Things to Do in Phuket

Five things above all: a Phi Phi speedboat day on the earliest departure, Phang Nga Bay's sea caves by canoe, the Big Buddha (open again since March 2026) with Wat Chalong, Phuket Old Town on a Sunday if you can, for the Lard Yai walking street, and sunset at Promthep Cape followed by seafood by the kilo in Rawai.

Ranked: the Phi Phi Islands by early speedboat, Phang Nga Bay by sea canoe, the Big Buddha and Wat Chalong, Phuket Old Town and the Sunday Walking Street, sunset at Promthep Cape, Rawai's seafood market, a proper beach day at Kata Noi, Nai Harn or Freedom Beach, Karon Viewpoint at golden hour, an ethical elephant half-day, and the Similan Islands in season. Four to five days covers the list.

Do both if you've got two boat days. They're different seas. Phi Phi is the open Andaman: cliffs, lagoons, snorkelling, ฿2,500–3,000 plus ฿400 park fee, cancelled when the swell is up, and Maya Bay closes every 1 August–30 September. Phang Nga is sheltered water, sea caves by canoe and James Bond Island for ฿1,400–2,800 plus ฿300, and it runs in almost any weather. That's the one to choose in monsoon.

Yes, it reopened on 3 March 2026 after the August 2024 landslide closed the hill for eighteen months. Free, open roughly 06:30–18:30, with a strict dress check at the stairs: shoulders and knees covered, no sleeveless tops even under a scarf, and free sarongs at the gate. Go before 11:00, when the platform loses its shade.

Thailand's biggest island is famous for its west-coast beaches, the limestone seas either side of it (Phi Phi to the south-east, Phang Nga Bay to the north-east), the Big Buddha on its ridge, Patong's Bangla Road nightlife, and, less shouted about but just as real, the Sino-Portuguese Old Town and some of the country's best seafood in Rawai.

The Lard Yai walking street on Old Town's Thalang Road (Sundays 16:00–22:00) is the island's best evening. Chillva Market runs Monday–Saturday with live music. Bangla Road is worth one walk-through, the Bang Tao beach clubs are the groomed alternative, and Promthep sunset into a Rawai seafood dinner is the quiet classic.

Coral Island or a big-boat Phi Phi tour for calm-water swimming, Hanuman World's zip-lines (from ฿1,500), the Andamanda water park (~฿1,900), Aquaria at Central Phuket, an elephant half-day from age six, and Kata Noi's green-flag shallows. Skip Bangla Road entirely and time beach days by the flags.

Do: book boats through your hotel or the operator, carry park-fee cash, cover shoulders and knees at the temples, use Grab, and swim by the flags. Don't: buy tours from Bangla Road touts, ride a scooter without a licence (checkpoints are routine and insurance excludes it), swim under a red flag, or patronise any animal attraction that offers rides or shows.

They trade blows. Phuket wins on beaches you can swim without surf, boat-trip variety (Phi Phi, Phang Nga, the Similans) and infrastructure. Bali wins on culture-in-the-landscape, surf and café scenes. Phuket is the easier family island, and prices are comparable. If the deciding factor is a second Thai destination nearby, Krabi, Lanta, Bangkok, then Phuket's side of the ledger grows quickly.