Thailand - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 803

Ao Patong
Packed with high-rise hotels, hostess bars
and touts, Ao Patong , 15km west of
Phuket Town, is the busiest and ugliest
of all Phuket's beaches and hard to
recommend. However, its broad, busy,
3km beach does have good sand and
plenty of shade, and it offers the
island's biggest choice of watersports
and dive centres .
Songthaews from Phuket Town's
hanon Ranong (roughly every 15min;
B25) approach Patong from the
northeast, driving south along one-way
hanon Raja Uthit Song Roi Phi, then
circling back north along beachfront
hanon havee Wong (also one-way) via
the Patong Merlin , where they wait to
pick up passengers for the return trip.
Sleazy, neon-filled hanon Bangla is the
heart of the nightlife district, and is filled
with girly and transvestite bars, and expat
pubs. Patong is the gay nightlife centre of
the island, and most of the gay bars are
concentrated around the Paradise Hotel
on hanon Raja Uthit Song Roi Phi.

from hanon Ranong in Phuket Town
(roughly every 20min; B30).

Hat Mai Khao
Should all the hustle and seediness
become too much, Phuket's longest and
least developed beach, Hat Mai Khao ,
34km northwest of Phuket Town, offers
a serene contrast. It still harbours a
couple of discreet, though not
particularly cheap, bungalow operations
- it's essential to book in advance. he
almost deserted beach seems to stretch on
forever and it's hard to believe you are
still in Phuket. here's no public
transport to Hat Mai Khao; a taxi from
the airport is roughly B400.

10

ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION
By plane Phuket International Airport is about 32km
northwest of Phuket Town. There is an airport bus to and
from the old bus terminal in Phuket Town (7 daily; 1hr
20min; B90; W airportbusphuket.com), as well as an
unreliable service to and from Patong (9 daily; 1hr 15min;
B120; W phuketairportbusexpress.com). Travel agents in
the arrivals hall organize a/c minibuses, which leave when
they're full, to Phuket town (B150/person), Rassada pier
(B150) and Patong (B180). Taxis charge about B600 to
Phuket Town, for example.
By bus Phuket is served by dozens of bus and a/c minibus
services to and from Bangkok and southern Thai
destinations. All terminate at the new bus station, about
5km north of Phuket Town up Th Thepkasatri (Route 402);
none serves the beaches. Pink city bus #2 (B10) runs into
town from the new bus station, skirting the east and south
sides of the centre and passing the old bus station on
Th Phang Nga, on the east side of the centre.
By boat Ferries connect Phuket with Ko Phi Phi, Ko Lanta,
Krabi and Ao Nang, usually docking at Rassada Port;
minibuses meet the ferries and charge B100 per person for
transfers to Phuket Town and B150 for the west-coast
beaches, or B200 to the airport. On departure, transport

Ao Karon
Karon , Phuket's second most popular
resort, lies 5km south of Patong and is
slightly less seedy and congested. It's also
far less lively, being the domain of
package-tour hotels and mid-budget
tourists, many of them from Scandinavia.
he beach is long and sandy, but offers
very little shade and almost disappears at
high tide. Swimming off any part of
Karon can be dangerous during the
monsoon season (May-Oct) - sometimes
even fatal - when the undertow gets
treacherously strong; look out for the red
flags. Ao Karon is served by songthaews

DIVING IN PHUKET
See W phuket.com/diving/sites/index.htm for information about dive sites around Phuket. All
dive shops offer day-trips for certified divers (B2700-5000) and diving courses (B13,000-16,500
for a three- or four-day PADI Open Water). Always check the equipment and staff credentials
carefully and ask whether the dive centre has membership for one of Phuket's decompression
chambers. Reliable dive centres include:
Dive Asia 24 Th Karon, Kata/Karon headland, south
end of Karon T 076 330598, W diveasia.com.
Santana 273 Th Raja Uthit Song Roi Phi, Patong T 076

294220, W santanaphuket.com. Also offers canoeing.
Scuba Cat Soi Wattana, Th Thavee Wong (the beachfront
road), Patong T 076 293120, W scubacat.com.