30 days in Phuket area - best family friendly beaches?
 

Hi, we are planning a trip to Southern Thailand in Jan / Feb next year. I'm travelling with my wife and 3 yd old daughter. We are flying into Phuket and planning to stay on the west coast (as apparently the weather is better on this side at this time of year). We'll be in Phuket area / Southern Thailand for 30 days and we are looking for the best beaches to visit and places to stay which are the most family friendly.

We know there are loads of other great places to go in Thailand, I've been there a couple of times before but we are really looking for a month of chilling out and beach time. To put it into context, our trip is 2 months in total and the other month we'll be travelling around Hong Kong, Malaysia and Vietnam so will be plenty of sightseeing in this month. We're also flying up to northern Thailand to spend a week in Udon Thani. So with this 30 days we are really looking to keep our travelling to an absolute minimum and relax and enjoy some of the amazing beaches in this part of the world.

We had a rough itinerary in mind but would love to hear if people think it is a good plan or if anyone has any other good suggestions on nice places to go or stay - particularly that is suitable for a toddler.

So - we were thinking ...

1 week in Phuket (we've booked nr Kamala as this seemed family friendly)

2/3 nights in Khao Sok national park - think this should be fun and an experience with our little one, someone advised me to take a car don't know if anyone has any personal experiences here. Someone else then told me I was mad to take a toddler to the National Park so I'm now unsure of whether this is a good or crazy idea. Another option if too risky to stay overnight is a day trip - again would love to hear of anything thinks this is worth it.

We looked at Koh Lak but some people said don't bother as its not that different or unique from the islands - but other people have recommended and said it is very chilled, would be interested in any other opinions?

1 week in Yao Noi - this was highly recommended by Travelfish guide but looking at hotels seems very expensive here, not sure if this is worth a trip or not now. Probably one or the other - Ko Lak or Yao Noi?

1 week in Koh Lanta - again looks very family friendly and was recommended

Then 1 week in either Koh Lipe (beaches look incredible) or possibly Ko Jum - again I'm going off the Travelfish guides which absolutely raves about Ko Jum even though its apparently not the best beaches. Another possibility is maybe the Trang Islands.

From there we are going south in Malaysia (so as Koh Lipe is the closest probably does make sense to stop there).

If anyone is still reading - thank you - and I'd really appreciate any thoughts on our current itinerary, feel free to rip it apart (!) - would love to know any other suggestions on places we might be missing or particularity any good family friendly places to stay with a 3yr old.

I guess my main questions are -
Stay overnight at the National Park or not? or day trip?
Spend a week in either Yao Noi or Koh Lak?
Is Krabi worth staying over night?
For our final week which island would you choose? Koh Lipe / Ko Jum or one of the Trang Islands?

I'd also love to hear if anyone just has any great suggestions for days out or things to do around this area that would be suitable with our 3yr old.

Our budget is mid range, we can afford about £100 a night for accommodation.

Many thanks to anyone who finds the time to reply
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