Phuket taxi
 

I heard about phutket taxi union who rip off tourists. Does anyone have any updates on this issue? The hotel we book are in SIray Bay and quite away from the tourist area so we worry about not being able to get a taxi.
I am looking for a driver for 3 days between the period of Dec 22-28. Do you have any recommendation?
Thanks much!

You can get a taxi or tuk tuk, no problem. The problem is that their rates, in comparison to the rest of Thailand, are high. Metered taxis are few and far between.

One aid is to see if you can get a taxi off the hotel property, but close. They generally charge less than taxis at the hotel. Walk off the grounds and inquire of the locals. When in Patong, you can try to bargain a flat rate, but they can be rigid. If you take a taxi from the airport, you might ask that driver for a card and about his rates.

Ask the bellman what you should be paying for a ride into town . Then try to bargin for something close to that rate. Also if you get one who is good, ask him to come back the next night for you. Loyality sometimes gets you a better rate, esp if you tip well the first time.

we often found that there was a flat rate for trips to standard places and that it was per person, not per ride... it was more expensive than bangkok, say, but not outrageous...

don't worry about it..

Sorry I am going to jump in on this because I have concerns as well...
Based on things I have read in books and on forums I am confused if it is better to demand the taxi to use the meter or to haggle down to a "fair" price based on reseach. For example, I heard that a fair price for a taxi from HKT airport to Patong should be about 500bt but then again my hotel said it should be about 700bt.

You are going to have trouble finding meter taxis. They exist but there are more without meters. So you will need to negotiate. When you do. Do it in a fun and friendly way, and with the understanding that you may not get the price you want. It's really case by case.

for rides from the airport things are a bit different....there is a taxi office outside the terminal.... exit from the airport, turn right and walk a short distance to the small driveway....cross it and there is a small window where you arrange for a taxi to your hotel.....the price is fixed.... it is very cheap as the distances are quite far usually.... maybe equal to $10-20, but to patong takes about 45 minutes....

for trips from patong to your hotel i found that the driver requests a price and then you try to haggle with him, but i never found he would budge much.... i don't remember any meters, and if there were they probably would be rigged.

rhkkmk - your directions from the airport are for Bangkok correct? or in Phuket?