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Phuket delivers everything you’d want from a Thai island: beautiful beaches, clear waters, tropical landscapes and lively resorts. Thailand’s largest island sits in the Andaman Sea, with a mountainous landscape at its centre, sandy bays around the coast and several smaller islands offshore.
But there’s plenty to do beyond the beach. You can explore the Sino-Portuguese streets of Phuket Old Town, snorkel and dive in the surrounding waters, take a boat trip to Phang Nga Bay or the Phi Phi Islands, or spend an evening in lively Patong. Phuket is also easy to reach and well connected to the rest of Thailand, making it a great addition to your Thailand multi-centre holiday.
Big Buddha: A hilltop landmark with a peaceful vibe and island views.
Phuket Old Town: Shophouses, street art, and great street food.
Phang Nga Bay: Karsts, sea caves and canoeing.
Phi Phi Islands: Snorkelling, Pileh Lagoon and the famous Maya Bay.
Wat Chalong: Buddhist temple with a 60-metre golden chedi.
Ethical elephant sanctuaries: Visit a project that cares for rescued elephants.
Beaches: Lots of choice from family-friendly Kata to secluded Freedom Beach.
Nightlife: Bangla Road, cabaret shows, beach clubs and cocktail bars.
If you’re staying anywhere in the south of the island, you’ll probably catch sight of the Big Buddha before you even visit it. Sitting 45 metres tall on Nakkerd Hill and clad in white Burmese marble, it can be seen for miles, but a close-up view is well worth it. From the hill, you can also enjoy a 360-degree panorama across Phuket, where you can pick out Chalong Bay, Karon Beach and Phuket Old Town.
It’s part of an active Buddhist site, with bells, chanting, and monks giving blessings, so it feels like a place of worship first and foremost, rather than a viewpoint. It’s a wonderfully peaceful spot as well, and somewhere to sit for a few quiet moments, making a change from the busy streets and bustling beaches down below. Make sure you cover your shoulders and knees, as the dress code is enforced here.
Plenty of Thai islands offer you a picture-perfect beach, but very few come with a town like Phuket Old Town. Its streets are lined with Sino-Portuguese shophouses in pretty pastel shades, with colourful murals tucked away down the side streets, and it’s a big part of what makes Phuket special.
Take your time as you wander around, and make sure you look above street level, as that’s where the real intricacy of the architecture is. The prettiest street is Soi Romanee, a short curving lane off Thalang Road that was the town’s red light district back in the mining days.
Other highlights include Baan Chinpracha, a mansion on Krabi Road still owned by the family who built it, and the Thai Hua Museum, a former Chinese-language school that now tells the story of Phuket’s Chinese heritage.
On Sundays, the Walking Street market takes over Thalang Road with food stalls, crafts and live music, and it’s the best place to try local Peranakan dishes such as moo hong, a slow-braised pork belly.
Phang Nga Bay, with its dozens of towering limestone karsts, is one of the most dramatic stretches of coast in Thailand, and it makes a great day trip from Phuket. These towers of rock took millions of years to form and are a remarkable sight, especially from the water as your boat weaves between them. Because the bay is so sheltered, the water around them often stays incredibly calm.
It’s easy to book a trip out to the bay, and many include hotel pick-up, taking you out by speedboat, traditional longtail or larger cruise boat. Most include a photo stop at James Bond Island, made famous by ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’, canoeing into the sea caves and hidden lagoons known as hongs, and lunch at Koh Panyee, a Muslim fishing village largely built on stilts.
The Phi Phi Islands are a stunningly scenic collection of six small islands with sheer limestone cliffs, surrounded by pale turquoise water and coral reef. Only one of them, Phi Phi Don, is inhabited, and the whole archipelago is protected as a national park, which is a big part of the appeal.
They sit about 45km east of Phuket and make a brilliant full-day trip by speedboat or big boat, taking in Maya Bay and Pileh Lagoon with snorkelling stops in the warm, clear water along the way.
Maya Bay, the idyllic beach from the film ‘The Beach’, is open again, having been closed for several years, but runs on a very strict visitor system. The boats moor round the back, you walk in on a boardwalk, and swimming is not allowed. It also closes for a couple of months each year, usually August and September, to let the bay recover.
If you like the idea of island-hopping but would prefer somewhere quieter, take a look at our guide to Thailand’s lesser-known islands, including more laid-back options such as Koh Yao Noi, Koh Yao Yai and Koh Lanta.
A short drive from the Big Buddha, and ideal to combine on the same trip, Wat Chalong is the most revered of the island’s temples. It’s still very much a working temple, busy with local families coming to pray and leave offerings of lotus flowers and gold leaf. Listen out for firecrackers too, set off in a brick kiln in the grounds to give thanks when a wish has been granted.
What makes this temple special is the 60-metre chedi at its centre, where a fragment of bone believed to have belonged to the Buddha himself sits right at the top. Inside, its three levels are covered with intricate murals telling the story of the Buddha’s life, and the balcony near the top offers long views across Chalong towards the Big Buddha.
A visit to an ethical elephant sanctuary is an experience you’ll never forget, and it’s a highlight of many of our clients’ trips to Thailand. These sanctuaries are home to elephants rescued from the logging and tourism industries, where they’re never ridden or made to perform tricks.
Phuket’s best-known is Phuket Elephant Sanctuary in Paklok, whose vision was inspired by the work of Chiang Mai’s famous Elephant Nature Park. Set in lush jungle with its own elephant hospital on site, it’s hands-off, so you’ll watch from shaded viewing platforms and a raised walkway through the trees. Your guide will tell you each elephant’s story as you go, and you’ll see them foraging, dust-bathing and wallowing in the mud pools, behaving naturally at their own pace.
The Hidden Forest Elephant Reserve near Chalong is also a great option, with the animals’ welfare at its core.
Unsurprisingly, there’s plenty of choice when it comes to beaches in Phuket. Kata is a great all-rounder with soft sand, lifeguards and plenty of places to eat, while Kata Noi next door is smaller and calmer. Nai Harn on the southern tip has a small lagoon just behind it, Karon is long and wide with plenty of space to stretch out, and Bang Tao and Layan are quieter and greener, and are home to several of the island’s larger luxury resorts. You can compare Phuket with other options in our guide to Thailand’s best beaches.
If you want something totally secluded though, head to Freedom Beach, where access is limited, so most people get there by longtail boat from Patong. Mai Khao in the north is another quiet option and stretches for miles. And while Patong may not have the best beach on the island, it does have the most comprehensive facilities and transport, making it a good practical base.
If you’re travelling during the monsoon months of May to October, rip currents build quickly on the west coast, so make sure you’re aware of the red flag system. Ao Yon on the sheltered east coast is often a good, calmer alternative at this time of year.
Patong is the liveliest place for nightlife on the island, with Bangla Road at its heart. This is where you’ll find beer bars, live music rooms, rooftops and big clubs. It’s not for everyone, though, so if you want something a little more sophisticated, head to one of the island’s cabaret shows or a beach club in Bang Tao or Kamala. Phuket Old Town also has some great cocktail and craft-beer bars.
Phuket works brilliantly as part of a longer Thailand holiday. Bangkok and Phuket work really well together as a simple city and beach twin-centre break, or include Phuket within a more complete Thailand experience taking in the north of Thailand and other islands.
Take a look at our Thailand multi-centre holidays for more inspiration, or let us tailor an itinerary around the places you’d most like to see.
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