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Phuket - Surin Beach or Nai Harn?

Bellaroonie32318

54

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 03 February 2011 - 19:16

Can anyone help - I am looking at going to Phuket over Easter and renting a villa. Have narrowed it down to either Surin Beach or Nai Harn - can anyone recommend which is better..we have 3 small children if it makes any difference?? Thank you.

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390

Posts

EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 07 February 2011 - 16:07

We went to Surin Beach last April and stayed at the Ayara Hilltops and had the best holiday ever. beautiful beach that has private sections for each hotel, amazing local food... boat trips to monkey island, The Island where the film "The Beach" was filmed. I did loads of research on Trip advisor for hotels, restaurants, thing to do etc.

247

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 07 February 2011 - 10:16

One of our best holidays ever was to Karon Beach in Phuket, so you never can tell until you try it for yourself!

829

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 07 February 2011 - 10:07

You can experience whichever end of the tourism spectrum that you choose when you visit Phuket. You can avoid the touristy stuff if you choose to. We've had some of our best family holidays there over the years without eating McDonalds once. Food on the beach can be authentic and reasonably priced. BTW. I love Blackpool in all it's gory glory :D

619

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 07 February 2011 - 10:04

Sorry, Fister, I have to disagree with you about Samui. Both Phuket and Samui are huge tourist destinations and they both have their positives and negatives, but I feel they both have more negatives, such as rip offs and crime. Samui is far more expensive than Phuket and many other places in Thailand and for no reason. I can recommend a good web site to check on: www.thaivisa.com Check the Thai travel section, as they have plenty of threads on each area.

Bellaroonie32318

54

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 06 February 2011 - 13:24

Thank you for all the advice - will be a little gutted too if it is like Blackpool! Not flying all that way to eat McDonalds....Will review the situation...Koh Samui looks lovely but not many villas to choose from...

1

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 04 February 2011 - 17:21

We recently returned from Phuket where we rented a villa which was roughly in between Nai Harn and Chalong. I have to say that it's the most disappointing holiday I've ever been on. If you're looking for white sandy beaches, the image I had of Phuket before I went, then you won't find them unless you visit one of the nearby islands. The beaches in Phuket are extremely crowded with row after row of sun beds and the entire place is full of restaurants and bars that cater to tourists (English fish & chips, pies, pizza's and MacDonalds) interspersed between massage parlours and tattoo parlours. If that's not what you're looking for and you want a more authentic taste of Thailand, I would look at Koh Samui or somewhere similar. I certainly would not go back there. Being from the UK, it reminded me very much of Blackpool.

619

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 04 February 2011 - 10:41

I don't have kids, so I can't comment on things to do with kids, but I did live on Phuket for one year, near Surin Beach. Surin and Nai Harn are very different from each other. If it's a choice, I would suggest Nai Harn. It's much more peaceful and away from much of the traffic. Surin is very crowded and it has lots of traffic on a narrow main road and the main soi. It's not pedestrian friendly at all, like most of the towns / cities in Thailand and there are many traffic mishaps. I avoid using the term accident on purpose. I've seen many pedestrians or motorcycle drivers hit by vehicles and I've seen a few deaths from this. Nai Harn, on the other hand is a little out of the way, but you have access to some gorgeous smaller islands for day trips, like Koh Hey (Coral Island), Koh Lon, Raya and Koh Bon. You should go to Promthep Cape for the sunset, Friendship beach, Chalong Bay and Panwa Cape. You could also go to the main beach areas for a day or half a day. Karon is the nicest, Patong is good for shopping, restaurants and night life. Just be aware that the Thai summer is from March to May and it gets really hot and humid with very little rain. If you need any more help, just let me know.

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