My husband and I have 4 nights to fill in between staying at Bangkok and Sukhothai on our holiday to Thailand. We cannot seem to choose betwenn travelling to Phuket or Hua Hin. Can anybody please advise us which will be the more friendly and memorable of the two (when it comes to people, sights and things to do).? Your help would be greatly appreciated.<BR>

Both are very very different.<BR><BR>Hua Hin- takes about 3 hours by taxi/car with driver. Beaches not as good as Phuket. Quiet relaxed place, lots of spa hotels, most hotels are directlt on the beach. Evenings are night market, restaurants, fairly quiet bars and cafes, stroll around town. Old palace, golf courses, nearby national park.<BR><BR>Phuket: Flights very frequent, takes just over 1 hr. Beaches range from quite to hectic. Most absolute beachfront hotels are on the smaller quieter beaches. Lots to see and do.<BR><BR>To sum up, Hua Hin is close to Bangkok, cheaper to get to, but rather quiet.<BR><BR>Phuket is much more geared to tourism and more to see and do.<BR><BR>Hope that helps.<BR><BR>Good hotels in each place I would say 'Anantara' in Hua Hin and 'Chedi' in Phuket.

i agree with the general assessment of the previous respondant...we had 6 days in hua hin in november and loved it...we are middle aged, not bar hoppers, but well traveled....<BR>i think hh nite life is bascially boring, but the restaurants are good and numerous...access is easy...<BR>it is more of an old fashioned resort for sun and surf, with a small town atmosphere...the nite market was not good in our opinion..<BR><BR>phuket on the other hand, which i only know from reputation, is a world class place, over run and tawdy...that is not a negetive for some....i expect the beaches are nicer, but very busy...<BR><BR>i would go back to hua hin in a minute...its restful and pleasing, but not exotic and lively

Hua Hin and Phuket are very different. Hua Hin is a place if you want to spend most of your time in the hotel, there are some very nice hotels indeed.<BR>Phuket on the other hand is an island which has a choice from very busy to very quiet.<BR>Sadly 'reputations' are often built by people with no experience or knowledge of a place. There are beaches on Phuket that are very very quiet, very relaxing. There are also beaches such as Kata and Karon that suit those who want it somewhat quiet but also want the benefit of restaurants shops and some entertainment.<BR>If you want a lively resort then Patong offers plenty to see and do ( oh, and 1 street which has lively bars/clubs etc, note, 1 street ). There are bars and restaurants all across the resort.<BR>Nightlife includes world famous Phuket Fantasea and Phuket Simon. <BR>The Laguna resort area offers a wide range of places such as Sheraton, Banyan Tree. Surin beach offers the famous Amanpuri and the Chedi.<BR>To sum up, Hua Hin is close to Bangkok and offers beach relaxation, but little else. Phuket is a 1 hr flight and offers a great choice. <BR>Hope this opinion helps.

Frankly speaking, I was disappointed with Hua Hin. Basically, we only stayed in the hotel. Apart from one tiny street, there were nothing in Hua Hin.

o the hotels have entertainment then, we have read up quite a bit, we are not clubers but we hoped to see one of the Thai cabaret shows if we go? What about shopping and markets in Hua hin. We have been to Samui and Phuket(twice) and we always enjoy Phuket, should we stick to what we know or is Hua hin better than Phuket, we are early 40's if that makes any difference.

Also what about swimming and snorkeling in Hua Hin? Should add that our 14 and 16 year old's will be with us.

We've been to both. Check out http://www.gardkarlsen.com/thailand.htm about Phuket and then http://www.gardkarlsen.com/thailand2002.htm about Hua Hin.<BR>Happy travelling ... personally I preferred Koh Samui.