Phuket is a popular tropical island destination south of the rest of mainland Thailand. It’s pronounced “poo-ket” (that’s certainly not the official pronunciation spelling, but you get the point).
Families, honeymooners, backpackers, and groups from all over the world come here to relax.
With 9.29 million visitors per year, an average of 25,452 visitors per day, Phuket has the highest number of visitors per square mile per day than any other tourist destination in the world
thephuketnews.com
Why do so many flock here?? The main reason is the world-famous beaches and surrounding iconic islands. There’s a resort on every corner, and the views are stunning.
Our Backstory
We planned our trip to Phuket for November 2019 after two family trips earlier that year. We’d visited Japan (in February…very cold) and Vietnam (in April… burning hot) and toured intensely for both. We’d wandered up and down the countries visiting every museum and cultural site. There were [ahem] logistical problems involved (foreign hospital visits with our baby hooked up to IV’s, airlines emailing incorrect changes to our international flights hours before departure etc.).
I say none of this to complain because TRAVEL IS A LUXURY. It’s a huge privilege to explore another country under any circumstance. And I’d take those trips again in a heartbeat. I’m only mentioning this to give context.
When we started to plan this next adventure, we were really interested in visiting Thailand… but also very ready to have a trip that didn’t add more stress than our everyday life did. We wanted to do nothing. (As much as one ever does “nothing” with two active little ones in tow AMIRIGHT?) Our Solution: Phuket.
What are your intentions with my destination?
I’d originally drafted out a trip to Thailand that involved Bangkok and Chiang Mai. We would wander old ruins, tour every temple in Bangkok, and hike waterfalls and jungles in our spare time. It was a fantastic itinerary in theory, but that trip just wasn’t in the cards for us at this stage of life (our boys at the time of trip were 1.5 & almost 4). We decided to visit only Phuket and embrace the reliabilities and comforts found in “the tourist route” this time.
I was happy overall with our decision because we got exactly what we wanted out of this trip: we ate tons of Thai food and spent time as a family on beautiful beaches…all in a country I never expected to get to visit. However, it still breaks my heart a bit to know we missed out on so many architectural treasures and experiences up north on the mainland.
We anticipated that Phuket was going to be especially “touristy”… and that checked out. Unfortunately, the consensus seems to be that most of Thailand has been overrun by well-intentioned tourists (ourselves included for goodness sakes) over the past 15-20 years. A lot has been lost and changed.
Side note: I think we were able to visit Vietnam at a crucial time; I’ve heard Vietnam will soon face a similar fate…and I’m so grateful we saw what we did when we could. It’s a grab bag of emotions to selfishly want to experience a culture and people up close, on one hand knowing it positively supports the economy and improves many people’s livelihoods…but also that tourism forever changes that very group of people, and not always for the better. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this tricky topic if you have any.
When To Go:
May- October are known as the rainy monsoon season. It’s dry (but hot of course) from December-March. April & November seem to be the transition months where it’s hit or miss with rain. Hotel prices were noticeably cheaper in October and even November than December & January. December & January are regarded as most ideal for weather, but that’s also when you’ll find the highest prices. As in, prices were noticeably climbing each week as you got closer to December. Seasonal pricing is a very real thing.
We took a bit of a gamble visiting mid-November, but lucked out with near-perfect weather. We only had one VERY rainy late afternoon, but salvaged it by ordering pizza & watching Peter Pan (our trip coincided with the debut of Disney+).
Let’s Talk Pricing & Planning
As far as budgeting, it’s true that Southeast Asia is decidedly cheaper than most locations in East Asia, Europe, USA, etc…BUT in touristy areas (Phuket) you can certainly stumble upon the full spectrum of restaurants and hotels if you aren’t paying attention.
So, if you’re trying to spend less, you’ll need to be intentional with your research and choices. You can’t assume you’re getting a fantastic value just because you’re in Southeast Asia.
When trip planning I always plot out important sites, destinations, neighborhoods etc. first before starting the hotel search, but this is a location where that’s less necessary. This is especially true if you plan to spend a lot of time on-property. In Phuket you can find beautiful beaches and great pad Thai just about anywhere on the island. It’s hard to go wrong…BUT there are definitely different vibes and levels of access to nearby shops and restaurants.
Here’s what we learned from our research & time on the island, approximately from North to South:
- The West Coast seems to be much more populated and developed (restaurants, shops, etc.) than the East, although there are certainly beaches and hotels there.
- You’ll find mostly large resorts north of the airport in the Mai Khao beach area. The major downside: less options… very few shops and local restaurants. High resort prices and the restaurants around. The major benefit: the beaches seem untouched and gorgeous.
- Patong Beach is the most popular area in general; consensus is it’s appropriate for families, as long as you’re up for large crowds and party vibes.
- Kata & Karon Beach are also pretty populated but quite a bit more low-key than Patong… highly recommended for families.
- Kata Noi Beach (just south of Kata & Karon) is a gorgeous hidden gem. We spent a lot of time here.
- Phuket Town is worth a visit if you have ample time. It’s the closest thing to an urban vibe but more in a traffic-filled streets-with people-that-aren’t-tourists kind of way…very cool street markets on the weekends!!
We ended up doing a split stay: half the time up north in Mai Khao on Marriott points, and the rest at a Thai hotel chain near Kata Beach that was lovely yet reasonably priced. This kept our overall costs pretty low, and allowed us to see two very different parts of the island without spending all of our time in transport.
I like to find hotel deals in Asia on booking.com … you can check reviews & it has great search features to narrow down based on amenities you’re looking for.
I would highly recommend our hotel the Chanalai Flora; with a crib, pools, air conditioned communal kids play area, and ice cream upon arrival…they were speaking my family’s language. (Find my thoughts on what hotel features are crucial for young families here).
How kid-friendly is Phuket, really?
Very! We found many staff members (of both hotels and restaurants) to be very kind and patient with our children.
Feeding:
If your children struggle a lot with new cuisines and flavors, then Thai food may be challenging. But maybe not! Personally, I think there are several easy-to-find Thai dishes that are rather sweet (pineapples in fried rice, palm sugar in Pad Thai, etc.) and tend to go over well with kids. Our boys really enjoyed most of the tamer rice and noodle dishes- just watch spice levels because holy hannah Thai food can be hot! The menus often show spice level with chilis, but if it’s not indicated, I’d check with the staff or waiter to be sure.
Be sure to also try the fresh fruits and juice stands! Fresh pomegranate juice was one of my favorites.
I was pleasantly surprised with the number of high chairs to be found in eating establishments- this was true for us in very casual joints and nicer restaurants. There were only a few meals we didn’t have one. For those, he did alright on our laps or in the umbrella stroller.
Activities:
It’s a laid-back vacation destination and assuming your kids like pool time and beach time (which is almost the same as assuming they have a pulse), then your kids should have a great time in Phuket.
We mostly stuck to the beaches mentioned above, and hotel pools. I’d recommend Kata Noi in particular for babies, toddlers, and young children…the water was incredibly calm and the tide went out forever without becoming too deep.
It’s worth noting that we didn’t make it out to the Phi Phi Islands (which is widely considered a must-do). Most companies traveled by motor boat and wouldn’t allow babies or toddlers. We could’ve taken a much slower, larger ferry-boat, but decided against that: both because spending hours and hours on a boat with our two active little guys is stress level 900, but also because it would’ve eaten up a good chunk of the overall trip. As a reminder: our goal was to do “as nothing” as possible. 😉
The major exceptions to our water play were an elephant sanctuary visit with my almost-4-year old son, and a fantastic Thai cooking class I did alone (that kids 8 and up would probably really enjoy).
Getting Around
Ah, the ever-present dilemmas for Western parents while in Southeast Asia…do we try to bring the car seats and install them somehow?? Do we try to rent a car (and drive on the other side of the road in this case??) Do we rent a scooter for our family and get around that way?? Hire a driver or hail a taxi without using carseats??
There’s so many options and you’ll have to do some soul-searching to see what will work with your family’s comfort level. Don’t ever feel pressured to take transit in a way you feel is unsafe for your child. Also try to reserve judgement though; the laws and customs are different in Thailand, but they function pretty well for millions of people every day.
We ended up doing a combination of two major forms of transportation:
- Hired Drivers: This is very common. Your hotel (regardless of price point) will likely reach out to offer this service to pick you up from the airport, or drop you off at the end of your stay. It worked smoothly for us! We just looked for a guy holding our name on a sign once we exited the airport (like in all the best 90’s movies). Our two excursions also provided car service to pick us up and drop us off at our hotel. We did bring our toddler’s carseat to use; we used it on the plane too. A couple of times the hired drivers did have a booster or transition car seat ready for our older son which we appreciated too.
- Family Scooter Time: This option won’t be for everybody, but my husband and I absolutely loved this. Our kids were just barely small enough to where we could all fit onto a motor scooter together. It really opened up flexibility to travel at our own pace, stop when we wanted to, but get further than the 2 km loop around the hotel we’d manage if just on foot. This wouldn’t have worked without helmets and a brave and confident driver husband 😉 It sounds ludicrous, but tons of local families were riding around too so we felt we were in good company.
In Conclusion
We had a great family vacation in Phuket. From our home in Korea, it wasn’t a very long or expensive flight. If I were coming from farther-for instance, the USA- I wouldn’t say that the gorgeous beaches alone would justify the cost and logistics of bringing young children all the way across the world.
However, if you’re already on a couple-week-tour of Asia, I’d absolutely add it to your list. And go out to the Phi Phi islands, then tell us all about it!
Have you been to Thailand? What’d you see that you loved?? What should we add to our maybe-someday-we’ll-all-travel-again Thai bucket list??
Cover Photo by Syed Ahmad on Unsplash
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