Jamie's Phuket Links

This is the place to find more information about Phuket. There are so many web sites, it can be hard to dig through and find accurate and useful information. Below you can find links to recommended websites. If you know of a site that should be included in this list or wish to exchange links with Jamie's Phuket, please leave a comment or email to jjjjmonk AT yahoo DOT co DOT uk. I'll add more anyway as I think of them...

General Phuket Information

PhuketDelight.com – Ted’s website likes to get off the beaten track
Phuket Weather Blog – with lots of weather links
Phuket Scuba Diving - Sunrise Divers, Karon Beach
Knut Angstroms People and Places in Phuket - lots of local life here
Phuketindex.com - Phuket Web Directory
Phuket.net - Phuket Travel Info

Phuket News and Media

Phuket Gazette
The Phuket News
Phuket FM Radio

WINDOW on Phuket
www.windowonphuket.com

Phuket’s monthly showcase of lifestyle products and services. Window on Phuket is a directory of shopping, property, cars and boats with reviews on dining venues and spas, features, useful tips and What's On in Phuket.


Phuket Hotels

My Recommended Phuket Hotels
Phuket Hotels Direct
Booking at Agoda.com
Booking at HotelsCombined.com
R24.org (Sawadee)
Phuket Hotels by Farangs.com

Travel

Phuket Airport
Bus Timetable
Airport Bus
Phuket Ferry Timetables and Booking

Airlines

Thai Airways
Air Asia
Nok Air
Bangkok Airways
Tiger Airways (direct flights from Singapore)
Orient Thai Airlines

Car Rental

Pure Car Rent
Braun Car Rent
Budget Rent-a-Car
Sutin Car Rent

Health and Hospitals

Bangkok Hospital Phuket - my son was born here
Phuket International Hospital
Mission Hospital
Vachira Hospital
Patong Hospital
Optician - Better Vision - I get my specs here
Rang Hill Dental Clinic - I've had dental work here
Phuket Detox

Adventure Activities

Sunrise Divers Phuket Diving
Amazing Bike Tours
Phuket Bungy Jump
Go Kart Racing
Sea Canoe Tours

Real Estate

Siam Real Estate - Find your dream home in Phuket!
Phuket Seaview Real Estate

Government

Phuket Immigration
Phuket Tourism

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Old Phuket Hotel (Karon Beach)

Karon Beach is far less busy and developed than nearby Patong. There's only a few miles between them, but follow the winding road from Patong and you find that Karon is clean, neat and rather nice. Some would say dull, but you can't please everyone! Recent improvements to the beachfront include nice pavements, statues, and plenty of benches to stop for a rest in the shade. Read more here: Karon Beach.

The Old Phuket Hotel is on a quiet side road called Aroona Karon which is now closed to through traffic making it very pleasant. You're just a few minutes walk from the beach, but away from any crowds. The hotel also has something approaching style - not just another resort, it's built in the old Sino-Portuguese style which you can see remnants of in Phuket Town. Rooms and furniture match the old style, well..nearly... I guess they did not have satellite TV's in the old days! Or jacuzzis for that matter. The Private Jacuzzi room looks just great.

There are 2 restaurants, 2 bars, pool, sauna, fitness center..you know, all the usual stuff, but with style :) The views from the pool are great with the hills rising to the east of Karon beach it feels like a little oasis. The main Karon centre is about 15 minutes walk to the north, the other end of Karon about 20 minutes to the south. I think it's one of the nicest places in Karon Beach.

The Old Phuket Hotel - Booking Links and Reviews

• Old Phuket Rates and Reservations at Agoda.com
• Old Phuket Hotel Reviews


Old Phuket Hotel - Photos







Phuket Hotels - More Information - Online Booking

• More of Jamie's Phuket Hotel Suggestions
• Top 10 Phuket Hotels
• Phuket Hotels - Book Online at Agoda.com
• Thailand Hotel Booking at Agoda.com

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Ao Phang Nga Bay

Phang Nga Bay has to be on everyone's "must do" list when visiting Phuket. The scenery in the bay is stunning with limestone cliffs and rocks climbing from the water, mangroves and jungle toppped pinnacles. If you had your own sailing boat you could cruise around for days. Some parts are quite remote and can be reached on multi day kayak tours, but most people visit on a day trip or half day tour, and they come in their hundreds on a daily basis. However you do it, Ao Phang Nga is undeniably beautiful, just you may need to carefully frame photos to keep the people out of the picture.

If you want the place to yourself, wake up really early, drive your car up to Phang Nga and hire a longtail boat. We drove up last Sunday, me and my wife, 2 kids and my mum. A really early start was not on the cards, but we were there by 10am at the National Park Pier. Not early enough to beat the crowds but Phang Nga Bay is still a great place to visit. Note - this post was written in 2007 and we've done several Phang Nga Bay trips since...

Phang Nga Bay - More Info

(Update) We made a couple of great trips into Phang Nga bay in 2010 - hiring a longtail boat from a restaurant called Samchong Seafood, and heading to James Bond Island and Koh Panyee Village. We actually decided on an afternoon trip, had lunch at the restaurant and took a longtail out from about 2pm - 6pm. For more detailed info on those trips and places click the links below:

• Phang Nga Bay Tour - doing it our way!
• Samchong Seafood Restaurant
• James Bond Island
• Ko Panyee Village





(above) Longtail boats in Phang Nga Bay



(above) This rocky islet is supposed to look like a dog, it's called Khao Ma Chu.

Best to let the pictures do the talking, worth a thousand words and all that. We hired our own longtail for 1500 Baht (note - this was in 2007) and chugged around for about 4 hours. I think we hired Thailand's slowest longtail, but no matter, it was ours and that sure beats being on a tour. It was a hot day, and we were glad we had taken some bottles of water on the boat, though we were also able to get refreshments at Koh Panyee, the village on stilts (not floating), half of which is now tourist restaurants. If you stop at Panyee, walk through the restaurants and souvenir stalls and you can wander around the village. You will probably get lost in the maze of narrow walkways. My mum paid a kid 20 Baht to help her find the restaurant again :)





(above) Me and Mum on the longtail boat



(above) View of Panyee village



(above) Closer to Koh Panyee - it's a Muslim island.

We also stopped at the very well known James Bond Island. Here you may need to pay a National Park fee of 200 Baht. Lots of steps up and down along a narrow path take you to a small beach with a view of Koh Tapu, the rock that sticks up in many postcards. Don't let the photos fool you, it's normallypretty crowded! Lots of stalls selling jewelry and shells and tourist tat. Look the other way and it's great.







(above) Views at James Bond Island



(above) Also James Bond Island! Loads of souvenir stalls.

The main island you land on is actually called Khao Ping Gan (spell it how you like). The name refers to a leaning rock which is quite impressive. There are also a few little caves you can climb into. The kids enjoyed the caves. The famous little island that sticks up is called Koh Tapu ("Nail Island"). Smaller than most people expect, but very picturesque nonetheless. Now, where did I put my golden gun?



(above) The leaning rock at Khao Ping Gan





(above) Views through the caves at James Bond Island

Actually, "James Bond Island" is the only crowded place aside from the restaurants at Koh Panyee - As mentioned above, we have done the trip again and one time we got to James Bond Island around 5pm and were the only visitors! It's a beautiful area. I find Panyee very interesting once you get beyond the restaurants and stalls. Tours that are done "our way" to Phang Nga Bay can be booked via some friends of mine at Easy Day Thailand. This is certainly a must-do if you are in the Phuket area!

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Naithon Beach

Naithon Beach is one of our favourite beaches in Phuket, located in the North West of the island, North of Bang Tao and a bit South of Nai Yang. It's not that easy to get to. The roads around there are narrow and winding, and it's quite a way off the main airport road. For now it stays pretty quiet, though in recent years there has been new building work going on. There are just a few hotels, such as the Naithonburi, and not a huge selection of places to eat. For the most part, there is just a single row of buildings along the beach road, and while there are beach chairs along the sand, plenty of the beach is left "au naturel".

Update 2010 - Naithon is more heavily developed now, but compared to the main beaches (Patong, Karon, Kata) it's still way quieter.



It's not a long beach, you can walk from one end to the other in about 10 minutes. The sand is slightly squeaky. We like this area of Phuket, away from the main tourist beaches. The hills are still green, and the valleys are full of rubber plantations. The roads wind up and down, the views are sometimes stunning... Naithon beach is a great place to stay if you like it quiet. We stopped there last week for a walk on the beach and a bit of lunch. In the restaurant only 2 tables were occupied, the food was decent (nothing flashy here) and despite being by the road, it was peaceful. There's not much traffic, though most of what we saw was building related, so if more construction starts, Naithon could get noisier. Time to make hay while the sun shines...

• Hotels in the Naithon Beach Area

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Kamala Temple (Wat Baan Kamala)

Unless you were living on the moon, you will know about the tsunami that happened on December 26th 2004. Certainly, the people in Kamala know what happened. Kamala beach was the worst hit of all Phuket's beaches, and was where I was sitting with family and friends on Christmas Day, one day before "it" happened.





Check out this photo of Kamala temple which shows water up to the roof:



Much of the temple, along with the school and most of Kamala's beachfront, was destroyed on December 26th 2004. I remember visiting the temple some years ago for Songkran, as we had friends living in Kamala. This week was the first time I have been back to the temple since then. Of course, everything is clean and new. In 2005, the temple grounds were given a special makeover by an Australian TV show called Backyard Blitz. New rooms were also built for the monks. It was quite a feat - one of many charitable acts that helped Kamala back on it's feet.




The temple is at the far south end of the beach, which is a little aside from the hotels. Kamala is not as developed for tourism as some other beaches in Phuket, but the main beach road has bars, restaurants, dive shops and more. Still, Kamala retains a quiet air and is a good place to stay if people want peace and quiet, but within striking distance of the main tourist beaches.

We had a quick look around the temple and grounds. It's not grand, it's not huge. It is the local temple for Kamala beach.

 

• More about Kamala Beach
• More Phuket Temples

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Local temples - Ket Ho (in Kathu district)

The Kathu area of Phuket, which lies (roughly) between Phuket City and Patong Beach was the old tin mining capital of Phuket - it was tin (along with rubber, fishing, coconuts, palm oil and more) that made Phuket a relatively wealthy province of Thailand long before any tourists arrived. The tin boom started in the 18th century, bringing many Chinese workers to Phuket, which accounts for the large Chinese-Thai population that you see today (very different to surrounding provinces). The whole area is covered in ponds and lakes, all of which are former tin mines.



There are a number of Chinese shrines in the area such as Kathu shrine and Sam Kong Shrine, and also some Wats (Buddhist temples). On Sunday we had a look at Ket-Ho temple (located at Ket Ho junction near the Prince of Songkhla University), and later in the afternoon, visited Kathu temple on the edge of Kathu village. I have driven by the Ket Ho temple a thousand times. It's on the bus route from Phuket Town to Patong, up a slight hill. Like many local temples, it was quiet and uncrowded (only us there), save for a number of noisy dogs. I don't believe the temple has anything spectacular to offer, but I just like local temples.







Not too far away is Kathu temple just outside of the old Kathu village.

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Phuket Beaches

Oddly this blog doesn't talk that often about Phuket's many beaches, which is rather surprising since most visitors come to Phuket for a "beach holiday", and Phuket does have rather a lot of very nice stretches of sand. But I try to keep a personal touch to the blog, and to be honest I’m not much of a beach person. I don't go and sit on the beach. We go (as a family) to the beach now and then to let the kids play, or we might eat by the sea, but if we want a swim we prefer to take the kids to a pool. If we do decide to sit on a beach for a while, we’ll normally avoid the main Phuket beaches, preferring to find a quiet spot.

Pretty much every beach in Phuket is on the west coast, stretching some 45km from Mai Khao beach in the north to Rawai in the South. The 3 main tourist beaches of Patong, Karon and Kata are in the southern half of the island. Away from these beaches there are some very secluded spots and many beaches that are largely undeveloped. Some have just a few hotels or resorts, most have long stretches of uncrowded sand. Some are a bit rocky at low tide....



(above) This photo was taken at "Khao Kad Beach" at Cape Panwa on the east side of Chalong Bay - can be rocky at low tide, but one of our favourite little restaurants is right here. As time goes by, I’ll post more information about many of the beaches. This is just a very quick introduction, and may not mention every possible Phuket beach.

Of course before heading to Phuket you'll need a hotel first. Have a look at these blog posts :

• Recommended Phuket Hotels
• Top 10 Phuket Hotels
• Best Family Hotels
• Best Luxury Hotels

Phuket Beaches on Jamie’s Phuket

Karon Beach

Karon is developed, but nothing like Patong. Still has a quieter feel to it. The beach is long, the sand is fine, and there are accommodation options to suit everyone - 5 star to fan rooms in guesthouses... The beach area has been revamped over the last couple of years, and every time I hit Karon after coming from Patong I think "wow, this is nice". Karon is clean and well looked after, though can be accused of being rather "boring" since much of the beachfront is taken up by resorts such as the Hilton Arcadia, Thavorn Palm Beach, South Sea Resort, Andaman Seaview and many more. There are 2 main "centres" at either end of the beach. The south end is quieter and is only a few minutes from Kata, so is a good location. I work there as manager of Sunrise Divers.



• Some suggested Karon Beach Hotels
• Karon Beach Hotels - Full List @ Agoda.com
• More about Karon Beach

Nai Yang Beach

Just south of Phuket Airport, Nai Yang beach has a few nice resorts and part of the beach is a National Park. Some beachfront restaurants close to the Nai Yang Beach Resort, but otherwise very quiet. Some lower budget places away from the beach too.

• More about Nai Yang Beach
• Hotels near Nai Yang Beach @ Agoda.com


Kamala Beach

The first beach North of Patong (unless you count Kalim and Nakalay), Kamala is not as developed as the other 3 main beaches and being a largely Muslim community has a different feel. When I came to Phuket in 1999 I don’t think there were any bars in Kamala. It was hard enough to buy a beer in a local shop! There are a few bars now, but even now parts of Kamala beach are more like a local fishing community. There are a few bigger hotels and a smattering of small resorts and guesthouses. The North end of the beach is very quiet. Kamala was the worst hit of Phuket’s beaches on December 26th 2004 and it took a while to get back to normal. Kamala is also home to Phuket Fantasea, one of Phuket’s biggest tourist attractions.



• Kamala Beach - More Information and Photos
• Kamala Beach Hotels
• Kamala Temple

Laem Ka Beach

One of Phuket’s quiet secrets and not well signposted… located just before Rawai on the road from Chalong. No hotels, no restaurants except a little restaurant, just some sand, rocks and a great view. I know it's not as secret as it used to be though.... but still worth a visit.



• More about Laem Ka Beach

Ao Sane Beach

Barely known, Ao Sane is home to some bungalows and the Baan Krating Jungle Resort. To get there you first come to Naiharn beach, and must drive through the Yacht Club Resort. A quiet spot with a nice view across Naiharn bay. There is one small restaurant serving Thai food. I find it a nice place for a cold afternoon beer.

Ya Nui Beach

A tiny little place just North of Naiharn, Ya Nui has a few bungalows which have been rebuilt following the tsunami which hit this little beach hard. I have never seen more than a dozen people here but it has got more popular recently. Has a small restaurant and good snorkeling in high season.

• More about Ya Nui Beach
• More about Ao Sane beach - yeh, needs updating

Naithon Beach

In between Nai Yang and Bang Tao you find Naithon. The roads in are winding and hilly, and the beach is not very developed. A few small resorts, a few places to eat, a little dive shop ... it's still a quiet spot, though some new hotels are appearing.



• More about Naithon beach
• Naithonburi Resort Review
• More Hotels near Naithon Beach

Kata Noi Beach

Kata Noi is the end of the road. Just a few minutes drive from Kata Beach, it's home to the Kata Thani Resort and Mom Tri's Villa Royale, yet retains a quiet feeling, mainly I think because the road goes nowhere!



• More about Kata Noi Beach
• Katathani Resort Review
• Mom Tri's Villa Royale Review
• More Hotels near Kata Noi Beach

Rawai Beach

Close to Chalong Bay, Rawai is full of small restaurants and food stalls and is a great place to rent a longtail boat to nearby islands. Not a swimming beach really, but makes a good stop off on a tour of the SW corner of Phuket.

• More about Rawai beach
• Hotels near Rawai Beach
• Boat trip from Rawai Beach to Koh Kaew Yai island

Layan Beach

Layan is very nice - a real beautiful spot at the far north end of Bang Tao. Part of the beach is a national park. There are a couple of resorts here, but they are built off the beach and do not detract from the beauty of the area. Very quiet. We have been a few times recently for little BBQ's.



• More about Layan Beach

More Phuket Beaches...

Patong Beach

Not my favourite place in the world, Patong is the most developed tourist real estate in Thailand, and for the most part has not been made to look really pretty. If you are looking for full on tourism, plenty of accommodation and shopping, loads of restaurants, a shed load of bars and a beach full of beach chairs and umbrellas, Patong is the place to be! I tend to visit Patong only if necessary for business, though there are some great hotels and a few places to eat that I like and even Patong has quiet spots away from the centre of town, such as Paradise Beach. And I guess the north end of Patong is not too bad.

• Recommended Patong Beach Hotels - yes, there are lots of good ones!
• Patong Beach Hotels - Full List at Agoda.com
• More about Paradise Beach



Kata Beach

Of the main beaches, Kata is more popular with younger people, and is a very scenic beach with the island of Koh Pu offshore and with lots of accommodation nearby, but very little right on the beach since most of the beach road is taken up by Club Med. Only at the South end are other places right on the beach, such as Kata Beach Resort and The Boathouse. Kata somehow retains a quiet feel despite being pretty busy. Just over the hill to the south is the even quieter Kata Noi.

• Some Recommended Kata Beach Hotels
• Kata Beach Hotels - Full List at Agoda.com



Bang Tao Beach

Home to the Laguna resorts and a couple of other hotels, but Bang Tao village is not close to the beach, so if you stay there you need to drive or take a taxi to find any local life or more dining options. The Laguna hotels are some of the best in Phuket. There are also some other great hotel options in the area - most are quite expensive resorts, though with late booking you can get a very good deal - see Bang Tao Beach Hotels.

Surin Beach

Was very quiet a few years ago, but has rapidly developed. A lot of new hotels over the last few years such as Twin Palms and the new Doubletree Resort, and a lot of condos/villas/apartments on the hillsides near the beach. Still, the beachfront is not that busy, and there are loads of small beachside restaurants. We like a small one right at the far North end. Surin is just North of Kamala. In between you find Laem Singh beach which has been touted as a quiet beach for many years and thus is not any more! In 1999 when I came here, Laem Sing was very quiet and made a nice getaway from Patong. Now, if you want quiet, I think there are better options.

• Surin Beach Hotels



(above) my young boy at Surin Beach, way back in 2006



(above) Laem Sing Beach, year 2000. It was very quiet in those days!

OK, that’ll do for now. I have not even mentioned Mai Khao beach, Naiharn beach, Banana Beach, Freedom beach ... I guess some more "beach" blog posts are needed, but like I say, I’m not really a beach bum!

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