Originally Posted by
knowsitlike
Hello Jay,
Those pics are from my mobile few weeks back so of course looks bigger and better in real life. Just to answer in order of your questions:
1) I would allow 3hrs to drive from Kamala when you consider traffic and stops etc, I agree with NZ on holiday no need to do a lot of weaving at speed on a 2-way highway! However you might want to go via Krabi instead as below (2hrs)
2) I guess there are 10-15 of the floating resorts but mostly spread out, I can’t recommend a specific one but best is take a look using google map and you will see that it’s a large lake and can be 1-1.5hrs on the boat to get to some of the places. Probably looking at the google reviews will give you a fair assessment of them. The size of the lake answers your other points about food and shops as basically no, once you leave on the boat then you are eating from the resort menu- they are basic dishes and cooked on the spot so not the greatest but still quite ok and authentic in my experience
3) there are a couple of large supermarkets in the town before the entrance to the lake and the pier, the resorts don’t mind if you stock up food, snacks, beer, whiskey etc as this is what all the Thais are doing
4) for your itinerary it all depends on personal preference and how much time you do/don’t want to spend travelling- I get bored quite easily and enjoy jibbing around lots of smaller places and as you have loads of time then some thoughts here:
Phuket- stay in the south west at Kata or Kamala, hire a car for day trips to the different beaches and to go over to Phuket town a few times for the market atmosphere and eating- don’t miss the Ko Yoon noodle shop run by a cool old gent right on the main roundabout in Phuket town it’s an absolute classic
Krabi- drop the car at Phuket town port and catch the ferry over to Krabi passing Koh Phi Phi and Yao Noi/Yai. Phi Phi is just too busy and the beaches aren’t great at Yai Noi/Yai. At Krabi pick up another hire car as it’s worth spending a night in town to check out the Emerald Pool and the Tiger Mountain Temple (this might not be possible with a kid on your back though!). After stay at one of the better hotels like Dusit as they arrange easily decent boats to visit the islands off the shore, Krabi itself on mainland doesn’t have good beaches
Ratchprapa- from Krabi drive up to Ratchprapa as above
For a different route then consider Koh Phagnan- pre book a ferry ticket with car and drive over to Donsak pier around 2hrs East from Ratchprapa, the slow car ferry is a nice sedate way to cross with good views and Koh Phagnan is lovely off the beaten track, I recommend Tong Nai Pan area. After that then back and southwards to your Malaysia adventures
have fun!