me and my girl are traveling to phuket later in the year . as this is our first time we are a little lost , so i have a zillion questions to ask

first off , which part of phuket is the best area / hotel to stay 3 0r 4 star , and what and where is the best transport from the airport to the hotel . were can you change money , is it better to change it here in australia or when we get there to phuket . and what kind of activities / tours can we do and sites to see , a great place to shop (for the girl ) .
and what kind of beer is there ? , we have traveled to bali many times a use around a hundred dollars a day , what kind of a budget will we need in phuket . is it much dearer in phuket than bali ?

thanx screamin

Chaweng beach would be a good place to start. You'll probably get a better exchange rate in Thailand then in Australia and dont worry, you'll find all the beers at Phuket!

Heineken, Corona, Singha, chang..plenty :)

Nope, you will DEFINITELY get a better exchange rate in Thailand than Australia! Don't change any money at all before coming. You will not need any Thai baht whatsoever between getting off the plane and getting to an airport ATM. The foreign exchange rates are much better inside Thailand than outside and there are ATMs everywhere (including the airport). There are also bank exchange booths at the airport which are open 24/7 ... well in BKK they are...perhaps someone can confirm if it's the same for Phuket?

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“Not all those who wander are lost.” Tolkien.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Ahhh - how much do I love Phuket..... well I too used to be a Bali traveller until I found Phuket. I believe that Phuket today is Bali 20 years ago but with mod cons. Money changing will not be an issue as there are plenty of money changers everywhere and yes, the rate is far better in Phuket than here so really, don't bother changing any before you get there.

Shopping wise, man, it is everywhere! Literally! We stayed at a relatively small place called Baan Sukhothai which is the main drag of Bangla Road where all the nightly entertainment happens. Believe it or not by day it is shopping, you go back to your room to shower, swim or get ready for dinner and walk outside to the same road and it's like walking into the middle of the Royal Melbourne Show. Surprisingly though, you cannot hear any of the noise from your room.

I would not hesitate to stay there again at all. The place although smallish had great staff, brilliant location, smallish pool but given the size of the place it really is big enough and lets face it, it is cold and wet.

You walked out the front of the place and the beach was like 50 metres to your left and more shops 50 metres to your right. Manicures and Massages are a bargain on the beach as it is with Bali so we headed down there for that type of stuff although we also checked into a day spa on our last day for some mega pampering and that was like 2 doors down to the right for memory and - it was airconditioned!

I have included the link to their website for you to take a look and believe it or not, it really does look like it says it does.

Shopping - oh wow - there is shopping all over the place. One of the best places that we found though was the night market. We found that the only people that really hassled you there were the tailors and once they knew that you didn't want anything they pretty much left you alone. Even you will like this market - at the end of each row there is a bar!!! Yep - a place to sit, cool down and drink. We left the men there and went back to them with our parcels to drop off. They give you cool face towels to chill you down so that you are ready to tackle it all again in the next row. They barter well and all in all, a great experience.

Beer - yes, they have them all and the local stuff is lovely. This coming from a CUB employee has to be a good recommendation!

You will have a ball there.

Laundry places are all over the shop as well and I think for memory it was like maybe $5 a kilo and it comes back the next day all neat, clean and smelling gorgeous.

Food is sensational and again, our location meant that we were near some fab places including the Aussie Bar just down the road which made great sambos and has the footy!!

I think I have rambled on long enough now but any more questions feel free to ask.

Cheers

to Baan Sukhothai, Phuket Patong Beach, Thailand

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Coulda..Shoulda..Woulda

thanx for all your input , it seems that patong beach is the main tourist area and the place to be in all the action , we are excited to go to a new country , culture and cant wait till the next few months to fly by and it will be up up and away with jetstar ....

1 more question is it easy getting transport at anytime of the night

god i'm getting to be a pain , what kind of weather are we likely to have in november in phuket

Phuket is fantastic, we have been 6 times and leaving in a few weeks for trip number 7 (for a 2 month stay)

Have also been to Bali 3 times but prefer Phuket by a long shot.

As recommended above, do not change money before you leave, its easy to do there.
Now for the shopping, its far better than Bali, loads more choice, the normal touristy type souvenir shopping is a bit dearer than Bali, but there is a lot more better quality goods.

I have just updated a Phuket Price Guide with loads of prices and photos of things you can buy, lots of good photos of copy handbags as well.

There also a section on things to see and do, eating out, transport etc.

A must do would be John Greys Sea Canoe Starlight Tour or a day with Phuket Sailing tours. Fantasic!
A different way to see some things is to do an ATV tour, great fun, all of this is also covered on my link below along with prices and photos.
Cathy
CATHY & GARY'S TRAVEL PAGES

Dead easy getting transport. There are Tuk Tuks everywhere just make sure you barter a price before you begin your trip (same as Bali).

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Coulda..Shoulda..Woulda

A must see!

Camp as christmas, very tacky but superbly staged! And not too poofy! (coming from two old queens I suppose thats a good thing!) we took 2 couples from the depths of coober pedy with us and they loved it! (so cant be that bad!)

Make your own way there to avoid transport rip offs (i,e, tour coaches), its just south of patong, get there 1hr before showtime as they have dirt cheap shots in the bar outside!!

If you make it into karon (very quiet, almost dead!) chilli and starfish (past the hilton and thavorn, south end) restaraunt served up a mean curry and prawn cakes to die for! Plus the beers ice cold!!!

yay!!!

Enjoy!!

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" good morning starshine.......the earth says hello "

hi we have stayed at the saan hotel recommend by misskez.
ground floor across from pool very large room kingbed+single heaps of room to walk around great location,food and staff was wonderful especially to kids nothing was a problem they even cooked food i requested for child all over i rate this hotel 100 points would definately stay there again.
cheers
jo