Phuket Province · Thailand
Phuket
Thailand's largest island, and two places at once: a tin-mining port whose Old Town is a street of Sino-Portuguese shophouses in sherbet colours, and a west coast of Andaman beaches that has been the country's biggest resort economy for fifty years. The limestone bays of Phang Nga are an hour away by boat.
Phuket was rich long before anyone came for the beaches. Tin brought Hokkien Chinese labourers and traders from Penang in the nineteenth century, and the money they made built the Old Town — shophouses with Portuguese arcades and Chinese courtyards, mansions in the same hybrid style, and a network of Chinese shrines that still run the island's most extraordinary festival. That Peranakan inheritance is why the food is not the Thai food of Bangkok, why the Vegetarian Festival in the autumn involves mediums walking on fire, and why the island has an old-money civic identity that has absolutely nothing to do with Patong. Both halves are real, and they are twenty minutes apart.
Plan your trip
Phuket Tour Itineraries
Timed, walkable day plans — plus the best season to go.
Where to shoot
Phuket Photo Spots
Medium crowdEntry Free
Kata Noi
- Best timeLate afternoon, when the sun comes round to face the beach and the headlands go gold — Andaman beaches face west and the morning light is behind you
- ColorsWhiteTurquoiseCoral
High crowdEntry Free
Patong
- Best timeSunset from the northern end of the sand, where the strip is out of frame and the bay is not — and after dark on Bangla Road, if neon and crowds are the picture you want
- ColorsWhiteCoralTurquoise
High crowdEntry The boat trip, plus a national-park fee at the foreigner rate
Phang Nga Bay
- Best timeEarly morning on the first boats out, when the water is glass, the karsts are in mist and the day-trip fleet has not arrived — by eleven James Bond Island is a queue
- ColorsWhiteTurquoiseCoral
Medium crowdEntry Free
Phuket Old Town
- Best timeEarly morning, when the arcades are in shade and the light comes down Thalang Road end-on — and again at dusk, when the shopfront lights come on under the arcades
- ColorsPastel pinkCreamTurquoise
High crowdEntry Free
Promthep Cape
- Best timeThe half hour before and after sunset — and stay for the twenty minutes after the sun has gone, when the sky does the thing everybody has already left for the car park to avoid
- ColorsWhiteCoralGold
High crowdEntry Free; the site runs on donations, including the marble tiles you can sign
The Big Buddha
- Best timeThe hour before sunset, when the marble goes warm and the bays below are lit — mornings are hazier and the statue is backlit
- ColorsWhiteSaffronSky blue
For the feed
Trending Wear in Phuket
Modern, Instagram-friendly looks
A longtail day in Phang Nga
฿1,000–3,000
Beach to street, and the line between them
฿500–2,000
Covered for the Buddha and the temple
฿400–1,500
Rooted in the city
Phuket Traditional Wear
Local, cultural, handcrafted outfits
Taste the city
Food to Eat in Phuket
Trusted tables
Where to Eat in Phuket
The beach-road grills
Kata, Karon and the quieter west-coast beaches
The Old Town shophouse kitchens
Thalang, Dibuk and Krabi roads, Phuket Town
The seafood row at Rawai
Rawai beachfront, in the south
The Sunday Walking Street, Thalang Road
Old Town, Phuket Town
The yellow-flag jay stalls
Island-wide during the Vegetarian Festival
Questions
Phuket — FAQ
What is Phuket famous for?
Thailand's largest island, and two places at once — Patong's resort strip behind Bangla Road, and the Sino-Portuguese shophouses of the Old Town in sherbet colours, with the Big Buddha on the Nakkerd hills and the karsts of Phang Nga Bay an hour north.
How many days are enough for Phuket?
Four: the southern beaches — Kata Noi, and Promthep Cape at sunset — the Old Town and the temples, and a Phang Nga Bay boat day.
What is the best time to visit Phuket?
November to March, when the Andaman side is calm and dry; May to October is the monsoon, with rough seas.
How do I get around Phuket?
An island, so everything is a ride — the Old Town and the southern beaches sit close together, and the bays and viewpoints are a taxi ride apart.
When is it safe to swim in Phuket?
In the November to March dry season the Andaman is calm. In the monsoon, respect the red flags — they mean the currents are running, and they are not advisory.