel like you're in the bottom of valley. I'd recommend the latter if you're party animals because everything is contained within a very small area. The main entertainment area is Bangla Road and the beach road called Thaweewong Road. There's a really great open air restaurant on the beach road called "Papaya" which is well worth a visit.
Hotelwise, I tend to plumb for guesthouses, so I can't recommend any 4/5 star hotels I'm afraid, but you can check out most of them on this site: Phuket directory.com If you're non-smokers, the Ibis Hotel is 100% smoke free: Ibis Hotel otherwise, specify a non-smoking room when you book anywhere else if you're a non-smoker.
Most hotels offer a free airport pickup, so you won't have to suffer the harrassment of the touts at Phuket Airport (assuming you're flying from Koh Samui to Phuket rather than taking the ferry), but your pickup driver will found outside the arrivals terminal whereas all the touts will be inside, so bear that in mind if one of them purports to be your driver.
Do your best to avoid tuk-tuks! These are Daihatsu vans, usually painted red which hang around the streets touting for passengers. They're uninsured and if you have an accident in one, your travel insurance may not cover you for the consequences. They also charge exhorbitant rates for even the shortest of trips and should be avoided on principle if for no other reason. If you want to go somewhere, take a taxi for long distances, or a motorbike taxi for short hops. Your hotel will have a tour desk where you can book one easily enough and you won't be ripped off.
There's a new air conditioned shopping mall called Jungceylon which incorporates a cinema complex, a Carrefour supermarket and many banks with ATMs. Well worth a visit especially in order to escape the midday heat. See: Jungceylon It doesn't open until 11:00am by the way, but you can use the ATMs located in the basement 24/7.
There's a site called "virtualtourist.com" which contains restaurant reviews made by other travellers which is well worth as read (I hope the mod squad will allow the link because it also helps you avoid those which don't come up to standard), link here
Personally, I don't think it's worth hiring a car. The jeeps available for hire may seem attractive, but their 1.6 litre engines are not powerful enough to negotiate Phuket's steep hills and you won't be very popular on the road if you hold up traffic. Also, all Thailand roads are a death trap and bearing in mind that the locals don't have to take a driving test to obtain a licence, driving skills are virtually non-existent.
Phuket Fantasea is well worth a visit if you can take a break from partying one evening. It's a nighttime cultural theme park located on the outskirts of Kata beach which you you can book via your hotel tour desk. The admission price includes a minibus pickup and you can also opt for the dinner arrangement if you want to. See Phuket Fantasea
The only other tip I have is to avoid using a debit or a credit card to withdraw cash in Thailand. All banks introduced a 150 Baht charge for cash withdrawals using either of those means whereas normal ATM transactions are free.
Have fun!
[ Edit: Edited on 23-Apr-2009, at 00:32 by Blinq ]
