A rainy afternoon in Phuket does not leave you with quite as many options as a sunny one, which is part of what makes Simpro Academy Phuket interesting. Found inside Soho Pool Club at Boat Lagoon Marina, it swaps the beach and boat trips for proper racing simulators in a fully air-conditioned space. It is open from 9am to 9pm every day, and the setup is much closer to serious sim racing than the driving games you might have tried in an arcade.

The setup runs four simulators: three for racing and one dedicated to flight. Of the racing rigs, two run triple-screen displays and one is built around VR.

The hardware is consistent throughout: Simucube direct-drive wheelbases, Simtrecs load-cell pedals, and genuine Sparco and Recaro seats, with iRacing as the main racing platform, alongside Assetto Corsa, Assetto Corsa EVO, Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa Rally, WRC, and Automobilista 2 for GT racing and rally enthusiasts.

These are not entry-level home setups. The force feedback through the wheel and the resistance through the pedals are calibrated to replicate what a real car communicates to the driver, which is what makes the platform useful for anyone who actually races as well as for anyone who has never sat in a competition car in their life.

The racing simulators are built to teach as much as they are built to entertain. Every session opens with a briefing covering the basics: racing lines, braking zones, throttle application and the logic of carrying speed through a corner rather than fighting for it.

From there, the 45 minutes of hands-on time runs with staff on hand for general assistance throughout, while dedicated one-on-one coaching is available for guests who want a more serious racing-focused session.

Real-time telemetry runs through each session, so there is data to review afterwards: where braking happened, where it should have happened, where time was lost or gained. For someone who has never driven on a circuit, that feedback loop makes the whole session considerably more useful than simply turning laps and guessing. For someone who races and wants a wet-weather alternative to testing, the data is what makes it worth doing repeatedly.

The flight simulator runs a Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog, a Moza flight stick, and an F5 simulation seat. The software covers Microsoft Flight Simulator for civil aviation and Digital Combat Simulator for military aircraft, which means the range goes from a small prop plane on a coastal approach to a fast jet over a combat environment.

The rig does not move, but the visual fidelity and the control response are close enough to the real thing that the platform is built on the same principles used in actual pilot training.

That framing is not accidental. Simpro Academy Phuket was founded by Paul Chappell, a 23-year professional airline captain who also owns Simba Sea Trips and Soho Pool Club. The marine safety standards Chappell built into his boat tour operation carry the same logic into the simulation centre: a session-opening briefing, qualified instruction, and enough structure to make the experience useful rather than just entertaining.

The academy handles group bookings and corporate events, with multiple simulators available at the same time and coaching adapted to the size and experience of the group. A private event for Bolttech at Aquella Golf & Country Club in Phang Nga showed how the setup can work away from the academy too.

The simulators can be brought directly to the venue, along with the instructors and race format. Once everyone starts competing on the same track and comparing lap times, the friendly rivalry gives the group plenty to talk and laugh about without the usual forced team-building exercises.

For the standard Phuket monsoon season question of what to do when the weather closes in, Shrimpro Academy is one of the cleaner answers. The session is 60 minutes from briefing to debrief, runs at 1,300 baht per person, and coaching is available for an additional fee. Afterwards, Soho Pool Club is directly adjacent for lunch, drinks, or the wellness facilities.

For anyone looking for a broader overview of things to do in Phuket beyond the beach, the island has more indoor and activity-based options than its coastal reputation suggests. Simpro sits at the more technically serious end of that spectrum.

Sessions run daily, 9am to 9pm. Booking in advance is recommended.

Address: 23 Boat Lagoon Marina, Soho Pool Club, Moo 2, Koh Kaeo, Ampur Mueang, Phuket 83000

Phone: +66 62 962 2822

Email: info@simproacademyphuket.com

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