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[psdo12]

Hi

   Me and my girlfriend are spending 6 nights in phucket at the start of jan '12 ,
was hoping to get some info on things we MUST do and things to stay away from since we are spending very little time there ,
any help would b hugely appreciated ,
Thank you

[thaigerd]

Don't use tuk tuks!!!
Don't use jet skis!!!

[Lannatyne]

Must have a walking tour around the old part of Phuket Town. On maps, look for roads like Thalang, Dibuk, Romanee. Some lovely architecture, and nice restaurants / coffee shops.

And for a laugh:
Must leave the girlfriend in the hotel one night and go out and 'fill yer boots'!

And to reiterate the earlier poster:
Must not be tempted to have a jet-ski rental.

[F1fanatic]

Hard to think of things you 'must' do - but the big Buddah is definitely worth a visit. The view is wonderful.

The 'Butterfly' place is good but expensive and depressing if you hate to see birds in small cages.

The Phuket Aquarium is pretty good - but again depressing if you hate to see some fish in small tanks....

Promthep Cape is nice if you can ignore the tourist hawkers.

The North of Phuket is best if you are looking for great, quiet beaches.

Depends on what you are looking for as Patong is great if you are looking for a frenzied night-life.

[seriouseats]

Phuket aquarium?

DONT

theres like 10 fishes in unclean tanks

[F1fanatic]

seriouseats, on 2011-05-18 20:25:23, said:

Phuket aquarium?

DONT

theres like 10 fishes in unclean tanks

Last time I went (have to admit some time ago) there was one good aquarium that went over the walkway with lots of interesting fish. Have things changed?

[seriouseats]

Yes, that  2meter long path is the best thing about the place and its quite dirty. Outside of 2 deadbeat stingray there isnt any interesting fish.

The biggest lol is the 'fish of the deep sea' area.. it's so dark, you can't actually see the exhibit.

Its quite impressive for a thai, but for anyone in the west.. a local fish display at a regional park would of shown you a lot more than this.  It's as bad as phuket zoo's aquarium

[F1fanatic]

seriouseats, on 2011-05-18 20:46:34, said:

Yes, that  2meter long path is the best thing about the place and its quite dirty. Outside of 2 deadbeat stingray there isnt any interesting fish.

The biggest lol is the 'fish of the deep sea' area.. it's so dark, you can't actually see the exhibit.

Its quite impressive for a thai, but for anyone in the west.. a local fish display at a regional park would of shown you a lot more than this.  It's as bad as phuket zoo's aquarium

Thanks for the info. I won't bother taking future visitors.

[oilinki]

Do go diving to the Similans.

Do spend a nice day on the Phang Nga bay and go for canoeing trip to the caves.

As said before. Avoid using Tuk-tuks if possible.

[F1fanatic]

oilinki, on 2011-05-18 21:16:49, said:

Do go diving to the Similans.

Do spend a nice day on the Phang Nga bay and go for canoeing trip to the caves.

As said before. Avoid using Tuk-tuks if possible.

Good point, I'd forgotten about canoeing off Phang Nga Bay. The scenery is wonderful.

I wouldn't bother with diving of the Similans though - its been fished out of existence as far as big fish are concerned. There are lots of octopi though.

[Miiyai46]

You must visit Fantasea but do not join the dinner package as the food is disgusting!

[Lannatyne]

Sorry, guys, but I have to say that Phuket Aqaurium is quite nice. Granted, it's not anywhere near the standard of Vancouver, Singapore or Mooloolaba where I've been fortunate enough to go, but for a small island like Phuket, I think the exhibits are good, relevant to this part of the ocean, and get changed regularly.

The turtle exhibit and tanks at the back are worth checking out, as is the research vessel usually tied up at the end of the pier.

Maybe not worth making the trip all the way from Patong, but good to include the Aquarium on a trip all around that part of Phuket south of Saphan Hin. And don't forget the lookout overlooking Chalong bay.

[surangw]

don't  waste time  at a time share presentation


ignore the touts

[BangTaoBoy]

Lannatyne, on 2011-05-18 21:37:19, said:

Sorry, guys, but I have to say that Phuket Aqaurium is quite nice. Granted, it's not anywhere near the standard of Vancouver, Singapore or Mooloolaba where I've been fortunate enough to go, but for a small island like Phuket, I think the exhibits are good, relevant to this part of the ocean, and get changed regularly.

The turtle exhibit and tanks at the back are worth checking out, as is the research vessel usually tied up at the end of the pier.

Maybe not worth making the trip all the way from Patong, but good to include the Aquarium on a trip all around that part of Phuket south of Saphan Hin. And don't forget the lookout overlooking Chalong bay.

Completely agree with this. I have no idea what the other poster was talking about. It can't be compared to bigger attractions in major locations around the world, but I think it's a fantastic little aquarium, well worth a visit. Combine it with a walk up Khao Khud viewing tower for a breathtaking 360 degree view of southern Phuket. (you need to drive right past it to get to the aquarium anyway)

A picnic on Layan beach. (very northern end of Bangtao beach)

A day at Nai Yang beach.

Lunch in Phuket Old town, as mentioned, is a must, followed by dinner, at the night market near robinsons.

Seafood Lunch on the sea front in Rawai combined with some time at Nai Harn beach.

Depending what budget you're on, try and eat at least a couple of the best restaurants like Mom Tris Boathouse.


So much more, Enjoy.

[snamos]

Id recommend renting a bike or a car for at least one day....then drive to all the lookouts around the island so you can get your bearings....go to big buddha, laem promthep, kata view point and kao rang,
All the other suggestions are good above too....but I did like the Aquariam.
The zoo is 50/50....there is some ok things to see and some not ok things there.

I would also get a speedboat out to Phi Phi, (not the big slow boats!!!). And do the day tour and snorkelling or diving round the islands. I can suggest a friends company if your interested....but do your homework, If its a shit day it can be horrible out on the water between phuket and phi phi.

Go for a walk around Phuket town.

Dont hire Jetski's and dont get tuk tuks!!

[petercallen]

Lannatyne, on 2011-05-18 21:37:19, said:

Sorry, guys, but I have to say that Phuket Aqaurium is quite nice. Granted, it's not anywhere near the standard of Vancouver, Singapore or Mooloolaba where I've been fortunate enough to go, but for a small island like Phuket, I think the exhibits are good, relevant to this part of the ocean, and get changed regularly.

The turtle exhibit and tanks at the back are worth checking out, as is the research vessel usually tied up at the end of the pier.

Maybe not worth making the trip all the way from Patong, but good to include the Aquarium on a trip all around that part of Phuket south of Saphan Hin. And don't forget the lookout overlooking Chalong bay.

I agree the Aquarium is excellent for a small place like Phuket and it is definitely not dirty.
They have bigger gropers there than i have seen in other Aquariums

If you have a day to spare, Take a trip to Phangna and take the back road to Ko Lak.
Its down hill all the way to the coast very scenic and has the best National park with
waterfalls i have seen in Thailand,
Amazingly free entry to when we were there last year

[KarenBravo]

petercallen, on 2011-05-19 07:44:52, said:

They have bigger gropers there than i have seen in other Aquariums

You talking about the fish, or, the male punters?

Edited by KarenBravo, 2011-05-19 08:08:25.

[seriouseats]

There has been some proof that for the last 5 years, some companies and government have paid people to always refute any negativity in their favor on online forums

I guess there's a few on thai visa.. the aquarium's are hard to see through, they have not been washed in forever, most of the writing is in thai(the only exhibit you can see something is the tsunami at the end). The water is dirty. Most of the small organism that you should see on a zooming camera, have broken cameras. The  lights off in the fish of the deep sea exhibit, can't see a single thing, the walkpath+end aquarium has some large fish but nothing exotic, just random fish you see everywhere in large size(same fish you will find at phuket zoo).  

The whole thing was setup for the gift shop.


and please do not refer to the surrounding beauty as the aquarium, it has nothing to do with it.

It's definitely more fun to just get to a fish farm/pet shop for fish, more variety and cleaner.


The second explanation to the positive feedback is that some people are amused just by having something to do outside of their living room.. but the first one makes more sense.  I caneven  find a lot of fun in the horrid phuket zoo, the Phuket Aquarium is just dreadful and run down.

[Kernow86]

You MUST have a night out in Phuket Town. Staring with dinner in Natural Restaurant - great Thai food and atmosphere. Drinks in Sunny Ha on Yowerat Road - good music, drinks and atmosphere. Ending in Timber Hut for dancing!

[stevenl]

seriouseats, on 2011-05-19 08:59:53, said:

There has been some proof that for the last 5 years, some companies and government have paid people to always refute any negativity in their favor on online forums

I guess there's a few on thai visa.. the aquarium's are hard to see through, they have not been washed in forever, most of the writing is in thai(the only exhibit you can see something is the tsunami at the end). The water is dirty. Most of the small organism that you should see on a zooming camera, have broken cameras. The  lights off in the fish of the deep sea exhibit, can't see a single thing, the walkpath+end aquarium has some large fish but nothing exotic, just random fish you see everywhere in large size(same fish you will find at phuket zoo).  

The whole thing was setup for the gift shop.


and please do not refer to the surrounding beauty as the aquarium, it has nothing to do with it.

It's definitely more fun to just get to a fish farm/pet shop for fish, more variety and cleaner.


The second explanation to the positive feedback is that some people are amused just by having something to do outside of their living room.. but the first one makes more sense.  I caneven  find a lot of fun in the horrid phuket zoo, the Phuket Aquarium is just dreadful and run down.

And the third explanation is that some people simply do not agree with you.

Have been there quite a few times, no  dirty glass, writing in English and Thai (no Russian as of yet though), the water is clean, don't know about the cameras, the deep sea fish don't like light, they live in the deep sea with hardly any light.
In general the aquarium is a fair reflection of the marine life you can see while diving in the Andaman Sea, and is quite educational as well.
Very enjoyable to spend a few hours.

[stevenl]

seriouseats, on 2011-05-19 08:59:53, said:

There has been some proof that for the last 5 years, some companies and government have paid people to always refute any negativity in their favor on online forums

I guess there's a few on thai visa..

Where the heck did you get that from BTW?
Are you seriously implying Thai Visa is paying to refute negativity?

[seriouseats]

Yes, the deep sea dead fish skeleton  in chloroform do not like light. Makes a lot of sense

[Lannatyne]

seriouseats, on 2011-05-19 09:32:54, said:

Yes, the deep sea dead fish skeleton  in chloroform do not like light. Makes a lot of sense

I think it's called "trying to create an atmosphere". You know, a bit like when you sit in the dark, and look at fake stars on the ceiling of a planetarium.

(Note to mods - can someone please chase up my April cheque for my positive postings, please?)

[Peterocket]

thaigerd, on 2011-05-18 19:27:41, said:

Don't use tuk tuks!!!
Don't use jet skis!!!

Ref tuk-tuks if they would like to get from A to B and have a drink how are they supposed to do that?

[seriouseats]

Pitch black isn't an atmostphere