We love travelling as a family but the anticipation was really building for this holiday since Thailand is one of our favourite places to go as a couple and we were finally able to introduce our girls to the country we love. Ariana was just over three and Juliette was just over five, so they were finally ready!

We were mostly excited for them to eat, everything, but we love the heat, the smell and the friendly culture. For this trip, we were off to Phuket!

Before we took off

The best part about Justin’s Qantas status is that we get access to the First Class lounge. He had been traveling so much for work, when we walked in they recognised him. For very frequent fliers and special people, they have a spa they can book you into for free 20min treatments. He asked the team to squeeze me in and I had an amazing massage while the girls ate crazy good food and even were given special colouring pages by the concierge team.

The flight — what we learned

In order to spend an extra day in Phuket, we flew through Singapore on the way there. The flight from Melbourne to Singapore was about seven hours. The girls did so well (just watched their tablets the whole time :))

We then had a short layover in Singapore which was just long enough to grab food at the food court but not long enough to really enjoy all the fun things to see at the Singapore airport. Can’t wait to take them to the butterfly garden and The Jewel next time.

Then the flight from Singapore to Phuket was just an hour and a half. Justin, Juliette and I all slept. Ariana watched Peppa Pig the whole time :). When we got there, we had some tired kids, but fortunately we had a car waiting for us — the perfect place for a sleep on the one-hour drive to our hotel. It was a late night, but overall, the timing worked great.

Our hotel

Last year when we came to Phuket we stayed near Karon Beach, which was great and walkable to some wonderful restaurants but without the crazy crowds and bustle of Patong. This time, we stayed a 15 min walk South at the top end of Kata Beach at Ozo Resort.

We chose Ozo because they have a bunkbed room connected to the king bed room, which is a perfect set up for us. They also have a fantastic kid’s pool, playground and waterslide. But what we really loved was the location. Just steps from the hotel is the Kata Walking Night Market and all the fruit stalls, massages and shops you’d want.

We’d start each morning with a fantastic buffet breakfast included with our room. The selection was huge and they had a “kid’s corner” with low tables and a big selection for kids to help themselves.

And when else do you have a donut every morning for breakfast?

After eating a lot of Thai food, it was great to see the girls craving some raw veggies half-way through the trip.

We’d then go for a play on the playground (if it was early enough before it got too hot) or straight to the pool. It was HOT here. Daily temps were 32 C (90 F) but with the humidity it felt like 37 C (99 F) — and sunny. So by 9am it was HOT. Even after dark it was 30 C. So you’d either find us in the pool, or having some chill time in our room with the AC before heading out again.

The pool

They had a great kids pool here with a little waterslide, fountains and much needed shade. They also had a big waterslide which was way too scary for the girls to even think about on the first day but by day two, the girls were both walking up and going down all by themselves.

It was amazing to see how much their water confidence increased after being in the pool every day.

After some morning pool time, we’d come back to shower and get ready for lunch, which usually meant walking to a nearby restaurant for amazing Thai food. We really enjoyed Thai Kitchen.

After that we discovered Four Monkeys because we wanted to find someplace indoors and air conditioned — which is not super common. They were definitely the friendliest staff we met, with a “welcome drink,” free fruit platter and water for the girls. They even sent us home with some complimentary fruit.

This place also gave us the largest coconut we’ve ever seen. Ever bigger than one we got on our honeymoon seven years ago.

More great food

We also went back to two of our favourite restaurants from our last trip, Kalika and Eightfold. Both had incredible food.

We went to Kalika for dinner on our first night. It was one of our favourites last year, and were excited to go back. We forgot about the 3 hour time difference so an 8pm dinner felt pretty late for the kids. Within minutes of sitting down, before we could order, Ariana fell fast asleep and slept, sitting up, the rest of the dinner.

All the fruit!!!

We LOVE all of the amazing fruit in Thailand. It is hard to explain how much better a mango there tastes, but it is just incredible. The variety is amazing and the girls were so adventurous trying everything! We would buy mango, jackfruit, pomelo, papaya, mini bananas, longans, dragonfruit and tiny pineapple. At the morning breakfast buffets we would crush passionfruit like it was going out of season. On hot days, Ariana definitely got a good portion of her hydration through watermelon.

Kata Walking Street

Right outside our hotel was the Kata Walking Street and Night Market. We ended up going there almost every night because the variety of food was incredible, they had tons of fruit stalls, the vibe was great, it was nice being outdoors, and…it was right across the street!

One night we even met a woman with a baby lemur and got to hold it!

Rolled Ice Cream

Since it was so hot, and still quite hot at night, ice cream was pretty clutch. Here, they made ice cream on a frozen flat plane, crunching up your choice of toppings and rolling it into pieces. The girls don’t usually have a lot of ice cream, so they now think all ice cream is made by smashing and then rolling.

Kata and Karon Beach

We went to both beaches (both walkable from our hotel). Karon beach was a bit more crowded and some slightly larger waves. Kata beach has silky smooth sand and no rocks as you walk out. Both beaches have tons of lounge chairs with umbrellas to rent for much needed respite from the sun. We didn’t spend much time at the beach (opted for the pool instead) but we had fun playing in the sand on both beaches.

Massages

When in Thailand, getting massages is a must-do. They are so good and really inexpensive. A Thai massage is going to be really deep (you definitely won’t fall asleep) but if you want something more relaxing, the oil massages are also great. There are massage places on every street but I heard about this one called Champa which is slightly nicer and 50 BHT (~$2.50) more for an hour massage. Justin and I each went there twice (including rushing there just before heading back to the airport. It was well worth it!

It was a massively fantastic trip. On the way home, we flew nonstop on a redeye home, which was great. The girls passed out pretty immediately and slept…very well.

This was an incredible trip and a wonderful first introduction to Thailand for the girls. It helped to have a kid-friendly hotel (and pool), to have a plethora of amazing food outside our door and girls who were up for an adventure. We can’t wait to come back!