Phuket to Phuket - which itinerary - North or South

[ckcruise]

We are considering one of the 7 day itineraries on the Star Clipper Phuket to Phuket.  Does anyone have any input as to the best itinerary - northern route or southern route?  We like nice beaches, good snorkeling, some cultural experiences and general sight seeing both urban and rural.  Hoping someone can help me decide which itinerary would suit us best.  Thanks all!

[new_cruiser]

I did South; except for Penang, all the stops were beaches on islands in National Parks. Snorkeling available at most of them, but one where it wasn't advised due to large jellyfish. It seemed like the North & South itineraries were pretty similar with a lot of overlap so I picked the date that worked best for me.

 

Because the islands were mostly uninhabited, you might plan on getting any Thai cultural experiences before or after.

[ckcruise]

New Cruiser - Thanks for your response:)  We are planning on a land stay for sure to see the sights of Thailand.  Did you enjoy your cruise and would you recommend it to others?  

[hobbsie65]

We did the south itinerary in December & loved it - great beaches & the ship was wonderful with fabulous crew & passengers. We booked a caribbean cruise on the Star Flyer while onboard -  that was how much we enjoyed it 🙂 

Edited May 2, 2019 by hobbsie65

[ckcruise]

Thanks for your reply Hobbsie65.  I'm happy to hear you had a wonderful time.  I'm leaning towards the Northern itinerary mostly because I like Langkawi better as port stop than Penang.  What did you do in Penang and did you enjoy your visit there.  Anyone input on the Northern itinerary would be appreciated.  I know there are some that have done both - any comparisons??  Thanks again everyone.

[habenicd]

We did the Singapore to Phuket trip in Nov. 2017, so we have not done either the North or South Phuket roundtrip, yet.  However, the dive master on board, during our trip, told us that the Northern route is just a bit better if you are a diver.

[new_cruiser]

On 5/1/2019 at 7:21 PM, ckcruise said:

New Cruiser - Thanks for your response:)  We are planning on a land stay for sure to see the sights of Thailand.  Did you enjoy your cruise and would you recommend it to others?  

I enjoyed it until I broke my wrist the day before the end - resulting in three extra days in a hospital in Thailand before returning home. The cast makes it hard to type much at the moment.

 

Penang was a good stop. I enjoyed visiting some of the temples. The beach stops were nice, but personally, I would have preferred a cruise that was more of a mix of beach stops and stops with hiking or cultural activities.