Koh Yao Noi by Moped

To the east and northeast of Phuket in Phang Nga Bay, in between Phuket and Krabi, you can find many islands. How I would love to have my own boat and cruise around exploring! The north of Phang Nga Bay is where you find well known places such as James Bond Island and Koh Panyee which we have visited several times (see Phang Nga Bay). To the south of these are 2 much larger islands. Koh Yao Yai, which I have never visited is about 25km from north to south, while Koh Yao Noi is much smaller, about 10 x 5km. We first went to Koh Yao Noi about 5 years ago (see Day Trip to Koh Yao Noi). I did a cycling trip there last year (see Cycling at Koh Yao Noi) and we've had an idea for some time to head over for a day and rent some mopeds - we noticed mopeds for rent at the jetty. Finally this week we did it!

Getting to Koh Yao Noi is easy enough, though it does help to have your own transport so you can drive to Bang Rong pier in the NE of Phuket. Bang Rong is quite a busy place with fishing boats and ferries heading to various islands. There is also a floating restaurant here that we have eaten at many times. If you don't have your own transport, you can either get a taxi here or you can get a local bus from Phuket Town (they depart from outside the market). Taxi from main beaches I guess will cost 600 - 800 Baht each way. May be cheaper going back as it would be a Bang Rong taxi rather than a beach taxi!

There are big longtail boats heading to Koh Yao Noi, or speedboats. We assumed the speedboat would be a lot more expensive, but no .. the longtail (which I have used before) is 100 Baht for adults, 50 for kids. The speedboat was 200 Baht for adults and free for kids! So we opted for the speedboat this time, due to depart 11am. There are boats heading over every 30 minutes or so. We waited at a little cafe/shack by the pier and had a drink as boats came and went.







Speedboat option turned out to be a good idea. Fast, and not crowded. The weather was perfect with very calm seas so we zipped across to Manao Pier at Koh Yao Noi (stopping off at a pier at Koh Yao Yai first) in less than 30 minutes. The longtails take over an hour. Kids enjoyed the ride over, and my daughter quickly befriended a local girl from the island whose grandfather gave us a ride down the jetty when we arrived so we could look for mopeds. Our daughter seemed quite sad that she might never see this girl again! Here's the kids getting the wind in their hair on the speedboat:





You may guess from the photo above that Koh Yao Noi is a Muslim island. Bang Rong is also a Muslim community, in fact about 30% of Phuket is Muslim, and much of Phang Nga province is Muslim. For the visitor this means 2 things - you almost certainly can't find any pork to eat, and some restaurants may not have any alcohol. The floating restaurant at Bang Rong is one of those. I find the Muslim areas of Phuket to be very friendly and recall some years ago walking in Phuket Town. There is a street where you can find a Chinese shrine, a Mosque and a Catholic church, all on the same street. At the shrine, there were a bunch of old guys sitting and chatting, but they ignored me. The Catholic Church was all locked up. At the mosque I was welcomed in with smiles. Koh Yao Noi is a small island where everyone knows everyone. I can imagine it's the kind of place where there's no trouble and you can leave your door unlocked. Reminds me a bit of Utila, and island off the coast of Honduras where I used to live.

We found 2 mopeds to rent - normal rate around 200 - 250 Baht per day. The guy gave them to us for 150 Baht each, as it was already nearly midday. And as if to reaffirm my views that Koh Yao Noi is trouble-free, he said "when you're done, just leave the bikes at the jetty with the key in the ignition"! We did him a favour and filled up both bikes with gasoline at one of Koh Yao Noi's biggest gas stations ...



We had no real plan for the day. I kind of know the way around the island having cycled much of the way last year. There are only a few roads to choose from, and it's hard to get lost on a small island. I figured we'd get some lunch on the east coast where you find a beautiful view and there are a bunch of restaurants and small hotels. So far, Koh Yao Noi is pretty undeveloped. There are a couple of big resorts - (Koh Yao Paradise and the Six Senses Resort. But much of the island is very rural. There are lots of rice fields on the west side - the view below is behind the gas station ...



And there are lots of rubber trees. Rubber is still an important industry here, and in Phuket too - a lot of Phuket is covered in rubber trees, though you may not see this near the beaches. We rode our mopeds along shaded roads through the rubber plantations. The roads here are very quiet. It's mostly mopeds, there are not many cars. It's very relaxed riding and the road surface is mostly pretty good.





There was some dirt road as we rode up a slight hill heading over to the east coast - I remembered this hill from the cycling trip - seemed a lot steeper on a bicycle! As the road drops to the east coast, you see views across a blue sea dotted with little islands and the mainland behind. It's pretty darn gorgeous! We rode down a small jetty as a longtail boat came in from a fishing trip.



Along this stretch of road there are several small hotels / bungalows, but they are not built right on the beach - just over the road. It's just a narrow road and certainly not busy! View is great, sea was perfectly blue, sun shining, what a beautiful day :)





It's only about 5km ride from the jetty to the south, and the road turns back west towards the main town. We stopped for lunch at Sabai Corner where I had also eaten on the cycling tour. Food was OK, views were great and we were happy to sit and relax for an hour. Kids took advantage of the hammocks on offer. And then we headed off to explore more of the island. We knew the speedboat was heading back to Phuket at 5pm so we had plenty of time. One sign said "Ao Mamuang", so we decided to follow this road. It was a dirt road, but pretty flat and in decent condition. I figured there must be something worth seeing if there was a road ... but the road started to get worse, and it got hilly too, with lots of up and down, which is tricky on a little moped when you're riding with a kid on the bike too. I wondered if we should turn back, but we figured "it can't be far" to wherever the road was heading... The dirt roads were quite a challenge actually and the kids were getting tired on this very hot afternoon, with no 7-11 in sight! One hill headed up and up, and my wife's moped seemed to lack power - poor daughter had to get off and walk some of the way. Great view at the top ...



This was an unexpected offroad adventure. At the top of this hill (I have checked on Google Earth and it looks like about 400 feet above sea level) I really hoped it would not be too much further to go, and hoped there would be some kind of town at the end and certainly a shop to buy a drink! The road dropped from here, climbed again, dropped again. I was feeling sorry for the kids - my son was getting very tired sitting with me on the bike. And then we hit a security barrier on this isolated dirt road. For one second I thought "oh **** we'll have to turn back". A security guard approached and I asked him "what is this place". Turned out to be the Paradise Koh Yao Resort. The guests don't come by moped - they come by boat. Can we come in??? Thankfully, he gave us Visitors badges, we parked our bikes and while the kids found a shady bench to lie down, my wife and I looked for the bar! Well, I have to say, if I was feeling rich, a few nights at the Paradise Koh Yao would be nice!



We found the bar and bought 2 cans of coke at 90 Baht each... no ice or glasses .. I bet the guests get those. The barman gave me a "what are you doing here" kind of look. I had to ask specially for straws. Would have gladly paid more than 90 Baht, we were pretty parched. A couple of guests swam in the perfectly calm water holding cocktails. I saw some others heading off on kayaks. Very beautiful location.



Kids were revived by coke and a lie down in the shade. It was after 3pm, so we had to head back. I was not looking forward to the ride ... we asked the staff but they told us there was no other road out. So, we saddled up and headed off back towards the main town and pier, about 10km south. Actually the ride back was much easier, I think because we knew what to expect and knew where we were heading. And we were becoming off road moped experts by now :)





The boy can't wait to get a motorbike. He's 6 years old. Many Thai kids start riding mopeds very young. Maybe just around their street, but it's not long before they are whizzing around, normally 3 per bike, pulling wheelies, trying to impress the girls and of course not wearing helmets. Here on Koh Yao Noi we weren't offered helmets, and well, the roads are so quiet and of course we were driving very slowly. The hilly offroad sections were a bit of a worry but we went as slowly as we could.

Was a great day out for all of us. Something new for the kids to experience. We'll do this again sometime - there are some more roads on the west coast of Koh Yao Noi that we did not check out, but next time I am quite sure we'll skip the dirt road to the Paradise Resort! Back at the main town (about 2km from Manao pier) we dived into the 7-11 for cold drinks and aircon. We then left the 2 mopeds at the jetty, keys in the ignition as instructed :) The speedboat back was a little more crowded but again I was glad for the quick trip rather than the slow longtail. Also glad (again) to be living in Phuket with so much on our doorstep.

(update) We did a similar trip again in 2012 - see Koh Yao Noi Day Trip 2012 :)

A final photo. We found a sandy football pitch on the east coast. Got to be one of the best football views in the world! Gooooaallll!



Koh Yao Noi - Useful Links

• Koh Yao Noi Hotels
• The Paradise Koh Yao Resort - Info and Booking
• Koh Yao Island Resort - Info and Booking
• Six Senses Koh Yao Resort - Info and Booking
• Cycling Tour around Koh Yao Noi

Map of the Area


View Koh Yao Noi Island in a larger map

Read More

Songkran 2011 (Not in Phuket!)

Aside from being a massive waterfight, the Songkran holiday is also a traditional time of year with particular emphasis on paying respect to your elders, and many Thai people will travel for Songkran to visit family. This is a more important holiday than the "Western" New Year, although the calendar year does change on January 1st and of course it's another excuse for a party, but Songkran is something more local and is a major public holiday from 13th - 15th April - and this year, since the 13th was a Wednesday, that basically meant a 5 day holiday from Wednesday to Sunday. A good long break to travel and see family, and for the first time I managed a Songkran away from Phuket - normally I am working, since April is still kind of high season, but this year the boss kindly agreed that after work on the 12th I could head off - my wife and I drove the 400km from Phuket to Chumphon on the evening of the 12th, arriving a bit after midnight.

This was a very nice opportunity for me to be involved with the family rather than just drinking beer and throwing water in Phuket like I did last year! Now of course in Chumphon there is plenty of water throwing too, and we loaded up our pick up truck with a couple of barrels of water ready for a drive round town, but first, at home, we paid our respects to the elder members of the family, which means my wife's Mum and Dad - her grandparents all passed away more than 10 years ago. Mum and Dad are not that old actually, both under 60, but they are the "elders" :)



Above - this is the Rod Nam Dam Hua tradition, pouring water on the hands of your respected elders - that's me with Ma and Pa. And below my wife's sister doing the same while her other sister and my daughter look on. It was very special to be involved (after 10 years!) with the family.



We drove first to an aunts house on the edge of town not far from the railway station. Family and friends had set up a big hose pipe there, and a stall selling snacks and drinks. It was a very hot day, lots of liquid refreshment needed if (like me) you planned to drive around in the back of a pick up truck for several hours. The hose pipe at aunties house had 2 functions. It could be used to refill peoples barrels in their trucks (see below - sign says Water For Sale)...



Or if you didn't want to buy any water, you could get a faceful for free anyway! Some people were happy to get soaked, some people for some reason like to ride around on a scooter and try to avoid getting wet - impossible and can be dangerous too, swerving on wet roads. Songkran always has accidents related to water, wet roads and (often) drunk people riding scooters.



Also at aunties house, a small shrine was set up with a Buddha statue. Here family members could pour water on the statue. My son always takes his Buddha related activity seriously. Well, his name is Monk after all!



Before we headed off to drive around town, get soaked with ice water, get sunburned and covered in powder, I took a few photos of passing truck loads of party goers. Smiles all around. I know that the "Land of Smiles" was a tourism slogan, but Songkran is a good day for smiles.





And you've got to have your gun ready! In our pick up truck we had a couple of big water pistols as well as 2 big barrels of water and plastic bowls to scoop up the water and throw it. This guy is ready for action ...



Songkran is one of those days when you can't help but feel happy. Everyone is having fun. No glum faces on show, no worries, a day of total enjoyment doing something that you'd normally not be able to do... soak total strangers (well probably not all total strangers in a fairly small town like Chumphon). Adults and kids join together in acting like kids! Our kids started on each other .....





Well, one of these days, if I have some spare cash, I need to get a decent camera and underwater housing. In 2009 I tried using my Canon Powershot in a clear plastic bag - worked OK. This year I had a cheap underwater film camera (film? what's that?) in a plastic housing and tried getting some action photos from the back of our truck. It's hit and miss, I think with a digital, I could take 200 photos and get 20 good photos. This cheap film camera, well after some photoshopping a few photos looked OK and it was fun taking them... was also fun being almost the only foreigner on display.. I think I counted about 7 or 8 foreigners as we drove around - Chumphon is a nice enough little town, but does not have that much for tourists - I want to write more about my second home later. Mostly Chumphon is useful if you want to get a boat to Koh Tao. As one of the few foreigners I guess I was a rather obvious target. The 79th bucket of ice water was maybe one too many! This is me on the pick up truck with face smeared with powder...



And a couple of the "best" shots taken from the truck...







I sat in the back with a sister-in-law, a niece, my 2 kids and we cruised the streets. There's no point trying to avoid the water! Most of the time you don't see it coming... you may be "exchanging fire" with one truck and another passes by and offloads a bucket of cold water. Small water pistols are not powerful enough weaponry, it's better to have a small bucket to scoop water out of your barrel and deliver a bigger punch :) All in good spirits! You are not allowed to get angry if someone drenches you from behind with an icy shower, and if someone wants to smear you with powder, please remember this is a sign of respect. I seem to enjoy Songkran more each year. But I am very happy that in Phuket (and Chumphon town) it lasts just one day.

Songkran is the same date every year - April 13th is the big day. If you are in Phuket on April 13th next year, plan to get wet! Don't carry around valuables or electronic items that might be damaged by water - or at least carry things in a dry bag. Don't wear your very best clothes - it's not just water, but sometimes water with added dye, or powder. And make sure you are well armed. And take every ice cold shower with a smile. It's Songkran!

Read More

Songkran Photos

The Songkran festival is one of those "love it or hate it" events. It can be viewed as fun, but some people like to complain about it getting a bit silly and losing its traditional roots. Songkran is the Thai New Year festival and is celebrated in Thailand and also in neighbouring Laos, some parts of China and Cambodia. The Thai New Year and Thai calendar was in use until 1888 in Thailand, but now January 1st is used as the official start of the new calendar year. The old Thai / Buddhist year is 543 years ahead of the standard calendar. The water throwing is the most obvious aspect of Songkran, but the older traditions are very much still alive. At homes and temples. Buddha images are washed with water containing flower petals, and at some temples, people carry dirt to the temple which is supposed to replace dirt that they have carried away on their feet during the year - I saw this at a temple this year, but did not stop for photos. In 2011 I was in Chumphon for Songkran, which is my wife's home town. Maybe the old way of life is a little more obvious here than in Phuket, or maybe I just got a more local feeling since I have been with the family. We had a ceremony at home pouring water on my wife's parents hands (this is called Rodnam Dam Hua). The water fights in Chumphon Town were just as big as Phuket - we drove around town in our pick up. I got singled out quite often - not many foreigners here! Bloody hot day resulting in a very wet and sunburned and ever so slightly drunk Jamie (that's me)!



In previous years I have been in Phuket for Songkran. For a few years I tried to ignore this silly festival....then for a few years we tried to stay dry, but took drives around Phuket with me trying to take photos through the closed car window. In 2009 we did a drive round Patong in our pick up truck, with my wife and I taking turns to drive. Patong is certainly the main water fight, although if you head to Sapan Hin, in the south of Phuket Town, you get a good day too, with less tourists and more locals. In 2010 I did not try to take photos - just stood on the roadside outside a friends business, throwing water with one hand, bottle of beer in the other :)

• Phuket Hotels - Phuket is a great place to be for Songkran!

So, for Songkran 2011 in Chumphon I took some photos with an old underwater film camera, needed some photoshopping to enhance the colour as the camera used 800 iso film, so most photos were a bit overexposed. Also got some photos on the street near the homes of various family members.





More photos : Songkran 2011 in Chumphon


And here's some more photos of Songkran in Phuket over the years ...



(above) Songkran street battle in Patong! If you want to party on Songkran, Patong is the place to be. You WILL get very wet, but at least in Phuket the water throwing is limited to one day (13th April). We enjoyed the day we drove around on April 13th 2009, though the kids did start to get cold - people do tend to throw ice water, which is nice on a hot day...



(above) People like to use talcum powder mixed with water and will smear it on your face for good luck. Not everyone wants the powder, but you should accept it in the spirit in which it is offered. Hint: Don't wear your best clothes on Songkran!



• Songkran 2009 at Patong Beach

In town, people are scooting around on mopeds, in trucks, or some (like we used to) in cars with the windows up! It's a sad fact that there are a lot of accidents around Songkran mostly related to a combination of fast mopeds, alcohol, water and slippery roads. No fun to have a bucket of ice water in your face when you are riding a moped, but then again, if riding in town on Songkran day, you really should ride slowly and expect to get very very wet. The guy above with his colourful Songkran shirt is obviously enjoying the day! It was due to the number of accidents that the water throwing was limited to one day in Phuket a few years ago.



Fun for all the family! If you are going to be in Phuket or anywhere in Thailand on Songkran, be ready, go out and have some watery fun! The photo above was taken outside the Jungceylon mall in Patong. I like the fact that the girl shooting her water pistol has no idea she's about to get a cup of ice water down her back :)



A day for the kids ... for one day every year, the kids can get away with pretty much anything! They can soak strangers, definitely soak their family, they can play with water all day and nobody can get mad at them. Our kids love it, I think all kids love Songkran!



And you're never quite sure where the next soaking is going to come from. This year riding around in the truck I got drenched at regular intervals, many times by unseen assailants. There's no point trying to stay dry! The guys on the scooter (above) just got owned! That photo was taken in Phuket Town on Phuket Road on the way south towards Sapan Hin.

• Songkran 2008 in Phuket Town
• Songkran 2007 Turtle release and Patong

Songkran is what it is - you can have fun or you can grouch. For one day, getting soaked is fun, especially as April 13th is normally going to be a very hot day, like it was this year. I am happy that it's only one day in Phuket - I know that in Chiang Mai it goes on for days, which could be a drag. In Chumphon, there was only water throwing in town for 1 day, but on the 14th people headed to the 2 main beaches near Chumphon (Sairee and Thung Wua Laen) to continue the party. I was very happy in 2011 to be more involved with the family. A good Songkran. Happy New Year!

Read More

Promthep Cape - The end of Phuket!

I guess it's the same wherever you live. There's always something new to explore close to home. Phuket is bigger than most people realise, the island covers over 500 square kilometers, plus it's only a short drive to reach places like Phang Nga, Khao Sok National Park, Krabi, or a 1 hour ferry over to Phi Phi. Doing this blog for the last 5 years has made me and the family get out and explore and really get to know our home. Hopefully it's clear from this blog that there is a lot more to Phuket than simply beaches, hotels and eating out.

Promthep Cape (or Laem Promthep) is the name of the rocky headland than juts out into the sea at the far south west of Phuket. It's Phuket most southerly and southwesterly point, and many tourists and locals come here for views and to enjoy the sunset. There's lots of parking and a big open space on top of the hill with a shrine and a lighthouse. We've been many times before, it's a good stop off if you are touring the south of Phuket - you can visit Rawai beach or Naiharn beach, maybe the 3 Beaches Viewpoint, and Cape Promthep, it's all pretty close together and it's a very scenic part of Phuket with (as yet) little major tourist development. This is the "classic" view of Promthep Cape:



You can see that it's just bare rock lower down on the cape, this being due to the pounding that the most south westerly point of Phuket can get during the "Southwest Monsoon" season. Can be very rough around Promthep. You can also see from the photo above that people are walking downhill towards the end of the cape. There is a dirt path that leads from the road beneath the lighthouse. And amazingly, after more than 10 years in Phuket, I had never walked down that path, never seen Promthep Cape from below. We've been here many times of course, and my wife told me that she did walk down there a long time ago (before we met) and she thought it was a hard hike. So on a sunny Saturday afternoon, I decided now was the time to see something new. The path near the top is quite steep, rocky and slippery, since it's all loose dirt. The lighthouse is about 200 feet above sea level so that gives an idea of how far the path drops. I walked carefully down the steeper section. A fisherman carrying all his gear strode past...



It flattens out after a couple of hundred meters and there's plenty of great views in all directions. First of all, a view I'd not seen before, looking back up to the top of Cape Promthep. Quite a number of people were walking down, but most stay at the top. By the time I walked up again there were hundreds of people waiting for the sunset. Down below it was much quieter...



A girl stood in just the right place to model unknowingly, gazing out to sea looking south towards Racha Yai and Racha Noi islands, with the island of Koh Kaew Yai closer to the cape on the right. We've been out to Koh Kaew Yai before, getting a longtail boat from Rawai Beach.



I did not walk right down to the rocks at the end of the cape, the path kind of disappeared near the end and I did not fancy too much rock scrambling, though plenty of people were doing it. I just found a rock to sit on, enjoying the sun and the view. This is the "end of Phuket" ...



The walk back up was not too hard really. Other people were still heading down including a party of Muslim schoolgirls from Yala who wanted to take photos with the handsome very big foreign guy. Guess they don't see so many tourists down in Yala (one of the Thai provinces in the far south where trouble is never ending with Muslim separatists). Hope they enjoyed their holiday in Phuket!



(above) View looking North while on the path down Cape Promthep - the island is called Koh Mun, it's just 200m away from the mainland, but as far as I know it's totally uninhabited. If you follow the coast north from Koh Mun you have Yanui beach and then Naiharn Beach.

There's a lot more to see in this part of Phuket which has not really been blogged yet. I have not been to Naiharn beach for ages and have always meant to visit Naiharn temple too. Nearby is little Yanui beach which I did blog back in 2006 but it needs revisiting. Rawai beach is good for a seafood lunch, and (unless it's low tide) you can get boats out to offshore islands. I do mean to get out to Koh Bon sometime soon, it's less than 2km from Rawai. Always more to explore. Always more to Phuket than meets the eye!

Google Map - Cape Phromthep Area


View Phromthep Cape, Phuket in a larger map

Read More

Kata Beach Hotels

Of the 3 "main" beaches in Phuket, Kata is thought to be the quietest, though I reckon Karon is just as quiet since everything is more spread out. Kata Beach, oddly enough is where (as far as I know) mass tourism started in Phuket, with the opening of the Club Med resort in 1985. Club Med is still there and takes up a large section of the land in front of the beach, though not actually on the beach - there is a small beach road between the resort and the sand. This road stays quiet, and another road behind Club Med takes any traffic heading from one end of Kata to the other. The main through road is even further from the beach - Patak Road is the "back" road behind Kata and Karon Beaches heading from Karon Circle up to the hill that leads over to Chalong Bay. Patak Road has some small hotels, and is where people actually live, with lots of small restaurants and businesses along the way.

Starting at the north end of Kata, you have an area just inland with a road leading down to the beach, this area is called Kata Center, lots of restaurants here and shops, opticians, some bars, a few dive shops and so on. Hotels in the area include the Marina Phuket resort, which actually faces onto Karon Beach, but you can walk to Kata beach in 5 minutes too, they are so close together. As the road splits just after Starbucks - you turn right to the beach just after the Peach Hill resort - a road heads up hill to the Avista Resort and the Aspasia Hotel. Meanwhile along the road behind Club Med are more bars, restaurants and a lot of hotels such as the Tropical Resort, Sawasdee Village, Kata Palm, Metadee Resort, Centara Kata, Sugar Palm, Malissa Villa Suites and more!

• Check Agoda.com for a full list of Kata Beach Hotels!

The last resort along the beach road is the big Kata Beach Resort, which is right on the beach. One road then heads away from the beach towards Patak Road (there are some smaller guesthouses down this way) while of you turn right after the beach road you pass the back of Kata Beach Resort and get to The Boathouse which also sits on the beach and is one of Phuket's older hotels and has a very well respected restaurant too. Tropical Garden Resort and Serene Resort nearby too. The south end of Kata is a surf zone - there are regular surf contests here in the low season and you find the very popular Ska Bar right at the end of the beach. After The Boathouse head another 100m and the road carries on straight and over a hill to Kata Noi Beach, or you can turn sharp left up a steep hill heading towards the Viewpoint and then on to Naiharn Beach and Phromthep Cape. At the corner is the Orchidacea resort and the Andaman Cannacia which is a few minutes hike up that steep road.

Recommended Kata Beach Hotels

Sawasdee Village



Sawasdee Village Resort and Spa (you gotta have the "and Spa" these days) has been in Phuket for a long time, opened in 1991 - a little oasis with gardens and water features, a very good spa (so I am told) and a definite olde Thai style feeling.

• Sawasdee Village - Review on Jamie's Phuket
• Sawasdee Village - Check Rates and Availability @ Agoda.com
• Sawasdee Village - Over 1200 Reviews @ Agoda.com

Avista Resort



Avista is quite new - opened end of 2009, on the hill overlooking the sea at the north end of Kata beach. A modern hotel with all the mod cons, and gets a lot of very good reviews. Close to the beach and and Kata Center.

• Avista Resort - Review on Jamie's Phuket
• Avista Resort - Check Rates and Availability @ Agoda.com
• Avista Resort - Over 1,000 Reviews @ Agoda.com

CC's Hideaway Hotel



CC's Hideaway (previously CC Blooms) is a different kind of place to stay - up in the hills, great view but not at all by the beach, it used to be promoted as gay-friendly (something to do with Bette Midler) but I think the new owners have dropped that tag. I've been up several times to pick up diving customers, looks like a nice little hideaway to me!

• CC's Hideaway - Review on Jamie's Phuket
• CC's Hideaway - Check Rates and Availability @ Agoda.com
• CC's Hideaway - 90+ Reviews @ Agoda.com

Mom Tri's Villa Royale



Certainly one of the best hotels in Phuket, almost always gets rave reviews. Villa Royale actually overlooks Kata Noi beach and would be about a 15 minute walk to the busier area at the south end of Kata beach. It's built in old Thai style, individual villas on the hillside, and a top restaurant too.

• Mom Tri's Villa Royale - Review on Jamie's Phuket
• Mom Tri's Villa Royale - Check Rates and Availability @ Agoda.com
• Mom Tri's Villa Royale - 200+ Reviews @ Agoda.com

Kata Palm Resort



Kata Palm resort I'd say is more of a family oriented hotel, big pool and kids pools, lots of rooms, a few minutes walk to the beach and close to lots of restaurants at the south end of Kata Beach.

• Kata Palm Resort - Review on Jamie's Phuket
• Kata Palm Resort - Check Rates and Availability @ Agoda.com
• Kata Palm Resort - Over 900 Reviews @ Agoda.com


More Kata Beach Hotel Suggestions

• Ibis Kata Resort review on Jamie's Phuket
• Katathani Resort review on Jamie's Phuket
• Kata Beach Resort Info & Booking at Agoda.com
• Aspasia Hotel Info & Booking at Agoda.com
• Metadee Resort Info & Booking at Agoda.com
• More Kata Beach Hotels @ Agoda.com

Read More