When people think of Thailand, they are actually just thinking about Phuket. I can’t blame them though. The largest island in Thailand, Phuket, is world renown for its beaches, parties, clear water, coral forests, limestone cliffs, caves and national park. Tourism has picked up big time here making it Thailand’s wealthiest province (and prices of hotels reflect that). Even though the island was affected badly by the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2014, no signs of the damage remains visible.
Having explored Bangkok and Pattaya for a few days, I was ready to visit this part of the country that has been made famous by Bollywood and Hollywood movies. Before this winter trip to Goa, I was not super big on beach holidays. To me, it felt like a waste of money, if all you do is lie on the sand and go for occasional dip. But Goa changed that for me and I was looking to enjoy more of this in Phuket.
How long to stay
We were here for 4 days and that felt like the perfect amount of time to spend on the island. Having spent 4 days in Bangkok and Pattaya before coming to Phuket, 8 days felt like a good enough amount of time to spend in Thailand before heading off to Malaysia. We also used the time here to check out the nearby islands – Koh Phi Phi and Krabi.
Getting here and getting around
The best way to get to Phuket is via flights. Not gonna lie, the train, bus and driving options from Bangkok or Pattaya to Phuket are so bad and so slow that it’s not worth it. Besides, Thailand has decent budget carriers that don’t cost a lot to travel on. Phuket’s airport is the second largest (right after Bangkok’s) in the country providing a variety of international and domestic connections. We took the Thai Airasia flight from Pattaya to Phuket and it costed us 1400 THB with a 20 kg checked bag for each of us (this was the price when we booked it a week before). The airport is on the northern end of the island and most of the hotels and resorts are in the central western to south western side of the island. You have the option of taking metered taxi, Grab (there is no Uber in Thailand), shared minibus (shared door to door taxis) as well as public buses to get to your hotels from the airport. We chose the minibus option since it was significantly cheaper than Grab and way faster than the public buses. We paid 180 THB per person to be dropped to our hotel (I think Grab was charging more than 1500 THB). The trick to get one is to leave the airport building and locate the minibus booth at the exit. They leave as soon as they are full (which can either be quick or take some time depending on how many flights land around the same time as yours). The minibus will stop midway to Patong at a travel agent’s office and you will be asked to get out and let the agent know your hotel to be dropped at. They will also try to sell you tours and hotels which you can decline if you don’t want to. In less than 10 minutes you will be back on your way to the hotel.
To get around the island, you will have to rely on tuk-tuks, taxis and songthaew (pickup trucks used as bus). A lot of hotels offer complimentary shuttle services to get around to the nearby beach and some attractions so be sure to make use of these services. What we ended up doing was book a 4 hour long Grab ride (Grab lets you book a car for block of hours in Phuket) to go do sightseeing and then got dropped at a beach in the end. For 2 days, we booked 2 different day trips to nearby islands which included pick up and drop off from the hotel (we negotiated for the last day to have us dropped off at the airport instead). Our hotel was also pretty close to Patong beach so everything was within walking distance for us.
Where to stay
The options for a room vary so much in Phuket that the choices can be very overwhelming. You can find cheap places for less than $20 per night to outrages resorts charging $600 per night. We ended up paying $84 per night for our room at Journey Hub Hotel, a pretty decent 4 star hotel with a rooftop infinity pool. If you want to go all out, I would say Phuket is the place to do that. Make sure to book your hotel well in advance online if you want a deal. And this goes without saying: the more inside the island your hotel, the cheaper the price compared to the beach properties.
What to buy
A lot of tourists who come to Phuket buy cultured pearls, nielloware, pewterware and ornaments as souvenirs from the country. You will find these souvenir shops near the beaches. Make sure to bargain as you can end up lowering the prices by 60% of the listed price. Phuket is also known for cashew nuts that is grown here. They have all the varieties of dried, fried and coated cashews that you can buy to take back home as gifts for friends and family.
What to see or do
As mentioned before, Phuket is known for spa and water activities like diving, snorkeling, sailing, yachting, freediving, swimming, sunbathing, jet skiing, parasailing and surfing. Your time in Phuket can be as lazy, luxurious or adventurous as you want it to be. We spent a day exploring Phuket and other 2 days making day trips to Koh Phi Phi and Krabi islands.
Here are my recommended things to see or do in Phuket:
Patong Beach
The largest beach resort in the whole island. This beach is known for its nightlife. I would totally recommend going there after dark for dinner, drinks and more 😉 .
Karon Beach
Right after Patong, this beach comes to my mind when visiting Phuket.
Kata Beach
If you are into surfing, this is the beach you want to be in. It’s pretty clean and popular with tourists.
Big Buddha Statue
This white marble Buddha Statue is one of the best places to get a bird’s eye view of Phuket’s east coast.
Phuket Fantasea
I am not sure if calling it an either exuberant show or cultural theme park does justice since it is a mix of both. It uses animals and interesting 3D effects to showcase the heritage of the country. It’s open all days except Thursdays from 8:30 pm (yes PM) onwards.
Simon Caberet
One of my favorite cabaret shows in Thailand. They have 3 different showtimes so you can watch the show and then go for a night out on the town or enjoy a nice dinner and end the night with this show.
Wat Chalong
The only Buddhist temple on the island that I visited and would really recommend others to do the same. The temple complex is huge and filled with a lot of interesting buildings.
Promthep Cape
The southernmost end of the island known for spectacular sunset views.
Karon viewpoint
This viewpoint overlooking the 3 beaches of Kata Noi, Kata and Karon is worth stopping by.
Day trips to nearby islands
I would highly recommend going for guided day trips to nearby islands rather than getting a boat chartered and trying to navigate on your own. Many tour companies offer all inclusive day tours (including pick up, drop off, meals, sightseeing and snorkeling gears) that you can book. Be sure to ask about the size of the group and boat being used before booking. And now, drumroll, for the best tip: Do not pay the price listed on the brochure. The price on the brochure is negotiable and you can bargain your way to almost paying 30-40% of the listed price like I did. Since I booked a couple of trips, I paid a fraction of what was asked. I was able to book these tours using my hotel’s travel desk and even had them ensure our drop off on the last tour was to the airport instead of the hotel. Make sure to mention your dietary restrictions too. Some options for the island tour includes Phi Phi islands, James Bond island and Krabi.
Phi Phi Island Day tour
Monkey Beach
We started out tour by making a quick stop here. Well, depending on the time of the day and year, you will see a beach otherwise just water. But the monkey are guaranteed everyday. Our tour guide told these monkeys are anything but friendly so make sure to keep your variables out of their sight. Don’t be that tourist who gets attacked for trying to get up, close and personal taking that selfie with them.
Maya Bay
Featured in James Bond movie, Maya Bay became so popular among tourists from all over the world that the Thai government had to close it down to recover it from the damage done by overcrowding few months ago. Luckily we were able to grab a sneak peak.
Loh Samay Bay
Another great place for Snorkelling.
Pileh Cove
My favorite site from the whole trip. I loved swimming in this water and the views here were breathtaking.
Viking Cave
These caves resemble Viking ships and hence the name. Unfortunately, we could only see them from our boat.
Phi Phi island
Krabi Island Day Tour
Chicken Island
If you see this island from a distance, it looks like a chicken.
Tup Island
The most magical thing I have seen. It links two islands to each other with a sandy path during low tide.
Phra Nang Cave
These caves are supposed to have religious value to Thai people. I was just amazed at the details in these caves.
Phra Nang Bay
Great for snorkeling.
Poda island
This island had my favorite beach. The water here was the greenest I have ever seen. There is also an iconic limestone rock in the middle of the water.
Railay Beach
White sand beach to enjoy some sunbathing.
Krabi
What to eat
You will be surprised by the number of upscale and international cuisines available to you in Phuket at your disposal. I guess it had to do with the international crowd that flocks to the island the ensure year. Since I stick to only eating the local food while traveling, here is my favorite local dish from the region that you should try: Khanom Jin – These are breakfast noodles served with spicy curry sauce and vegetables. You will also see a lot of noodle shops selling fried or boiled noodle dishes with chicken or pork that are worth enjoying.
Have you been to Phuket? What were your favorite things to see or do? Are there any places, beaches, hotels that you recommend? What was the most delicious meal you had on the island ?
Food and Travel Matters 
I wanted to share some of the logistical items regarding island hopping as well as my costs.
On the Andaman side of islands (i.e. Ko Phi Phi, Ko Lanta, Krabi Islands, Phang-Nga Bay (“James Bond Islands”) , there is usually 3-4 modes of sea-transportation available: speed-boat (fastest and most expensive, 15-25 people in the boat), big boat (slower, can’t reach shallow places but they provide transfer to smaller boats, cheaper than speed-boat, 100+ people), long tail-boat (cheapest option, can’t travel super-long distances (so Phuket -> Phi Phi may not be feasible), slowest of the three option, but can reach all the shallow places, 15-25 people in the boat). The prices for all these options are negotiable and one should negotiate down the price. But make sure to negotiate in the context of the boat type, otherwise the tour agency will simply switch you from speed boat to a big boat or a long tail-boat.
For Phang-Nga Bay, I used Phuket as my base and paid 1250 baht/person for a a speed-boat. Of all the islands I covered, I enjoyed the Phang-Nga Bay the most and the speed-boat definitely made the journey a lot more fun.
For Phi Phi islands, I ended up doing an open-ticket (so Phuket -> Phi Phi -> spend as many days in Phi Phi as you want, then Phi Phi -> Krabi). Only big boats can do these kind of tickets. I ended up paying 700baht/person for this ticket (Phuket -> Phi Phi -> Krabi). Please note that my last drop off point was Krabi town and not Ao-Nang beach (the more touristy part of Krabi, the district). The prices between Krabi town and Ao-Nang are pretty much the same though. One can also take a local taxi (song-thaew) from Krabi town to Ao-Nang for 60 baht.
Of all the islands, I felt Phi Phi islands was most disappointing. The main Maya Beach has been closed off for tourists due to overcrowding, and other than sightseeing, there are barely any activities other than swimming/snorkeling to do on this trip. I would also highly recommend spending a night in Phi Phi islands. It’s surprisingly pretty cheap, with lots of tourists and great night life.
For Krabi islands (“4/5/7 island tour”), I used Krabi town as my base and paid 800 baht/person for a long tail-boat. The long tail-boat was loud but much more enjoyable than the big boat.
LikeLike
Also, wanted to add a couple of quick comments for folks interested in going to the islands on the Gulf of Thailand (Ko Samui, Ko Pha Ngan, Ko Tao, Ang Thong islands) –
1) There are three ferry companies that basically travel Surat Thani (mainland) -> Ko Samui -> Ko Ph Ngan -> Ko Tao -> Chumphon (mainland) route. The prices for the ferry is pretty much fixed, and there is very little room for negotiation, if any. The three companies are Lomprayah (high-speed catamaran, most expensive), Sea-tran (mid-range) and Songserm (budget ferry). Although the difference in price between Sea-tran and Songserm isn’t much. These are the only companies plying the route and long tail-boats/speedboats don’t commonly run these routes.
2) Ang-Thong national park is an exception to the above – this works just like Andaman Islands – speed boats/long tail-boats/big boats all go to Ang Thong National Park and prices are completely negotiable. Please note that these islands can only be accessed from Ko Samui or Ko Pha-Ngan. Also, the National Park has stopped giving out tents for camping and people are expected to bring their own camp gear for an overnight say, but there are bungalows available for rent.
LikeLiked by 1 person