Family fun in Phuket!

We flew from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket on Air Asia and actually, they were pretty good. We had booked cases in the hold and had a surprise meal included in the price. The seats were comfy, and it reminded me a lot of EasyJet.

On booking this trip, we expected Phuket to be a bit wet in August. After all, we had managed to find a great deal on a two-bedroom pool cabana, surely a bit of rain was worth it? However, we really must have been lucky when it came to weather – it rained for an hour on our first day and that was it! We spent six nights in a luxury pool cabana at the Centara Karon Resort for a fraction of the price of anything we were finding in the ‘drier’ East side – the West Side of Thailand tends to be drier in our winter, while the East side of Thailand is drier in our summer, we went in August!

Phuket has changed in the last decade or so since I visited Thailand, and Karon beach has a fair few hotels and many restaurants on its ‘strip’. However, the hotel felt like an oasis away from the bustle of Karon beach even though it was only minutes away. The hotel has three swimming pools and the biggest was a hit with the kids – it was a huge mass of waterslides, jets and a kiddy friendly swim up bar! The animation team at the Centara Karon Resort are excellent and kept the children amused while simultaneously entertaining the adults with aqua aerobics and the usual resort activities. Food at the resort is very good and there are so many restaurants in short walking distance from the resort, that you are spoilt for choice. It is worth noting that there is no reason to go all-inclusive in Thailand and in fact, very few hotels offer it, as the price of meals and drinks is so reasonable.

There are many places to see in and around Phuket. Excursions are easily bookable from the hotel or from the shops on the strip. The islands off Phuket can be visited as a day excursion and many of the trips offer an island-hopping experience!

On Phuket itself you can visit the big Buddha, a huge statue of the buddha perched on a hill with breath-taking views from viewpoints surrounding the buddha. We spent an enjoyable afternoon exploring and learning about the site. It’s a 20-minute taxi trip from Karon beach and it’s easy to find a driver who will wait for you and take you back again.

There is so much to do in Phuket, but you can also quite easily just do nothing but enjoy the splendid food and the beauty of the island.