Travel for 2 cost breakdown (at the time of writing this post):
- Foto Hotel
- Roundtrip Airfare from San Francisco to Phuket
- Car Service Transport around Phuket
- GRAND TOTAL FOR 2 TRAVELERS – 10 days: $1925
***At this time, we are not endorsed by any outside affiliates. That said – when booking our trips, we have had a lot of success with Hotels.com, Skyskanner, and Tripmasters.
Booking
Booking a trip to Thailand is easy for Americans! The US passport allows US citizens to enter Thailand visa-free for up to 30 days. All you need is a US passport, flights, and accommodations and you’re good to go!
Why Thailand?
After a few cold trips to Europe in February, Noah and I wanted a change of pace. Noah had two stipulations:
- 1) it had to be less than $2,000
- 2) it needed to be warm
He was thinking Mexico, Hawaii, Santa Barbara, or Florida.
I love researching travel options. It’s my jam….I love it so much it might be considered an obsession. So, when given the stipulations above, I jumped into action. I found great options for Mexico, Hawaii, Santa Barbara and Florida. But, we couldn’t spend our usual 10 days for less than $2,000 with the way we like to travel. So, I started branching out.
“Ummm…..honey….I have some options for our trip….We can definitely go to Mexico or Hawaii, but it’s a little expensive. Would you consider another option?”
***Sigh***
“What if I told you that we could go to Thailand or Bali with all airfare, ground transport and a 5-star hotel for less than $2,000?”
“Are you kidding?”
“No… There’s just this one thing…. We will have to spend 32 hours traveling to get there…”
And again…***Sigh***
But, the convincing didn’t take long. And, needless to say, we chose Phuket, Thailand and booked the trip the next day.
That Sky Though!
And the beaches!
And the hotel…And the food!
Phuket Town and the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project (run by English expats!)
Takeaway
I would love to go back to Thailand to visit Chiang Mai and Bangkok. But, Phuket is a fantastic place to get your sea legs for Asia. It’s beautiful, the people are incredibly friendly and accommodating, and even if they don’t speak your language, they will do their best to help.
Must-Do Items:
- Have a pre-fixe dinner at the Boathouse. For $50 per person you can enjoy a six-course meal, all-you-can drink Rosé, and they pick you up and drop you back at your hotel. They really treat you like royalty, and we had a blast! We would’ve paid six times that price for a similar experience in California.
- Go to the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project. You will learn a lot about the ecosystem in Phuket, the abuse that some animals have gone through in the tourist entertainment sector, and what some expats and locals are doing to restore the native habitats. It’s touching, inspiring, and so much fun to hear each of the Gibbons’ stories.
- Spend a day on the beach, but don’t use the public restrooms! I’m still scarred from just entering a restroom on the beach….
- If you’re brave – try the street food. We had the best lunch of our trip at a street food pop-up market. It was absolutely amazing! And, you will be so tired of traditional Thai food that street fish and chicken will look like skewers from Heaven.
- We didn’t get a chance to go to other islands, but I’ve heard great things about the day trips to James Bond Island and Phang-Nga Bay. It would make for a great adventure on a Speedboat or Longtail boat, depending on your speed.
Toast the Moon Rating:
- Food and Drink: 8/10
- Culture/Locals: 9/10
- Things to Do: 7/10
- Adventure Opportunities: 10/10
- Cost: 10/10
- Total: 8.8/10
Enjoy your adventure!
Toast the Moon – Cheers,
Noah and Majhon