You can read my full post on Dubai HERE.

Location of The Shangri-La

The Shangri-La is located in the Financial District (felt appropriate), a slightly quieter area of town. Wherever you stay in Dubai, you’re never close to everything – it’s not even slightly a walkable city. Attractions are widely spread out and even a 2km walk isn’t actually walk because it’s along a 6 way highway.

The Shangri-La is around a 15 minute taxi ride from the modern centre – Dubai Mall, the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Fountain.

It’s about a 20 minute taxi ride from the Old Centre of Dubai, 12 minutes from the Emirati Museum, 15 minutes from Jumeirah Beach and 30 minutes from Dubai Miracle Garden. Getting to and from the airport is also simple, being only around a 15 minute taxi journey.

Accommodation at The Shangri-La

The accommodation at the Shangri-La is beautiful. There are a range of rooms on offer and we chose a Deluxe King room with Burj Khalifa views. You can also splash out on a ‘picture perfect’ room which has some of the best views out over the city through panoramic windows perfect for Instagram. We didn’t think it was needed as the view from our room was picture perfect as it was.

The room itself was spacious, with a huge bed, desk area, 2 chairs, a huge minibar and lots of wardrobe space.

The bathroom also came complete with a nice sized walk in shower, and huge soaking tub, plus separate toilet. The room was kept spotlessly clean with daily room cleaning service, plus evening turn down (slippers for the win) and a re-stocked complimentary bottle of water daily.

Food & Drink at The Shangri-La

One of the hotel’s highlights is its incredible offering of food. There are multiple restaurants on site and we actually ate at them all.

Hoi An offers Vietnamese cuisine, and we thoroughly enjoyed a 3 hour brunch with an array of courses on the first day of our stay. We also returned for an evening meal which was actually the best meal of our entire trip, with the chef cooking us some special traditional Vietnamese Lunar New Year dishes.

Shang Palace is a Chinese restaurant with dim sum the dish of choice. It also serves the most incredible looking whole crispy ducks which we salivated at from afar. Similarly, the room service menu was absolutely delicious and probably the best room service we’ve ever had.

The casual restaurant, Dunes, has themed nights. I recommend going for the buffet on certain evenings as the food on offer is of great variety and you can get a 25% discount via the Shangri-La circle app (no need to sign up, just log on for the QR code). When we were there it was a Chinese NY theme one night so off we went of course – there was even a giant dragon!

The hotel also offers a number of unique dining experiences. The first of which, a floating breakfast in the hotel pool, the husband treated me to as a birthday gift. I thought it might just be a gimmick but the food was delicious, consisting of an omelette, pancakes, waffles, fruit and yoghurt.

You can also book for a private breakfast, lunch or dinner, on the 42nd floor balcony (see below), however prices start from c£1,000 so we heavy passed on that one (!). One evening it was set up with a red carpet, rose petals, candles and the most insane table wear. It would be an incredible experience.

Amenities & Experiences at The Shangri-La

Aside from the dining experiences, the Shangri-La offers lots of great amenities on site. The hotel pool is without a doubt the star of the show – not only hosting floating breakfasts, but also providing a stunning view over to the Burj Khalifa.

At the pool is also a nice bar area called iKandy serving drinks and bar food, plus is home to a relaxing hot tub and a pool table. It’s a really nice spot to chill for the day and we happily spent a full day relaxing on the rooftop during our week long stay.

The hotel also has a second pool, though it’s for Horizon Club members only. Situated on the 42nd floor, it’s indoors and also looks out at the Dubai skyline.

Even if you’re not a Horizon Club member, head to floor 42 anyway. The View at 42 is the best viewing spot in all of Dubai, in my humble opinion. You can visit the platform through the external doors from the indoor pool area – and even better, any guest can do so.

We went morning, noon and night and it was absolutely beautiful. I also did a little birthday shoot with some balloons. Speaking of which, the hotel left me the balloons and a card, along with a heart shaped platter of fruit, on my birthday which was a lovely touch.

Finally, within the hotel is a gorgeous spa, Chi, which offers a real variety of treatments. I of course indulged in a massage on my birthday which was really good quality and cracked me back in to place. Afterwards you can also relax in the indoor hot tubs and loungers – though all areas are separate for men and women (it was nice to have an afternoon to myself!)

Away from the hotel, the Shangri-La offers a number of day trip ideas. It offers a day tour of Dubai to see the main highlights, a day trip to Abu Dhabi, an excursion in to the Dubai desert and boat trips down Dubai Creek. We didn’t do any of these day trips as I wanted to do things a bit more in depth, but they’re great options if you’re limited on time and/or don’t have time to plan.

So what did you think of the Shangri-La? We had a great stay for my birthday and I’d recommend it for anyone visiting Dubai wanting something a bit special, but good value when compared to a lot of the other 5* hotels in Dubai. I hope you enjoyed the review – stay safe and happy travelling!

Contents

1. Contents
2. What is Dubai Miracle Garden?
3. How to get to Dubai Miracle Garden
4. Important information about Dubai Miracle Garden
5. What to see at Dubai Miracle Garden

What is Dubai Miracle Garden?

Dubai Miracle Garden was launched in 2015, and is the world’s largest flower garden – home to some 50 million flowers. Spread out over 72,000sqm, it exhibits lots of floral themed displays such as castles, houses, and even an airplane.

The flowers are maintained by re-use of treated wastewater via irrigation. The garden needs a staggering 757,082 litres of water per day! It’s yet another example of the incredible lengths Dubai goes to to create special experiences, and it really does have to be seen to be believed.

The garden also has a licensing deal with Disney to use images, characters and themes from Disney’s collection of films – making for some very interesting displays!

How to get to Dubai Miracle Garden

Dubai Miracle Garden is outside of the centre of Dubai, on the edge near the desert.

• Taxi – By far the easiest way to get to the gardens, take a taxi from your hotel and head straight to the gardens. There is a large car park on site where taxis can pull in to drop you off at the entrance. A taxi takes around 40 minutes from downtown Dubai (the Mall area), and cost around £15-20 on Uber.
• Public Transport – For a cheaper option, you can take the metro and a bus. Take the Dubai Metro red line and stop at the MOE (Mall of the Emirates metro station). Then hop on a Bus from MOE to Dubai Miracle Garden on route 105.

Important information about Dubai Miracle Garden

• The garden is only open during winter, normally from around September to April, so please check the website before visiting
• The entry cost for the garden is 95 AED (c£20) for adults, and 80 AED (c.£17) for children
• The garden opens from 9am – 9pm Monday through Friday, and from 9am – 11pm at the weekends
• You cannot use professional cameras or drones on site, and anything that looks like any kind of professional shoot will be shut down immediately as you have to pay extra for that
• You absolutely can’t pick the flowers, and you’re not allowed to take in any food or drink either.
• There are a lot of shops on the site, and sellers can be quite pushy. A firm ‘no’ worked fine for us, but we saw other tourists waiver and end up buying balloons, head garlands and food they definitely didn’t need.

What to see at Dubai Miracle Garden

The garden is big with lots to see. We decided to try and be methodical and walk round clockwise but still managed to be pretty inefficient.

Some of the most famous areas include the Airplane, which is a full size Boeing airplane decorated in flowers! Interestingly this holds the Guinness world record for the largest vertical flower display so even more reason to see it.

Another display not to be missed is the Smurf Village, full of giant Smurfs, lots of Smurf houses and even Gargamel leaping out of a bush!

The Disney Princess Castle is also pretty cool, and there are daily shows on the stage in front of it as well. Right in front of it are also a pair of elephants which are quite fun.

We also enjoyed the Windmill display, giant Unicorns, the giant Flower Clock and the Heart Arches everywhere.

What an experience! It could definitely only be Dubai and whilst I’m glad to have been, it was a bit of an overload of my senses. I was also glad to leave the chaos behind and retreat to the calm of the hotel pool!

Thanks so much for reading! What did you think of this crazy whacky place? It was a lot of fun, but I did come away still preferring a traditional botanic garden like in Singapore. Hope you enjoyed the tour – stay safe and happy travelling!

The Dubai Mall was opened in 2008, and is currently the second biggest mall in the world at 5.4 million sqft. Madness. It actually attracts more visitors per year than New York in its entirety and world famous places like Niagara Falls. It’s a destination in and of itself, and if you’re in Dubai you have to see it to believe it!

There’s so much to do here so if you’re looking for what to see and do on your trip to Dubai Mall – look no further, I’ve got you covered.

Contents

1. Contents
2. Things to do in the Dubai Mall
   1. The Burj Khalifa
   2. China Town
   3. Shops, Shops and more Shops
   4. Indoor Human Waterfall
   5. Ice Rink
   6. Book World
   7. Dubai Aquarium
   8. Food Court
   9. Reels Cinema
   10. Arcade & Play DXB
   11. Dubai Fountain
   12. Souk Al Bahar
   13. Dubai Dino & Sculptures
   14. Kidzania
   15. EKart Zabeel
3. Getting to Dubai Mall
4. Other Important Information about Dubai Mall

Things to do in the Dubai Mall

The Burj Khalifa

The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world, and is impressive whether you think it’s OTT or just a marvel. You can access ‘At the Top’ from within the Dubai Mall which takes you to the 124th floor of the building for panoramic views out over Dubai. Or you can just view it from ground level. Given my husband is scared of heights and it’s quite expensive at £40pp, we chose the latter (plus my friend told us of her experience*).

* My friend’s experience was that she booked the tickets for At the Top in advance, along with lunch. It took an hour to get in, and lunch took 3 hours to be served.

China Town

This was possibly my favourite part of the Mall. China Town is free to stroll around and decorated beautifully with blossom trees, neon signs and lanterns. There’s a traditional Chinese home to explore, a giant panda, lots of restaurants, bubble tea shops, and a huge Chinese spa. We went in a few of the shops, had a cup of tea and visited the house – taking us about 1 hour.

Shops, Shops and more Shops

Dubai Mall is home to over 1,200 retail outlets. They’re all free to browse and there is something for everyone. We spent a good couple of hours looking around shops including a giant Lego store, a replica of Galeries Lafayette of Paris, huge Apple and Virgin stores, sweet shops, and a big F1 store. There’s even a full on Emirates flight simulator if you so wish. And if you’re in to designer labels, there is also an entire area of the Mall called Fashion Avenue, housing all the main brands.

Indoor Human Waterfall

The Human Waterfall is actually beautifully done, cascading from the top floor to ground floor of the Mall and visible on every floor. At 24m high, the humans represent traditional pearl divers jumping in to the oceans, one of the main trades of the region before oil was found. It’s free to see, so win win.

Ice Rink

I used to love ice skating as a child so really wanted to go on the full sized rink here. It’s £30 a ticket, but I had the entire rink almost to myself (hubs was too busy in the Lego store and I decided I may as well just go and clear my head with a bit of peace!). I had the BEST time and really recommend it to anyone who wants to try ice skating.

Book World

Oh my heart belongs in Book World, also known as Kinokuniya. By far the BEST book shop I’ve ever been in, it was HUGE and stoked EVERYTHING. I came away with such a haul and it took me a full hour of browsing to choose. I could have spent the entire day in there to be honest. Incredible – my highlight of the day.

Dubai Aquarium

Another insane addition to the Mall is Dubai aquarium and underwater zoo, plus penguin cove. You have to pay to enter (about £43 for anyone over 2 years old) so it is pricy. Given we were prioritising other things and it was HEAVING, we passed on going in. However, you can see a couple of the tanks from within the Mall for free so we went to look at those instead.

Food Court

Even the food court in Dubai Mall is an attraction. With over 50 food options to choose from, you could be eating anything from Indian to Chinese to Sushi to Mexican or Subway or McDonalds. Whatever you fancy, you can get it here. We love a bit of Panda Express from our time in Asia so we headed there.

Reels Cinema

Another highlight was the Cinema. Whilst we didn’t do this on our first visit to the Mall, we actually came back for an evening later on in our stay. I really fancied watching Argylle and our hotel had a discount on seats. For a mere £16 each we were able to purchase a Platinum Experience with reclining chairs, table services and lots of snacks. The film was fun and we had a great evening experience.

Arcade & Play DXB

Of course the Dubai Mall has a full arcade with every arcade game imaginable, plus the largest Virtual Reality experience in the world. We thought about doing a VR ride as something a bit different, but just ran out of time!

Dubai Fountain

Dubai Fountain is not to be missed. Every day at 1 – 1.30pm, and then every evening from 6pm – 11pm, (every half an hour), a light show to music is played. It’s free to watch but does get super busy. Again we didn’t do this on our first Mall visit, but came back in an evening to do it with a special twist. We booked a delicious Indian meal at Amal by Armani in the Burj Khalifa overlooking the Fountain so got front row seats from above. The show is different every 30 minutes and so we got to see 5 versions.

Souk Al Bahar

Within Dubai Mall is an area hosting more traditional shops, known as Souk Al Bahar. It’s far from an authentic Souk, but it stocks more authentic goods and of course you have to haggle. I bought some fresh fruit for 80p which was quite the bargain from their original quote of £14!

Dubai Dino & Sculptures

The Dubai Dino is a 155 million year old dinosaur skeleton sitting in the main atrium. As you do (and it’s free to see). There are also a number of sculptures dotted around the mall – we particularly liked the ant and the ape.

Kidzania

Not one for us, but worth the mention as I was so impressed at the concept. This huge place is effectively a role playing area for children and enables them to discover new worlds, skills and even practice things like calculating prices and paying – it has a real airport check in, a fire station and engine, and so many other cool and unique zones to enjoy.

EKart Zabeel

Top of my husband’s list was Go-Karting on the roof of the Mall. Unfortunately for hubs he exceeded the weigh limit as you have to be less than 100kg (15 stone), and the little one over here felt too bad to go it alone. Instead we just watched a couple of laps and headed back to our hotel.

Getting to Dubai Mall

• By Metro – The Dubai Mall is connected to the Red Line Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall Metro station. It’s a 10 minute walk from there.
• By Bus – Route 27 from Deira Gold Souk station and Route 29 from Ghubaiba bus station service the Dubai Mall approx every 15 minutes.
• By Taxi or Uber – there are several taxi ranks around the mall and Uber in Dubai is reliable, reasonably priced and safe too.

Other Important Information about Dubai Mall

• The Dubai Mall is open 10am-12am (1am Thursday – Saturday). Please note that on Eid holidays, Ramadan and special events these regular Mall hours can change
• There is free Wi-Fi in the Mall
• Moderate dress is required in the Mall. Whilst it is a major tourist attraction and relatively relaxed, signs are still up asking for no PDAs and moderation. Please be respectful
• It is illegal in the UAE to take photos of others without permission. Please ensure you are not taking photos in people’s faces.

So what do you think of the madness that is Dubai Mall? I thought it was amazing, and really enjoyed a day exploring it. You’ll also find it included as part of my Dubai 2 Day Itinerary – check it out if you want to see more of what the city has to offer. Thanks for stopping by, stay safe and happy travelling!

So, honestly, the next few weeks are just going to be my scheduled posts. I probably won’t reply to comments straight away, but as always I appreciate your time, readership and thoughts.

This week’s scheduled post takes us to Aya Universe – one of Dubai’s hottest new experiences. Opened in December 2022, it promises to be ‘a trip to a beautiful universe’. Whilst I think that’s probably overmarketing it (!), it was a fun experience that was a lot of fun. Here’s what to expect!

What is Aya Universe

Aya Universe is effectively a series of rooms, each with a different theme, that are filled with light, shape, noise and video art installations. It bills itself as interactive, which it is to a degree, but I’d say it’s more immersive than interactive.

It’s made up of 12 different unique ‘worlds’ (basically different rooms and themes) to explore. You can explore them in around 1hr. Overall I really enjoyed the trip as something a bit different but it was a sensory overload and I was glad for some peace and quiet afterwards!

Important Information about Aya Universe

• Aya Universe is located within the Mall at Wafi City. Wafi City is quite cool to visit anyway as it’s all Egyptian themed, with a pyramid shaped shopping mall, Obelisk, various Egyptian themed hotels (e.g. Raffles as a giant pyramid), an Egyptian spa, lots of food choices and of course a Souk. You can even wile away the hours on the ‘lazy river’, hiring a sun bed sitting by the pool. You can easily spend a full day there, with Aya just as a part of the day.
• Aya costs 125 AED (£27) per person (under 3 and People of Determination* are free)
• It takes around 1hr to visit all of the worlds in Aya Universe, probably a bit longer if it’s super busy and/or you have children with you

* People of Determination is the term used across Dubai to refer to what is traditionally labelled ‘disabled’ in the west. You’ll see this on toilets, discounted ticket prices and special mobility entrances/exits. I liked it.

What to see at Aya Universe

Each world offers something a bit different. You start off in the Source which is full of flowers and the large sphere of life. You move through to Harmonia, which is a large room full of mirrors and glitter balls with the lights constantly changing colour.

Then comes Flora, one of my favourite rooms, with a huge tree of lights and shimmering grass. Tides then comes and assaults your sense of reality with huge light tubes to get lost amongst with mirrors reflecting everywhere.

After that it’s on to The Pool, Waterfall and River. The waterfall uses actual water to create a circle of water you can step in to the middle of – the water then lights up to make it a bit trippy!

On to Celestia, which is galaxy themed as the planets whirl around you, followed by Outland which is some sort of ocean themed art.

To finish the visit off came two of my favourite rooms – Luna, filled with huge mirror balls and then Drift where you lie down on the soft grass and watch the art work on the ceiling move and contort in to shapes and colours.

So there you have it – the weird and totally crazy world of Aya. I’d recommend it to anyone looking to do something a little bit different to do in Dubai, though also be prepared for a sensory overload. Thanks for reading – stay safe and happy travelling!

It is a crazy city, like a mega metropolis plonked in the middle of the desert. It’s such a contrast – on the one hand you have traditional, reserved, Emirati culture (but local Emirati’s make up only 11% of the country’s population), and on the other you have mega corporations, glitz, glam and tourists galore (with ex-pats making up a whopping 88% of the population)!

I’ll be honest, it’s hard not to be drawn in by the glitz and glam, and it’s really awe inspiring seeing what’s been built here. It’s fun to see the skyscrapers, get lost in the most ridiculous mall, eat all the delicious food, and enjoy all the OTT madness. Equally, I do think some of that is quite surface level and so it’s also important to find glimpses of tradition, and to embrace some authentic Emirate culture, food and experiences too.

So my recommended itinerary for 2 days in this amazing city try to mix the two a bit. I hope you enjoy it!

Contents

1. Contents
2. Itinerary Day 1: Modern Dubai
   1. Dubai Mall
   2. Souk al Bahar
   3. Dubai Brunch
   4. Burj Khalifa & Park
   5. Dubai Fountain (6pm onwards)
   6. The View at 42 (Shangri-La Hotel)
   7. Optional: Souk Madinat Jumeirah & Burj Al Arab
3. Itinerary Day 2: Traditional Dubai
   1. Grand Bur Dubai Mosque
   2. Al Fahidi Historic Neighbourhood
   3. Al Khayma Heritage Restaurant
   4. Dubai Creek
   5. Jumeirah Mosque
   6. Etihad Museum
   7. Optional: Deira and Dubai Gold Souk
4. Have a little longer?
   1. Dubai Miracle Garden
   2. Aya Universe
   3. Dubai Desert
5. Getting around in Dubai
6. Where to stay in Dubai?

Itinerary Day 1: Modern Dubai

Dubai Mall

Full post: HERE

Where to even start. Dubai Mall is utterly INSANE. In what I can only describe as the most mega of all malls I’ve ever stepped foot in, be prepared to spend at least a few hours here. We actually spent 7 hours inside the mall, and there’s too much to cover here so I’ve written a full guide above.

As a brief overview, you can visit any of the 1,200 shops, go ice skating on a full size ice rink, visit an aquarium, enjoy a huge arcade, see a dinosaur skeleton, taste your way through the food court, visit China Town, drive an F1 car, fly an Emirates plane simulator, get scared in a haunted house, walk an art trail, immerse yourself in VR, and even see an indoor waterfall!

Souk al Bahar

Crossing from the mall, through the park, brings you to a bridge across to Souk al Bahar. Home to shops which are more like very modern traditional souks (i.e. in a glam new building, but stock more traditional wears), you can get better deals and prices here but you need to haggle. I bought some fresh fruit, and haggling over my grapes was part of the fun.

Dubai Brunch

After the mall, it’s time to embrace a modern Dubai tradition; brunch. Normally served from 12pm – 4pm, it’s like a way of life here and around every corner we were offered Vietnamese, Mexican, Italian, Lebanese and Indian brunches. We had a couple of brunches whilst in the city – including Vietnamese at Hoi An, and Chinese at New Shanghai. Both were delicious, and there are lots of options in and around the mall to save you travelling.

Burj Khalifa & Park

From within Dubai Mall, you can visit ‘At the Top’ which enables you to visit the top of Dubai’s iconic Burj Khalifa. If heights aren’t your thing then you can also view it from just outside the mall (follow the signs to the Dubai Fountain) where you get lovely views and can stroll around the parks outside.

Dubai Fountain (6pm onwards)

To round off your day in and around the mall, head out of the Souk and towards Dubai Fountain in the evening. Every 30 minutes from 6pm – 11pm (also at 1pm during the day), the amazing light show goes. It’s different every time as well so even better if you get to see two sittings! It’s really stunning and we had an absolutely amazing time watching it, though it does get busy.

If you want an extra special treat, book an evening table at Amal by Armani Indian restaurant. Situated within the Burj Khalifa in the Armani Hotel is the most delicious Indian with a balcony overlooking the fountain so you can watch the lightshow without the crowds. This was my birthday treat and we had a 3 course awesome meal, plus saw 5 rounds of the light show.

The View at 42 (Shangri-La Hotel)

Full review: HERE

We stayed at the Shangri-La, but whether you choose to stay there or not, you can finish off your modern Dubai day with a treat – one of the best views in the whole city! It’s a short taxi ride from the Mall area and well worth it to look out to the Burj Khalifa and all the sprawling roads laid out in front of it by night. Magic.

Optional: Souk Madinat Jumeirah & Burj Al Arab

If you don’t think you’re going to need as much time as we did in the Dubai Mall area, then I recommend starting your day in the wonderful area of Souk Madinat and Burj Al Arab (around a 15 minute drive from the Mall). This area is really beautiful to stroll around with lots of little shops, pretty buildings and views. You could also choose to take an Abra boat ride on the water for something extra special.

Itinerary Day 2: Traditional Dubai

Grand Bur Dubai Mosque

I always think it’s important to understand more about what we don’t live every day, and it was important to me coming to Dubai to understand more about Islam. I’ve done mosque tours in the UK before, but also wanted to visit and learn more here too. We therefore went on the 9-10am tour at Grand Bur Mosque.

I was given an Abaya to wear, and we were given an ablution demonstration, a tour of the Mosque’s interior, a demonstration of the call to prayer and taken through the core beliefs of Islam. The mosque was beautiful inside, though of course I didn’t take any photos as that wasn’t appropriate.

Al Fahidi Historic Neighbourhood

This was one of my favourite parts about visiting Dubai. Just a short walk from the Mosque, and miles away from modern Dubai is the old town area, home to traditional cafes, tea rooms, art galleries and even a traditional Emirati house to visit. We happily spent 2 hours wandering around and going in all the little shops and winding mazes of lanes.

Al Khayma Heritage Restaurant

After a morning exploring, it was time to refuel, and where better than in a traditional Emirati restaurant. There are plenty in the area and we settled on Al Khayma, which was absolutely delicious! The food was insane. So insane it went straight in my mouth and I forgot to take any photos which is always the best compliment I can give a meal!

Dubai Creek

The creek forms a natural port, and actually stretches for around 15km, weaving through modern Dubai as a reminder of its past in the fishing and pearl industries. It’s hard to believe that just 50 years ago, barely any of the city we see today was here – rather it was mainly desert with smaller dwellings. Its change over the course of the last few decades has been incredible, and has to be admired. Today the creek is still busy, and offers boat tours across to Deira and its gold souks, or inland all the way to the Burj.

Jumeirah Mosque

From the creek we headed to the Etihad Museum, but first stopped at Jumierah Mosque (just a short walk from the museum) to see it from the outside. It’s truly beautiful.

Etihad Museum

To round off our day of learning and experiencing something new, we headed to the Etihad Museum. Etihad in Arabic means ‘United’, which made me chuckle as it means Manchester City play in a shirt with ‘United’ written right across the front – how ironic.

Anyways, to the museum. The museum is underground, with a huge futuristic glass atrium on top. It is effectively paying homage to the 7 leaders of the various Emirates who came together in the 1970s, post the British colonial powers withdrawing from the area, to form one country. The same 7 Emirates still exist today, all with their own leaders – though unified with the ruler of Abu Dhabi as the main leader of the UAE. The museum was unsurprisingly very positive about its leaders and it felt a bit like a shrine, though we did learn quite a bit we hadn’t previously appreciated about this region’s rich and complex history.

Optional: Deira and Dubai Gold Souk

If the mosque tour or museum aren’t for you in Day 2’s itinerary, then make sure that instead you cross Dubai Creek to visit Deira and the Gold Souk, as it’s another beautiful historic area in the city.

We’d planned to include this, and hop on a traditional Abra boat to cross the Creek to the gold souk but we actually ran out of time (not helped by my husband damaging his foot the day before so we were on a slow to hobbling pace).

Have a little longer?

If you have longer in Dubai, there are lots of other amazing things to do, and you could easily spend another few days in the city exploring.

Dubai Miracle Garden

Full Post: HERE

Dubai Miracle Garden is true madness. Open only during winter, it’s an amazing flower attraction, including everything from Disney castles to aeroplanes to Smurf villages. A visit will take around 2 – 3 hours.

Aya Universe

Full Post: HERE

Another unique Dubai experience is to visit Aya, an interactive light art installation which is a bit mind bogglingly fun.

Dubai Desert

Dubai is a city literally built in the middle of the desert, and only a short 30-45 minutes drive out will find you amongst the sand dunes. We had a desert evening meal one night to watch the sunset and it was really beautiful. You could also go dune buggying, camel riding or sand boarding – take your pick!

Getting around in Dubai

Dubai is not a walkable city. Google maps might say 1.4km but it’s normally along a 6 way highway. The roads and traffic are busy and I really don’t recommend walking anywhere unless places are literally next door.

The main attractions (e.g. Mall, Historic District, Miracle Garden, Jumeirah Beach etc) are nowhere near each other (like 40 minute drives in some cases), so you will be dependent on transport.

There is a metro but it runs to limited stops, though the Mall is one (assuming your hotel is anywhere near). Unfortunately it means taxis are the way forward in Dubai – we used Uber during our stay with no issues. They are fairly good value, safe and reliable here.

Where to stay in Dubai?

We stayed in the absolutely amazing Shangri-La Dubai. It was a full on dose of mega-metropolis sensory overload with everything on offer from Vietnamese Brunch to floating breakfasts and epic rooftop views across the city.

If you want something more traditional, Al Seef Heritage Hotel looks amazing. If you’re all about the beach you might prefer to base yourself at Jumeirah in a hotel like the Mandarin Oriental, and if you want ultimate bragging rights for the most luxurious postcode in town you could stay on The Palm Jumeirah and splash on somewhere like Atlantis The Palm (you could even get your own underwater suite in an aquarium for a mere £5k a night -ha!). Finally, if you want to escape the hustle and bustle of the city completely, you could stay in the Dubai Desert – the epitome of luxury is Al Maha, or you could go for the (only slightly) less pricy option Bab Al Shams.

So, what do you think of Dubai? Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it – stay safe and happy travelling!

We walked down to the beach to where hubs had hired a traditional long tail boat to take us to our (belated) wedding anniversary meal. It pulled in on the beach and I hoisted my trousers up, took my flip flops off, and waded to the boat.

‘Welcome Khun Hannah’ came the greeting from the ever friendly Thai captain. He was very worried about me climbing the ladder from the water to the boat with shoes in my hand so basically flung himself off the boat to get my shoes.

I boarded with no mishaps, followed by my husband who rolled on elegantly styling it out from a very definite mishap that resulted in a bleeding toe. We sat on the front of the boat, a warm evening breeze in our faces as we jetted out to Nok Island.

Nok Island is a tiny little island in the middle of Phang Nga Bay. It’s a prime sunset watching spot and the scene that greeted us was incredible. A little table, laid up with two beanbags and set for dinner, with lanterns all around, made me smile from ear to ear. There was another table down the beach from ours set up for 2 others as well, and in front of us a row of kayaks – we assumed awaiting a group for a sunset kayak completely separate to our BBQ evening (more on that later).

I was served a delicious Pina Colada as I collapsed in to my beanbag, unsure I’d ever be able to get up again. Hubs settled on a Chang beer. We were served bread and salad by our waiter, Khun Nook, as the light started drawing in and the beach stretched out in front of us.

The other table down the beach pulled in and set up on their beanbags. It was an American couple and within 2 minutes we heard the man’s booming voice screaming as he ran across the beach – ‘will you move your kayaks, they’re right in our way’. He was careering across to the row of aforementioned empty kayaks and a terrified looking Thai local guide.

The guide replied with a firm no, and in response Mr Angry American (let’s call him Mr AA) started dragging the kayaks up the beach shouting ‘well you either help me move them or I’ll drag them myself’. I mean for goodness sake, this island is a public island and the sunset isn’t owned by anyone. I wanted nothing more than to storm over and tell Mr AA to get his head out of his *rse.

My husband and I couldn’t help but laugh, it was ludicrous. The waiter was very embarrassed (he was serving both of the BBQ tables) and the moment Mr AA had moved all the kayaks, 3 boats pulled up full of tourists. My husband and I were in hysterics imagining what Mr AA was going to do to them. Perhaps he’d push them back in to the sea, wrestle them to the ground, who knows.

I was delighted when around 25 people went and stood right in front of Mr AA and his partner, who was now complaining about the sand in her shoes…not sure what she expected on a beach. We were having a lovely time our side with no-one in sight.

Eventually the group, of course, dragged the kayaks down the beach, got in to them and paddled out, leaving only us, Mr AA and his partner, a waiter and a chef on the island. We were served delicious BBQ chicken, lamb and prawn skewers as we watched Team Kayak sail out and get smaller against the ever falling sun. Mr AA had now calmed down as well thankfully, but I imagined absolutely hated having us giggling away down the beach.

After the skewers, we were served BBQ lobster with a jacket potato. A step up from my lunch time staple at home of a jacket potato with cheese and beans. At this point the sun was lowering and overhead we looked up to see hundreds of bats flying off the island. It was really quite special and a sight to behold.

As night set in, we finished up with some fresh fruit (and another Pina Colada and Chang beer), chatting away. I think when you’ve been married for a while conversation can become routine (how was your day, what’s for dinner, how’s your back) so it was nice to have 3 hours of conversation in to the night which we haven’t done for a really long time.

As we rode the longtail boat back in the dark, I reflected that I hope I never become a tourist like Mr AA, and hope to always see the world through excited eyes seeking new experiences, connections and cultures with patience and kindness. Thailand is a beautiful country, full of amazing people, and I am truly grateful to look back on this experience with warmth, happiness and memories for life.

This post concludes my Thailand series from my visit to Phuket. You can read more posts or re-cap HERE if you’re interested.

Stay safe and happy travelling everyone!

Where is Phang Nga Bay and how to get there?

Phang Nga Bay lies in the Andaman Ocean, between two major Thai cities – Phuket and Krabi. It is accessible from both places on day tours which can be booked as group tours via the normal tour providers, or solo boat and captain hire. Booking a group tour is the cheaper option (around £50-60pp), but a solo boat provides flexibility and privacy (cost around £175-£200). Travelling to the bay takes around 1-2hrs depending on boat choice (a speedboat obviously takes less time).

Luckily for us, we stayed in Phang Nga Bay itself, at the wonderful Six Senses Yao Noi. This meant the Bay was on our doorstep, and because it is made up of 42 islands, it meant we could see a bit more than just the main highlights.

We booked a private traditional longtail boat for the day which docked at our hotel beach to pick us up. I never imagined how beautiful this day would be and I am so grateful to be able to have experiences like this.

What to see in Phang Nga Bay

Mangrove Cave

Our first stop of the day was at a deserted beach, off of which is an incredible cave which you can walk through (with water up to waist height), until it opens up in to an epically beautiful open circle of white sand, surrounded by sheer cliff faces open to the sky, with mangroves growing in the middle. Photos can’t do it justice, I felt like I was in Tomb Raider. We had the entire thing completely to ourselves.

James Bond Island

My only ‘must see’ to the captain was James Bond Island, also known as Khao Phing Kan, made famous by the film The Man with the Golden Gun. This was the only stop that wasn’t deserted but as we beat all the day trips we still managed to get there before anyone had started swimming in the water or pretending to be Halle Berry!

Koh Panyee

At this point we were peckish so we decided to stop for lunch. We pulled in to an incredible village, all on stilts above the water and had the most delicious traditional Thai Food in one of the restaurants. The village is entirely Muslim so in respect I put my jumper on (I was already in a long dress covering my knees) – though later whole boat loads of tourists rocked up walking round in thong bikinis and moaning they couldn’t buy alcohol so I’m sure it didn’t matter too much and locals are used to it.

Koh Roi

We pulled in here, this time because I said I was hot and the captain suggested I swim immediately. It was another spot we had to ourselves, until a small group of 4 turned up with a picnic.

Koh Kudu

Our next stop was my favourite of the day – the absolutely incredible Koh Kudu. Deserted, with the most perfect white sand imaginable, it was just heaven. We lay out a mat and had some bubbly. I had to sit and pinch myself as I just couldn’t believe it was real!

Sandbank Beach

Our final stop of the day was because I exclaimed how beautiful a sand drift was, so the captain docked on Sandbank Beach, on the island of Koh Yao Yai. We walked along it, completely on our own and loving every second.

After a 30 minute stroll, we were pretty overheated and didn’t have any more exploration in us (8 hours of 30 degree+ heat, climbing on and off boats, crawling through caves, wading in water, swimming and walking on sand in a nice dress meant I was a sticky hot mess), so the captain took us back to our hotel where we collapsed exhausted but so happy.

What a wonderful day. This area of the world is incredible and I feel so lucky to have seen so much of it completely to ourselves. I’m sure if I’d been on one of the big tours (up to 50-100 people per boat) it wouldn’t have been the same, so I really do recommend a private boat if you have a full day and budget to do it. This is an experience that will stay with me forever, and one of the best holiday days I’ve ever had. I hope the pictures did it some justice – stay safe and happy travelling!

Location

The hotel is in one of the most beautiful locations I’ve ever stayed. The closest major airports are either Phuket or Krabi, and the hotel is situated on Koh Yao Noi island, around a 45 minute speed boat ride off the coast of each, making it a perfect half way point on an island hopping tour of the Andaman Ocean.

Koh Yao Noi is a quiet island in Phang Nga Bay, characterised by its beautiful beaches, mangroves, rubber plantations and fishing villages. The hotel itself lies nestled in to the hills of the island, with its own private beach and is made up of 50 villas, each with private pools.

The hotel can arrange pick up for you from anywhere in Phuket or Krabi, and transfer you by land and then speedboat direct to the hotel in around 45 minutes. We loved our speedboat transfers – they were actually a highlight of the holiday!

Accommodation

We stayed in a deluxe sea view villa. Set through huge double doors down a path, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Walking through the entrance doors to our villa, there was a huge decking area, with a large seating area to the left – complete with sweeping views out over the ocean – and steps down in front of us to the main deck.

The short flight of steps lead down to the private deck. The deck is equipped with two sun loungers, a table and parasol, a sofa and a huge private pool with utterly stunning views. It’s particularly gorgeous at sunrise and sunset. Incredible.

From the deck is the entrance to the villa itself. To the left is a large and spacious bedroom with a full glass window providing views to the pool and ocean. Waking up to this in the morning was a true pinch myself moment each and every day.

On the right as you enter the villa is a dressing area with wardrobes, dressing table, coffee and tea facilities and a desk, flowing through to the double sink, with toilet and shower on the left, plus an outdoor shower straight ahead. Then comes another stunner – a huge sunken bath with views out over that picture perfect ocean again. Just writing about it makes me want to be back in it, reading my book with a glass of wine. Heaven.

The room was spotlessly clean, utterly stunning and cleaning service was provided once per day, with an additional nightly turn down. Robes and slippers were provided, as well as laundry service (meaning we even went home with no washing – win!). Our ‘villa host’ was Khun Larn and he did an incredible job of looking after our accommodation.

This villa was one of a kind. I’d go back in a heart beat.

Food & Drink

Again there are not enough superlatives to explain the food. On site there are 3 restaurants.

First is a laid back restaurant called The Living Room for Western and Thai cuisine, and this is next to a bar called The Den which serves drinks in sunken lounge beds amongst lotus ponds. The Living Room is where breakfast is served. No normal hotel buffet here that’s for sure. There’s a noodle station, a Thai station, a Crepe/Waffle/Pancake station, an egg station, a doughnut station, a full deli serving everything form quiches to salami, a bakery preparing home made croissants and breads, and an entire fruit bar with shelves of different granolas and whole trays of different fruit, juices and yoghurts. Madness.

Second is The Dining Room, serving authentic Thai food only. The third and final restaurant is The Hilltop with honestly the most epic views out over Phang Nga Bay from the bar and beyond (this is also home to the resort’s epic infinity pool which you can visit to suit you).

In villa food is also available via an extensive menu, and all the food we ate for lunch and dinner was absolutely delicious – our favourites were the green curry and the Khao Pad. We gorged ourselves on Thai food and didn’t regret it for a second! Just thinking about it again is making me drool.

But now to the insanely special part. Not only can you eat in the hotel, you can eat on your own island (Nok Island), within Phang Nga Bay. My husband surprised me with a longtail boat to pick us up and take us for an island BBQ where our own chef cooked us chicken, lamb and prawn skewers, plus barbequed lobster, as we watched the sunset. A truly treasured memory. You can read my post on Nok Island HERE.

Amenities & Experiences

Aside from the already mentioned Infinity Pool, the hotel offers so much by way of amenities so I’ll start with my favourite – the spa. Offering a ridiculously huge menu with every treatment imaginable, it’s a total sanctuary. I had a deep tissue massage and felt like a new woman after it. It’s also set in the rainforest so we combined it with a rainforest walk where we spotted a beautiful hornbill and multiple water lizards.

The hotel also has its own private beach, as well as access to a deserted public beach. Both were stunning and we happily spent a day lounging on the sand enjoying the sunshine.

In addition, the hotel offers kayaks to paddle out to the mangroves, tennis courts, and a farm to pick your own fruit, vegetables and herbs and bring to the chef to cook. There is also daily yoga on offer, plus classes for cooking, soap making, insect repellant formulating, Muay Thai classes, sound relaxation and body scrubs. I’m exhausted thinking about it all.

Away from the hotel, a number of excursions are also offered. As the hotel is located in Phang Nga Bay, there are numerous boat trips to the other islands including the local ones around the hotel, the Phi Phi islands and James Bond island. You can read about my trip to James Bond Island HERE.

There are also excursions around Koh Yao Noi to visit rubber farms, local markets and cycling around the islands. Bikes are free to rent, and a guide to go with you (if you want) costs a small fee, otherwise they provide you with a map to go. There are also opportunities to give back to the local community by working on beach clean ups, working with the hotel on the conservation for the local hornbill birds and lots more.

Finally, one of my favourite small features of the hotel was its app enabling you to order room service, buggy transport, towels, suncream, basically anything you need 24/7, and a direct line to your own GEM (Guest Experience Manager). Our wonderful GEM, Khun Q, was always on hand for whatever we needed!

Our 6 nights weren’t enough – you’ll need at least a month to get it all in!

So what do you think of Six Senses Yao Noi? For me this was the best hotel room we’ve ever had, and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in going. I still dream about sitting on my sun terrace in the private pool today – the happiest of memories.

However, seeing the elephants in the best way was a dilemma for me. I felt strongly that I didn’t want to be funding an industry that hurts elephants and wanted to contribute in a more positive and meaningful way. I was shocked by the amount of elephants I saw across Phuket in tiny pens being forced to provide rides to paying tourists, or held in rope or chains at the roadside to be fed one banana for a fee to passers by. I didn’t want to be funding that. So instead, enter Phuket Elephant Sanctuary.

About Phuket Elephant Sanctuary

Phuket is home to lots of elephant ‘sanctuaries’ but Phuket Elephant Sanctuary in Pa Klok is the original and offers the most space to the elephants. Founded in 2016, the 30 acre site was founded as a more ethical elephant tourism offering. It houses elderly and disabled elephants, after long lives in the tourism or logging industries.

Many people don’t realise how abusive the tourism industry is to elephants. Elephants in the circus are tortured in to obedience – often starved to keep their size down, forced to perform via pain and blinded by the circus light and sand – it’s truly exploitative for them. Those offering rides to humans also often suffer broken or misshapen backs, as well as broken toes from the weight they are carrying. I was shocked to learn that the elephants who can ‘paint’ are actually pierced with sharp nails in the ears by their handlers to force them to continue painting (hidden from the observer who thinks the handler is just encouraging/supporting the animal and rubbing the ears).

Elephants in the logging industry fare even worse, being chained and forced to carry extremely heavy loads. Most of these elephants have completely scarred or damaged legs, often have irreparable damage to their feet and toes, and significant scarring all over their bodies from whips.

Phuket Elephant Sanctuary takes elephants after decades in these industries and gives them a nice new home. Due to the abuse, these elephants can never be put back in to the wild as they just wouldn’t be able to survive – they’ve literally had their animal instincts knocked out of them. Instead the elephant sanctuary lets them roam, provides plenty of food and water, offers daily medical check ups and monitors elephant health to support recovery/improvement of many injuries.

In short it’s like a nice retirement home for abused elephants. This felt much more of a happy choice for me to visit. That said, it is still a tourist attraction, the owner is still monetising elephants who live in captivity. But visiting funds this life for the elephants, which is much, much better than the alternatives.

A Morning with the Elephants

After debating long and hard, I booked the Morning with the Elephants experience. Phuket Elephant Sanctuary offer hotel pick up and a fancy van turned up to pick us up at 9am. We were transported to the main building to check in. From there, we had to board a vehicle with other guests to take us in to the sanctuary.

On arrival, we were provided with snacks and drinks, plus an introductory video on the history of the site, elephant abuse and the elephants themselves. We were then split in to groups of around 8 (there were 5 groups), and each went off in a different direction.

My Group was a family of 6 and my husband and I. We headed first to feed the elephants. We had to wash our hands to remove the toxins sun-cream, insect repellant etc give us. Elephants are herbivores so you’re given a couple of baskets of fruit each and off you go to feed the elephant. I got to feed the elephant Kannika, who was actually the first elephant at the site in 2016. She was flapping her ears and stealing the fruit, full of cheekiness and I liked her a lot.

After feeding, it was time to hit the walkway, which is an elevated platform above the sanctuary floor where the elephants roam – enabling you to observe them but not get close to them or touch them. Each elephant has a human with it each day, monitoring it’s poop, ensuring it has food, encouraging it to bathe, weighing it, and doing medical checks. The bond between elephant and its human is special, and the human is always close by but never too close. It was nice watching the elephants look for their human and sometimes chatting with them via noises, walking along with flapping ears.

We also saw 2 elephants bathing. They wandered in by themselves, splashed about and walked out again, with their humans only pausing to check they had no sand in their eyes (as both are partially blind) and then moving out of the way again.

Finally, after 2.5hrs walking around, we were provided with a tasty lunch and then transferred back to our hotel.

A few more interesting facts

• Elephants live to be around 80-90 years old. Most elephants at Phuket Elephant Sanctuary are at least 40.
• When an elephant dies here, it is buried with proper burial rituals including monks attending to provide prayers.
• Elephants only sleep about 3 hours per night, and they sleep standing up as they are too inflexible to get down. There are huge mounds of earth around the sanctuary to help the old elephants relax, acting as a bit of a ‘pillow’ to bear (bare? who knows) some of their weight.
• Elephant babies weigh about 100kg when they are born. The sanctuary doesn’t have any babies as it caters for elderly elephants but it hopes one day it may also be able to rescue younger elephants, though they require a different level of care and expertise.
• Elephants can understand and communicate as they are very intelligent. A couple of elephants at the sanctuary come from near the Malaysian border and don’t understand Thai so google translate is used! They communicate with each other, and their humans, via vibrations from the trunk.
• Elephants are naturally sociable. Most have a friendship group and like to sleep close together. Only one elephant at the sanctuary has no friends and has to have a separate bathing area etc. They think she was so badly abused, and likely bullied by other elephants, and won’t trust any human or elephant. She ‘tolerates’ her human at the sanctuary, whereas the other elephants play and have fun with theirs.

So there you have it – what do you think? I really enjoyed visiting Phuket Elephant Sanctuary. My takeaway from my visit is to ask, wherever you’re going, please don’t ride elephants, or visit circuses with them in. And if you’re going to come to Thailand and want to see the elephants, this is a nice way to do it. Thanks for reading – stay safe and happy travelling!

Contents

1. Contents
2. Important Information on Phuket
   1. Time Zone, Language & Currency
   2. Getting Around Phuket
   3. Length of stay needed in Phuket
3. Things to Do in Phuket
   1. North Phuket
      1. Khao Phra Thaeo National Park
      2. Bang Pae Waterfall
      3. Phuket Elephant Sanctuary
   2. Central Phuket
      1. Phuket Old Town
      2. Wat Chalong
      3. Island Hopping Day Trips
      4. Blue Elephant (& Other Food Experiences)
   3. South & West Phuket
      1. Big Buddha
      2. Beaches
      3. Spas & Massages
      4. Nightlife
4. Where to Stay in Phuket
   1. Como Point Yamu
   2. Six Senses Yao Noi

Important Information on Phuket

Time Zone, Language & Currency

The time zone in Thailand is GMT +7hrs. Thai is the national language, but English is widely spoken. Other popular languages across the island include Chinese and Russian. The currency is the Thai Baht and always have cash as many smaller shops and restaurants do not take card.

Getting Around Phuket

Lots of people hire scooters to get around Phuket. Not me. I crash cars often enough, and so a scooter would be a death trap of an idea. Instead we mainly used taxis to get around (the app is called Grab), and they were cheap and easy. There are also local buses that visit most of the main tourist sites. They are also fun to ride on, having no doors or seatbelts as you hurtle around.

Length of stay needed in Phuket

At least 4 days. To do everything in this guide, you need a week. I spent 10 days here but had 3 days of doing absolute sweet nothing.

Things to Do in Phuket

Phuket is Thailand’s largest island, covering an area roughly 50km by 20km. The island is split in to a number of areas and whilst many visitors pick a beach and stick to it, that’s a shame because there is so much more to see and do here. We moved around between hotels giving us a chance to see each side of the island.

North Phuket

Khao Phra Thaeo National Park

Whilst Phuket is known for its beaches, we actually started by visiting the island’s rainforest. Khao Phra Thaeo is the last remaining evergreen rainforest on the island of Phuket, and is around 20km2. There are many trails around the National Park, but we chose to hike the waterfall trail, which was beautiful, if very very hot.

Bang Pae Waterfall

The most famous waterfall in all of Phuket lies within the National Park, so even if you decide not to do the hike (it is heavy going in the heat), then you can visit just to see the waterfalls. It’s the perfect place to take a dip and cool off!

Phuket Elephant Sanctuary

Full post: HERE

PES is a 30 acre site that takes in elderly and disabled elephants to give them a final place free of ‘performing’ for tourists or working in the logging industry, which is all too common in Thailand. This is still a tourist attraction (these elephants can’t be put back in the wild as they wouldn’t survive after years of abuse), but the PES doesn’t let you touch the elephants – just walk around and view them, plus feed them. I’d much rather spend my tourist dollars on this than anything exploitative.

Central Phuket

Phuket Old Town

Whilst Phuket’s old town is small, it’s really worth spending at least half a day exploring. The beautiful Sino-Portuguese architecture alone makes it really picturesque for a stroll. Also be sure to take in the art work down Soi Romanee, as well as pay a visit to the Phuket Thaihua Museum to learn about the history of the island.

Wat Chalong

Whilst Phuket has dozens of temples to choose for a visit, Wat Chalong is the most famous. It is dedicated to two monks who led the local citizens in fighting against the Chinese rebellion in 1876, and their knowledge of herbal medicine helped the injured. The site is full of multiple temples, and you must have your shoulders and knees covered, plus remove your shoes, to enter. We spent around 1.5hrs at the site as there is lots to see.

Island Hopping Day Trips

Full post: HERE.

Phuket is close to some of the most beautiful islands in all of Thailand, making it the perfect base from which to explore. From the east coast of the island, you could choose to head in to Phang Nga Bay (the famous home of James Bond Island), the Phi Phi Islands (of Leonardo Dicaprio’s The Beach fame). We chose Phang Nga Bay and explored multiple islands on a day trip there.

Blue Elephant (& Other Food Experiences)

Blue Elephant is one of the most famous restaurants in Phuket. It’s situated in an old colonial mansion, and we visited for lunch one day. The food is out of this world amazing – and the Pina Colada out of a coconut wasn’t bad either.

Phuket central is also the place to eat your way around town. Food tours are a must-do, and the street food is truly delicious. We particularly loved the banana Thai roti. To be honest, I spent most of my 10 days eating and I don’t regret a second of it!

South & West Phuket

Big Buddha

Perhaps the most famous landmark in Phuket, Big Buddha is a must visit. The Buddha sits atop Nakkerd (snake) Hill, and it’s said the snakes protect the Buddha. It’s a steep ride up to the top (and past some really questionable and sad elephant riding and feeding stations) but at the top there’s also some amazing view points as well as the Buddha!

Beaches

West Phuket has some of the islands most famous beaches. Kata is perhaps the most well known, alongside Karon beach which is just next door and Freedom Beach which is its (slightly) quieter neighbour. You could easily spend days relaxing on the beaches, but we decided there were far too many people in this area and actually headed to Banana Beach and Naiyang Beach which were much quieter for the day.

Spas & Massages

There are amazing spas all over Phuket but you can’t come to Thailand and not have a Thai massage. A particularly amazing spa lies on the west coast of the island – Infinite Luxury Spa at Kata Rocks, and lots of the islands also have amazing spas, often in little thatched huts like the one I visited.

Nightlife

The west part of the island is also where you want to be if you’re looking for the best nightlife and partying. Bangla Road is the most famous area for this, but I honestly can’t think of anything worse than surrounding myself with a load of drunk people in bars when I could be having a nice meal and cocktails on a private beach (I’m just too old and boring), so I steered well clear. It’s the only item in this guide which I didn’t visit, and I won’t be rectifying that.

Where to Stay in Phuket

There are so many options all over Phuket to cater to everyone. From hostels to luxury resorts, there’s something to suit everyone’s budget. Generally prices are much cheaper in South East Asia than in Europe/North America meaning more bang for your buck. I was also lucky enough to have a couple of free nights offered to me via Instagram, so we were able to stay 5* all the way, in the following 2 hotels.

Como Point Yamu

Full post: HERE

We first stayed in a beautiful Pool Suite at Como Point Yamu for 4 nights. The hotel was wonderful, and provided good access to the National Parks and animal sanctuaries in the north of the island.

Six Senses Yao Noi

Full post: HERE.

Our second hotel was the Six Senses Yao Noi, where we stayed for 6 nights. It was out of this world AMAZING. I have been lucky enough to stay in many beautiful hotels in my time, but this was something special. I can’t rave about it enough. Situated within Phang Nga Bay, it’s perfectly located for all those island hopping day trips.

If you’re planning a trip to Thailand and this guide has been helpful, you may also want to read:

• Phang Nga Bay & James Bond Island
• Phuket Elephant Sanctuary
• A review of Como Point Yamu
• A review of Six Senses Yao Noi
• Nok Island: Sunset BBQ

So what do you think of Phuket? Would you want to visit one day? We had the absolute best time in this perfect little corner of the world and would recommend it to anyone looking for a luxury getaway with lots to do on the doorstep. Hope you enjoyed the tour – stay safe and happy travelling!

In Phuket itself, we stayed at the beautiful Como Point Yamu in the north of the island. A sleek hotel with open plan and sweeping design features it felt super modern and made for the perfect base from which to explore all the area has to offer.

Location

Como Point Yamu is situated in the north of Phuket, on the east coast of the island and around a 30 minute drive from the airport, making it the perfect place as a first stop on a tour of the area.

The north of Phuket offers many attractions, including the incredible Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, Khao Phra Thaeo National Park and Gibbon Rehabilitation Centre.

It’s also easy to access other famous Phuket sites from the hotel, such as the Big Buddha, Phuket Old Town, Phuket’s many beaches and to island hop out to Phang Nga Bay (post coming soon).

Accommodation

The hotel offers many different room types, as well as stand alone villas. We stayed in a Phang Nga Pool Suite with views out across the Andaman Ocean.

The room offered a small kitchen area, large dining area, large living room with a big sofa and a desk, a huge bathroom with a freestanding tub, a nice modern bedroom and a second toilet!

The star of the room though was its beautiful and big private pool overlooking Phang Nga Bay – it was the perfect place to rest and relax after long days out exploring.

The room was spotlessly clean and beautifully appointed, with tea, coffee, chocolates and water provided daily. Rooms are made up once per day with an additional turndown service in the evening, and there was a smart TV in the room, enabling you to cast from your devices, watch Netflix etc.

Food & DRink

The food and drink at the hotel was, honestly, mixed. The breakfast was poor for a 5* hotel in my opinion. Every time we ordered eggs they were completely uncooked in the middle, and the breakfast buffet didn’t offer much variety.

However the main meals for lunch and dinner were delicious. There are two restaurants on site, one a relaxed dining hall serving Western and Thai food, and the other an authentic Thai restaurant. The food in the Thai restaurant was absolutely delicious.

Amenities & Experiences

The hotel offers an absolutely massive swimming pool, split in to three sections – one for families (which you have to have children to use; I know it’s only language and I’m sensitive to it but it always irks me that you have to have children to be considered a family), one for kids only, and one for adults only. The views out are really beautiful and we loved sitting by the pool with cocktails.

Also on site are a number of stunning walkways around the property to enjoy the views out to sea. There’s a large garden, lots of water pools and just large open spaces. Reception also sits out in the open with water features all around. I loved the elegant design.

There is also a spa on site offering a wide range of treatments, and private dinners can be arranged in villa or in a private dining room.

Away from the hotel itself, Como Point Yamu offers a number of excursions, including to Phuket Old Town and out to the islands of Phang Nga Bay. Phang Nga Bay is truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to, and whilst I explored it from the next hotel on our trip (not Como Point Yamu), if you don’t have another opportunity to see it, please don’t miss it.

So, what do you think of Como Point Yamu? Do you think it’s a good choice for a stay in Phuket?

I hope you enjoyed the visit – stay safe and happy travelling!

Qatar Airways business class product is called the Q suite, and a suite it is, with a closing door, high walls and loads of space. It is the best business class product I’ve ever experienced and I’m going to review it today based on return flights between London Heathrow and Phuket Thailand.

Contents

1. Contents
2. At the Airport
3. Cabin & Seat
4. Food & Drink
5. Service
6. Price

At the Airport

Flying from London, Qatar Airways has a brilliant lounge at Terminal 4, the use of which is included as part of the business class ticket. The lounge is spotless, offers a wide selection of drinks and the most delicious buffet food. Before my flight I had stuffed my face on totally delicious curry, rice, roti, daal, salads, cakes, biscuits….yum. Also included in London is priority check in and fast track via a private security line not accessible to other airlines/non business class passengers.

All Qatar Airways flights in to Asia transit via Doha (a 7hr flight from London). Doha offers one of the most amazing airports in the world, and gorgeous lounges for business class passengers whichever terminal you fly in to. The lounges have lovely showers, multiple restaurant options, huge areas to relax in and free WIFI. Again the food was amazing and included in the price of the business class ticket. We now have a go to ‘spot’ in the lounge that we love, freshen up with a shower, eat some food, and get ready to board for the next half of the journey.

Returning home from other Asian countries back through to Doha and onwards to London, there are partner lounges all over the continent. In Phuket we had access to a lounge which, whilst not on the scale of London or Doha’s, offered a decent food selection, comfy chairs and nice toilets. You’ll be directed to the correct partner lounge at the business class check-in.

Airport Score: 9/10

Cabin & Seat

This is where Qatar stands apart from the likes of British Airways. The business class Q Suite Cabin is truly outstanding.

Entering the seat, there is a sliding door. Inside the cabin you have a large seat which extends to a 6ft2 bed, a large touch screen TV, a side seat which opens up as storage for shoes and belongings, a table, and loads of space to move around.

If you’re in a window seat you are in a singular suite, and if you’re in a middle seat you can either be in a singular seat, or move the barrier between you and the person next to you to convert to a double suite with a double bed in the middle (with 2 separate TV screens so you can still be together but separate).

My husband and I don’t actually like doing this as we like our own plane time and tend to just annoy each other as inevitably one wants the light on to read whilst the other sleeps etc, so we tend to book separate seats!!

Toiletries are also provided, including compression socks, eye mask, lip balm, moisturisers etc. Toothbrush and toothpaste sets are provided in the much larger than normal plane bathrooms.

Cabin Score: 9/10

Food & Drink

Delicious. And I don’t like airplane food. Qatar Airways serves a three course meal, depending on time of day, on each flight. As an example, on the way our I had a Middle Eastern mezze with hot roti and hummus, followed by a chicken Biryani and fresh fruit for a dessert. It was sooo tasty!

The food on the other flights was just as incredible – in fact so good I ate it before I thought to take any photos which is the best review it could get really.

An in flight wine menu is also offered, including everything from champagne to reds, as well as an extensive cocktail menu. I had a Cuba Libre and some bubbly rose and both were great quality. There are also lots of soft drinks on offer too, as well as snacks such as popcorn, biscuits and even an afternoon tea with scones.

Food & Drink Score: 8/10

Service

Flight attendants are lovely on Qatar Airways. Firstly, they always refer to me as ‘Miss Hannah’ which I quite like, and they are always there but never pushy. The lovely Maggie on board the Doha to London route even went so far as to tuck me in and leave me some water and a cold flannel for when I woke up, as I’d fallen asleep with my blanket off. I initially thought it must have been my husband, but shouldn’t have been so foolish!

Overall I’d describe the service as attentive but respectful of space which is exactly how I like it. You also have a service button in your control panel of the suite so you can just ring a bell whenever you need anything.

Service Score: 8/10

Price

Qatar Airways isn’t the cheapest business class option. That said, it’s part of the One World Alliance with British Airways meaning I use my Avios points to fly with them. I collect Avios during the year- via spend on Amex credit cards, on short haul BA flights, the weekly shop and as much other shopping as possible via the BA shopping portal, all hotel bookings via Booking.com, plus my husband’s work travel adds a chunk. Every year we earn an average of 400,000 Avios from the above.

For the London Heathrow return to Phuket business class flights, I paid £480 plus 192,500 Avios per person. Cash equivalent would have been £4,330 per person.

This is much more expensive in points and cash value than booking using Avios on British Airways flights (E.g. I flew return to Costa Rica from London for £300 and 75,000 Avios per person). In my opinion though, if you have the points (or the cash!), Qatar is a truly brilliant airline well worth the additional cost.

Price score: 6/10

What do you think? Would you like to fly Qatar Airways Business Class? If you’re interested, you can also compare it to my review of British Airways Business Class Review. Stay safe and happy travelling!