On Friday we hired Mr. Sam to drive us around Phuket Island for the day. George found him through reviews online, and we also highly recommend him! He’s not only a driver, but also a licensed tour guide and very informative. Sam has lived in Phuket for 20 years and knows a ton about Phuket and the surrounding provinces. We learned about the history of Phuket, edible plants, proper Thai pronunciation, and other cultural tid-bits. We will be posting a series of entries about our explorations.
We paid 2,000 baht for touring from 9am to 6pm. We could have bargained for a lower price at our hotel or a taxi station along the road, but paying a little more was definitely worth it for great service and the chance to learn about all the sites we visited. In fact, we don’t recommend you hire just any taxi driver to show you around the island. Sure, you might get lucky and find someone who is knowledgeable, but chances are you will spend a lot of time trying to bargain for a price then getting very poor service or just a driver who can take you places but not explain or know anything about it. It’s much better to hire someone who is knowlegeable, licensed and can speak English very well. We are always trying to learn new Thai words and Sam was a great teacher at that too!
Sam will take you wherever you want to go, but he will also offer some suggestions that will also make your experience much more rewarding. The ride was comfortable, in a new SUV, with passenger controls for AirCon and all the modern amenities in a vehicle. Sam even treated us to drinks and a snack of fried bananas along the way.
Sam is extremely busy these days since he has built such an outstanding reputation. In fact, many 5 star resorts also hire hime to give private tours for their customers. I think the best way to get a hold of him is to call him, but if you must email him don’t be too alarmed if it takes him a few days to get back to you, due to his busy schedule.
For a great cultural experience you can reach Sam via email or his mobile phone:
084 630 9334
Happy travels!