Doing differently in Phuket
 

Hi...I'll be going on a 4 day Phuket holiday with my wife and 2 kids, 7 and 4 years old. We've been there a few times before, always just doing the usual th ing -- swimming in the hotel pool, lazing in the beach, eating and shopping. Am thinking of what we can do differently this time. We're staying at the Marriott Beach Club at Talang.

I've done some preliminary reading and thinking of renting a car and (a) visiting Old Phuket town for a day (b) going to the Fantasea (?) show (c) checking out the Gibbons reserve (d) exploring one of the more secluded beaches known only to the locals

Any other suggestions ?

Thanks

Eric B.

Hopefully a stupid question: Have you done the day trip to Phang Nga bay? It really is a fantastic place. The sea canoe tours are great (you're not on the canoes the whole time, just to see the caves) but you can do just a boat tour as well.

Old Phuket town is interesting, but I wonder if the kids will think so.

You may find this article on Travelfish re Phuket Town of interest:

http://www.travelfish.org/feature/236

I am going to Phuket. I have an Eyewitness Guide for Phuket and the Top 10 of things. Under the Top 10 things for Children's activities - in no particular order is. Phuket Fantasea, Elephant Rides (siamsafari.com), Splash Jungle Waterpark, Phuket Aquarium, Phuket Zoo, Aqua Zone Marine Park, Phuket Buggerfly Garden and Insect World and paintball. Not sure why you'd want to do paintball when you can do it at home but that's what the guide book said!

good information, thanks!

I have questions on the scuba diving in Phi Phi islands, wondering if it has become too commercial in the area and how really good is the diving, How can I reach out to creliston directly on these boards.
Thanks

Hillary, let me suggest that you start your own thread, something like "Scuba Diving in PhiPhi?"

That will alert people who know about scuba diving in/near PhiPhi to read and answer your question.

There is no way on Fodors to send a private message to a particular poster.

Hillarymess - kathie is right, It best start a new message to get the best responses (scuba in the title always helps as there are only a few of us that are into diving). However as I have seen your post my thoughts are that it is not the best area for diving. admittedly it has been a few years since I dived there but I do recall being disappointed and quite shocked by the amount of dead coral around. The Thai authorities do not seem particularly great at preserving parts of their environment, enforcing marine park rules etc.

Most of the diving seemed to be relatively shallow sites and I am sure there are some great snorkelling sites around OK for a dive or two but it would not be a place I would go to for a diving as the main activity.

The best diving for me in Thailand was in The Similan and Surin Islands which we did from Khoa Lak on a liveaboard for a few days. I believe it is also now possible to get there on a day trip by fast boat from Phuket

Thank you both for the input sorry to reach out this way. Your response actually was very helpful and answered my question.