Day Visit From Phuket

Q: I read an interesting article on Thailand in the Sunday Times by Anton Ferreira. My 13 year old son and I will be travelling to Phuket in September/October this year and I was wondering if there is a cheap way of getting to Bangkok/Singapore/Hong Kong for a day visit from Phuket. Any other sight-seeing ideas will be appreciated. – Sandra Bessit

A: It is possible to fly to a number of centres for day visits – and you can make it affordable by using one of the budget airlines. The easiest and cheapest city to visit is Bangkok, as you will not need to go through passport control. You can be in the city by 10am and catch a later flight back that night. Airlines you can choose from include Thai International Airways, Bangkok Airways and Thai Air Asia (to the main Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport) or budget carriers Nok Air and Orient Thai (to the old Don Muang Airport). Both airports are suitable for day visits. If you choose to go to Singapore, you can choose from Silk Air, Tiger Airways and Air Asia. There are also plenty of flights daily and you should have enough time to see the City State. Two airlines serve Kuala Lumpur from Phuket - Thai Air and Malaysian Airlines. There is good transport from the airport to the city centre. You can also check with domestic travel agents in Phuket for packages that give you one or two nights in any of the centres. You will probably need a stopover if you want to visit Hong Kong. Unlike the short hops to the other three centres, the flight to Hong Kong is more than three hours. Popular destinations in Hong Kong include the Ocean World and Disney theme parks. If you want to visit another destination within Thailand, you can consider a one or two-night stay is Chiang Mai. There are direct flights between the two centres on Air Asia and this northern city offers you a view of a totally different Thailand – the one of elephants, mountain temples and hill tribe people. (12/6/11)