Phuket & Southern Thailand
The Island of Phuket has almost completely recovered from the devastating tsunami of 2004, and once again offers beaches like something out of a movie (where you may have actually seen some of them), first-class spas, and a state of relaxation like you’ve never before attained on vacation. Visit between November and April to avoid being swamped in the annual monsoon rains.
Activities and Attractions:
Most people come to Phuket for the beaches, and it won’t take long to find the perfect one for you. Most luxury properties have their own, but it never hurts to explore.
Patong Beach is the most famous on Phuket, and it is also the most developed. This means you’ll find many restaurants and services nearby, including all the water-sport equipment-rental huts and nightlife options you could ever want. Many luxury travelers find Patong a bit chaotic for their taste, however. For prime relaxation, nearby Kamala Bay, Surin Beach, and Pan Sea Beach offer more secluded resorts with a little less noise. Bang Tao Beach also offers some prime luxury hotels and powdery sand. If you need a thumping disco at night, you can always catch a ride back to Patong.
If you really want to get away from it all, Haad Nai Yang National Park, in the northern part of the island, has deserted beaches and features a colorful coral reef less than a mile offshore. Even more peaceful is far northern Mai Khao. This beach, Phuket’s longest, is home to endangered leatherback sea turtles.
Phuket offers several other interesting ways to commune with nature. You can visit the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project, in the island’s northeast corner. Here native monkeys who have been abused by handlers for the benefit of tourists are nursed back to health. At the Phuket Marine Biological Center you can learn about local ocean fauna, and at the Phuket Shell Museum at Rawai Beach you’ll learn to identify what used to live in those beautiful shells you see all over. Or you can book an organized rainforest trek to view wildlife—some operators offer tours on the back of an elephant for an extra special experience.
If you have the time, explore some of what the rest of Southern Thailand has to offer. Krabi, 100 miles east of Phuket, features spectacular limestone pinnacles sticking straight out of the water, popular with rock climbers and travel-poster photographers. Koh Lanta has some of the finest luxury properties in an unspoiled part of Thailand. Koh Lak is the gateway to the Similan Islands, where the best diving in the country is found. And Koh Samui is a former hippie hangout where monkeys still frolic among the coconut trees, completely undisturbed by the luxury hotels that have popped up in the last few years.
One thing you can count on finding anywhere there’s a beach in Thailand is a spa. Locals know that we foreigners aren’t always content to float our cares away in the ocean—many of us will also need them rubbed, pounded, wrapped, and soaked into oblivion. Almost any luxury property will have quality facilities. You do need to use caution outside of resorts, but in general, if a spa looks like its catering to the upscale traveler, it will indeed offer exactly what Phuket has always promised visitors: unparalleled relaxation.
Insider Tip:
The “h” in Phuket is silent—the name is pronounced “Poo-ket.”
-Exclusively for Perfect Escapes by Nicole Clausing |
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