Bali or Phuket??
 

I'm looking to go on a 10 day vacation with my finacee. Which is the better place...Bali or Phuket?

Jim - neither really - but Bali if you must. Get out of Kuta and head for Ubud - It's really nice, cultural, dancing at the palace, great places to eat, you can hire bicycles and go out to Petula - amazing, there are waterfalls around, wee villages, mad temples - all within a cycle - then beach wise, try lovina, or any other less trashed beach than Kuta or surroundings - All of Thialand is beautiful - but you may aswell go to spain as phuket.
People differ in how much 'asia' they can take, and if you like plush, bail can still be great - and buget accommidation is better there.

Phuket is great if you just want to hang out on a beautiful beach. I would chose Bali because there is so much more 'culture' there.

It really depends on what you want to do. Southern Thailand has absolutely lovely beaches, but that is it. There is really nothing to do except be on the beach, eat the food, and talk to the tourists. Bali, on the other hand, has a rich culture which is easily accessible. In Ubud there are religious parades almost every night, there are dances in one of the temples every night (be sure to see the one of all men where over 100 men of the town participate), there are live monkeys at the "Monkey Temple", the shopping is affordable and varied, and there is a whole island to visit with mountains, beaches and villages. The food is wonderful both places, and the people are great both places too.

bali or phuket are both great places to visit but you have to get away from the bar and explore all over the islands as there is plenty of things to do and see hire a car in phuket and drive yourself but not in bali unless you dont value your life as they are all kamakize pilots but enjoy yourself

Perhaps Bali is better than Phuket, but I would first try to find out (1) whether the Indonesian forest and coal-seam fires which produced a choking smog over much of southeast asia in October 1997 has caused any significant lingering damage to Bali, (2) whether the political unrest in Indonesia is likely to adversely impact your stay in Bali, and (3) whether your dollar will go further in Bali or in Phuket. (I know both the Thai and the Indonesian currencies have slumped but I don't know whether one has slumped much more than the other.) <BR> As to Jo's comment that there's nothing in southern Thailand but beaches: ridiculous! (1) There's fantastic scuba diving at Shark's Point off Phuket and elsewhere in southern Thailand. (2) There's sea kayaking around and into the karst formations of Ao Phang Nga bay (day-trips offered by Phuket Sea Canoe). (3) You can take day or overnight trips from Phuket to Khao Phra Taew or Khao Sok national parks. (4) You can take an afternoon excursion from Phuket which includes riding on an elephant or rent a jeep for a pittance. (5) If you visit Phuket during the first 9 days of the 9th lunar month, you can check out the Vegetarian Festival (during which believers abstain from meat, alcohol and sex -- and end up walking on hot coals and skewering themselves likes freaks at a sideshow). And (6) you can always try a Thai massage. <BR> If you do end up in Phuket, I recommend the Baan Sukothai hotel, an oasis of tranquility and traditional architecture in the otherwise tacky Patong area. My experience was that one could negotiate a better rate at the hotel than one could obtain from overseas (even through a discount broker).