WHAT TO DO IN PHUKET

  Things to Do in Phuket

Gorgeous white beaches, the bluest water you have ever seen, and snorkeling, which is like swimming in an aquarium. This is the place to relax and enjoy yourself, either with scuba diving, spa centers, or elephant trekking, there is always something to do.

Phi Phi Islands Adventure Day Trip

Explore the heavenly Phi Phi archipelago, including Maya Bay from the Leonardo DiCaprio film "The Beach," on this fun speedboat trip from Phuket. Once at the archipelago, swim over the coral reefs of Pileh Lagoon, snorkel at Bamboo Island, see the monkeys at Monkey Beach, and then visit the breathtaking Maya Bay.

Phuket City Tour : KaronView Poin Big Buddha and Wat Chalong

Phuket is known for its breathtaking white-sand beaches, but this Thai island is also bursting with culture and history.

Join this Phuket City Tour for a chance to experience the island's natural beauty and culture. See top attractions like the gigantic Big Buddha statue and the sacred Wat Chalong temple. Check out a cashew nut factory and stop for photos at Windmill Viewpoint.

Plus, visit five picturesque beaches and learn all about Phuket from a knowledgeable local guide.

Phang-Nga and Khai nai Eco Tour

Take the speedboat to Phang-nga and Khai Nai islands. Discover the flora and fauna at Panak Island, and the amazing limestone mountains at Hong Island. This trip also offers you a visit to Tapu Island (James Bond Island), Talu Cave, the fishing village called Ban Tak Dad and the landscape of mangrove forests.

Phuket Fantasea

This is a cultural theme park with a very extravagant show. Phuket Fantasea is a stunning 140-acre theme complex, packed with activities such as carnivals and a Las Vegas-styled theatrical show.

The show begins at 21.00. If you have booked for both dinner and show, then make sure to arrive before 18.30.

Adventurer Rafting

This tour, in Southern Thailand’s lush Phang Nga Province, takes you on an action-packed ride along mountain rivers fringed with forest. Be prepared to get wet! See the website for more information and different packages for the White Water Rafting Tour.

Scuba Diving

‘Have a go’ under the guidance of a PADI instructor. A day course includes simple instructions in breathing techniques, signals and safety before diving into the clear waters.

SPLASH JUNGLE WATER PARK

This is the perfect place to let the kids, and adults, go wild. Enjoy an adventurous day filled with water slides, rides, and diving at Splash Jungle Water Park. The park also offers several refreshment options, including cafes and bars.

Phuket Thai Cooking School

This is the perfect place to learn how to cook Thai food. The school is located on Siray Beach in a serene and beautiful environment. Enjoy your food on one of their wooden sundecks or the beach.

Sepak Takraw 

Sepak Takraw is a popular sport in Asia. When the sun has set and the temperature has cooled down you can see people coming out and play this game. If you wonder what it is about, count how many times the ball touches the ground.

Golf

Phuket has many beautiful golf courses to enjoy with panoramic views and refreshing surroundings. Just pick a course and enjoy a relaxing day surrounded by a beautiful green landscape.

Phuket Seashell Museum

This kid-friendly museum celebrates shells from all over the world. The documentation is available in several languages and well made. Fossilized shells are displayed, along with rare and common shells. A nice visit for a rainy day or when it is too warm outside.

Phuket Aquarium

This small aquarium presents sea life species from the lakes, streams, mangroves, coral reefs, and the deep sea of Thailand. You will be guided on your discovery with audio guides and explanation panels. Feeding shows are also organized.

Monkey Hill 

Hundreds of monkeys live on this hill. A nice visit for your family but be careful of these wild animals. Officials recommend not feeding them, as they can get aggressive. The ascension of the hill is also a good workout.

Phuket Orchid Farm

This farm exhibits outstanding flowers. More than 1,500 different hybrids & species are presented. You can purchase traditional Thai bird cages, seeds, and fresh flowers. Beautiful pictures are definitively on the menu!

Phuket and its surrounding islands are some of the most beautiful and intriguing in the world. Tall outcrops of limestone rise vertically from the sea, and probably the most famous of these was used as a location for one of the James Bond films. It’s now known as “James Bond Island,” but its real name is Phang-nga.
Set just off the west coast of Thailand, in the Andaman Sea, Phuket is about the same size as Singapore. The main town is Phuket Town, but many visitors stay in the beach resorts of Surin, Katu, Karon, and the most famous (and busy), Patong. To get from Phuket to Patong takes about 20 minutes. Phuket Town has all the administration offices, bigger business hotels, and department stores, whilst the beach resorts cater more to the holidaymakers. However, excursions to the islands off Phuket go from the port to Phuket Town.

Phuket tourist information

Phuket is an island which helps to form Thailand's southern province. The island is attached to the mainland by bridges and road networks. Tourism is the largest part of the local economy and the island is popular with those exploring South East Asia; Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia all border Thailand. Backpackers and gap year students are common, along with the luxury resorts.

Tourism is the largest part of the local economy and the island is popular with those exploring South East Asia; Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia all border Thailand. Backpackers and gap year students are common, along with the luxury resorts.

Phuket was part of an important trade route in the 17th century and had a much vaunted reserve of tin. Nowadays Phuket is more famed for its booming tourism. The island is growing rapidly, and it is now not unusual to find shops and services that you might find in large cities such as Bangkok, or even the Western world. It also benefits from many rubber tree plantations.

Phuket is Thailand's largest island, and is connected to the mainland via two bridges. Phuket has a very consistent year round temperature of around 28 °C, but many visitors will want to avoid the rainy season (May - October).

Phuket is renowned for its golden beaches, of which it has some of the most famous in the world. The 2000 film 'The Beach' starring Leonardo DiCaprio famously used Ko Phi Phi Leh beach as its setting; the craggy coves and white sands are fairly typical of the beaches in the area.

Phang Nga Bay is accessible by boat and is one of the more famous beaches in Phuket - Phang Nga Bay is on the island Khao Phing Kan, or more commonly known by tourists as 'James Bond Island'; so called because of the scenes from 'The Man with the Golden Gun'. Kata Noi Beach, Nai Harn Beach, Freedom Beach, Kamala Beach, Kata Beach and Rawai Beach constitute a few of the other popular bays. Diving and snorkelling is a big business in Phuket and there are numerous organised boat trips and tours.

The Phuket Big Buddha is a large white statue of Buddha is set in a tranquil location overlooking the town and a good place to gauge the nature of the Phuket countryside. Karon View Point is a similar uphill trek and a good way to explore the local landscape.

Phuket Old Town is the commercial and residential heart of the island featuring small winding streets like Rasada Road and Soi Romanee. The architecture here is often described as Sino-Portuguese and is represented by small, colourful shop fronts and shuttered houses. There are intriguing temples and shrines to explore.

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A Guide to Phuket Transportation

Black clouds of diesel exhaust, idling buses and motorbike taxis driving down the stripes between honking cars – were it not for the tuk-tuk’s blasting sound systems and bright neon lights, you’d think Phuket transportation is no different from Bangkok’s. Certainly not the best time to crisscross the island on your way to the next dream beach is during the morning and evening rush hour from 7.30 to 9.30 am and 4 to 6 pm. And whilst the annual water festival Songkran and New Year’s Eve are terrific fun here, it’s less so if you’re sitting in Phuket’s traffic, chock-a-block with cars all around you.

Now what, actually, is it like to use cabs, buses, and motorcycle taxis? While public transport is less convenient than in Bangkok, you have some options. Here’s how to get around Phuket.

Jump on The Local Bus

Yellow Striped Blue Bus

The yellow-striped blue bus is an affordable way to get around Phuket

The oldest local bus in Phuket is the yellow-striped blue bus, a truck-like vehicle that doesn’t cost a fortune to ride on. It connects Phuket City’s Central Market at Ranong Road with various beaches across the island, including Kata Beach in the south, where family-friendly hotels like Metadee Concept sit. Oddly enough, it doesn’t travel between the beaches, but from Phuket Town to one of the beaches, Bang Rong Pier, and the Sarasin Bridge that links Phuket to the mainland. The blue bus in Phuket runs every half hour from 6 am to 6 pm daily, costing only 30 to 50 baht ($0.88 –$1.47).

Hop on The Smart Bus

The Smart Bus is indeed a smart way to travel in Phuket

Not pressed for time? Then the Smart Bus is for you, one of the cheapest modes of transportation in Phuket. It travels along the coast from Phuket Airport to Rawai Beach in two hours and 15 minutes (provided the streets aren’t wedged solid), stopping at beaches like Patong, Karon, and Kata. The Smart Bus operates every 90 minutes from 6.30 am to 00.10 am daily and costs almost nothing at 100 baht ($2.93).

Experience a Tuk-Tuk

Phuket’s four-wheeler tuk-tuks that you enter from the back are quite different from Bangkok’s quirky, three-wheeled autorickshaws. Although tuk-tuk rates are posted on signs near the main beaches, you’ll need to haggle hard to make this type of Phuket transportation a bargain. Even if only for a few hundred metres, the minimum fare is often 200 baht ($5.86). Nevertheless, with sound systems as loud as the front row at a rock concert, plus neon lights as colourful as the Sino-colonial mansions in Old Phuket City, Phuket’s Daihatsu tuk-tuks are an experience.

Hail a Taxi-Meter Cab

At Patong’s Bangla Road or in front of shopping centres like Central Festival in Phuket Town – Taxi-Meter cabs are everywhere. You can also use Grab, but not at the airport, and the Grab fares are not as cheap as you’d expect elsewhere in Thailand. While a taxi in Phuket can be a bit pricey, the leather smell of the comfy seat, the cool air-conditioning, and plenty of space can be worth it.

Beat the traffic on a scooter

You can rent a scooter for as little as 250 baht ($7.33) per day, one of the cheapest types of Phuket transportation. Avoiding Patong’s stop-and-go traffic while feeling the wind in your hair is priceless, as are the views along the coast. But wear a helmet and don’t forget your international driver’s licence at your hotel. If all else fails, you can still walk and watch the flow of motorbikes swirling.

Thailand being a land of eclectic cultures is no secret. But what might come as a surprise to some is that every place within the country has its own distinct culture that defines it. One can look at the culture of Phuket, one of the most popular destinations in Thailand as well as the world, for evidence of this. With arms wide open, Phuket beckons its visitors to come to immerse themselves in the land's customs of warm hospitality, rich heritage, and colorful traditions, which create an alluring atmosphere that is hard not to fall in love with.

Culture of Phuket, Big Buddha

The Big Buddha, one of the cultural landmarks of Phuket, overlooking the province (Source)

Read on to learn more about the culture of the world's favorite holiday destination.

General Statistics on the Culture of Phuket

One of the most important aspects of the culture in Phuket is its elaborate tradition of performative arts. They are highly revered in Phuket, evidenced by their involvement in rituals, festivals, prayers, ceremonies, and religious temples. Art, for instance, can be found inside every wat on the island and is an important religious practice. For years now, Thai artists and painters have taken to depicting stories from Buddha's life, mythology, folk tales, and rural scenes, with masterful strokes of their brushes. The walls of Wats are covered in such murals, with the visual complementing the spiritual. Along with watercolors, Thai craftsmen are also skilled at carving and sculpture, using mediums such as traditional wood, stone, horns, etc. Wat Chalong, Wat Putta Mongkon, Jui Tui Shrine, and Kiew Tien Keng Shrine are great temples to soak in Buddhist culture, as well as admire the magnificent creations they are embedded in. For more contemporary works of art installations, you can take a trip to Patong Inn Art in Patong. 

The dances of Phuket are especially wonderful, with a keen focus on hand movements, gestures, and expressions. Each move has a symbolic meaning, and the dance conveys a story or has a historical background. Performers wear attractive attires, that include elaborate headgear and ornate accessories. Dances are divided into classical and folk. Classical forms are khon, lakhon, and fawn, while folk variations are likay, ram muay, and wai khru. They are often accompanied by folk music, which forms a big part of Thai drama tradition. The orchestra consists of wooden wind instruments like the flute and percussion, played by an ensemble of five to twelve musicians. Thai music follows a steady, soothing rhythm, that is set to harmonize with the beats of the dance movements. The most popular types of music in the land are luk thung and mor lam. You can catch live performances of cultural shows at Phuket Fantasea and Phuket Orchid Garden & Thai Village while in Phuket. 

Food Culture in Phuket

Phuket food vegetarian festival, culture in Phuket

All the hullabaloo surrounding the deliciousness of Thai food is 100 percent legit, and Phuket is a proud purveyor of the same. It boasts of a varied range of Thai delicacies widespread over the streets and in restaurants. Phuket's close proximity to the sea makes it a seafood haven, with staple diets including several kinds of fish and prawns to the more exotic squids, oysters and crabs. Phuket cuisine is a wonderful mixture of Western and Thai cultures, reflective of the history that has formed the culture of Phuket. Popular dishes are stuffed pancakes, noodle soups, sticky rice, tom yam, geng kheaw wan gai, papaya salad, and beef and pork preparations. 

Dining options are available in many forms throughout the island. For an authentic local experience, you can gorge on freshly prepared dishes at street food stalls that line almost every street. Restaurants and eateries are also abundant, offering a blended ambience of the rustic and modern. The concept of 'krachangs' or floating restaurants is very famous here, and make for fun evenings with top-notch settings. 

But even though Phuket is a meat paradise, it is highly considerate towards its vegetarian populations. Every year, the place hosts the Phuket Vegetarian Festival commemorating the Chinese tradition of praying to the Nine Emperor Gods. This vibrant celebration is a roller-coaster for the taste buds, displaying an array of unique dishes found only in Thailand. Locals especially enjoy the pad tau-hu priew waan (sweet and sour fried tofu), tom yam hed (sour & spicy mushroom soup), pad Thai (Thai fried rice noodles), pad pak ruam (mixed fried vegetables such as baby corn, carrot and snow peas) and po pia thod (fried spring rolls) here.

The pages of archaeology denote that modern settlements on the island of Phuket have been around since 100 BCE. Contrary to popular belief, Thais were not the first inhabitants of the island, Negritos were. They were followed by the Mons from central Thailand, Dravidians from India and Muslim fishing communities from Malay. A strong European and Chinese influence took shape after these communities migrated here between the 16th and 18th centuries.   

Located in southern Thailand, Phuket had always been a lucrative port for seafarers on the trade routes between countries. Since it was regarded as one of the most important places on the trade route between India and China, traders often stopped here to collect supplies or restock their resources. During the 16th century, it began to acquire much of its revenue through sale of tin and rubber. Around the same time, foreigners began familiarising themselves with the place, and numerous Europeans began arriving in Phuket. Under the Ayutthaya Kingdom, Phuket prospered economically and culturally, this period onwards. 

In 1785, the Burmese attacked Phuket as part of a larger campaign to invade Siam (now Thailand). Lady Chan, the wife of the deceased governor, and her sister Lady Mook fearlessly led the battle to fight away the invaders. They are venerated highly as part of the island's traditions, and have been commemorated through the statue built after them, known as the Two Heroines, which is located in Tha Rua Junction, a little away from Phuket City.

Architecture of Phuket

phuket architecture, culture of phuket, peranakan museum

Baba Museum in Phuket 

Phuket is a land of architectural marvels, which are primarily characterised by their Sino-Portuguese make. Most of the major buildings bear features of this specific style, which has evolved from Chinese and Portuguese architectural traditions. The most distinctive display of this artistic building technique is found in Old Phuket Town, which is the area of Phuket that functioned as a point of confluence for many cultures, most notably that of the European colonial masters and the Chinese workers they employed. The subsequent Sino-Portuguese culture that developed, a precursor to Phuket's culture today, resulted in streets upon streets of buildings that combined European styles of structure and Chinese styles of intricate designs. The rooftops are curved, a typical marker of Chinese handiwork, while the pillars and walls are built in neo-classical European patterns. 

There are a number of very notable structures in and around Old Phuket Town representative of this building style. Thalang Road is a stretch of attractive, pastel-coloured houses appearing to be straight out of a Wes Anderson film. They are mostly shophouses, offering residential and business opportunities to owners. Mansions known as 'angmor lao' also derive from the Sino-Portuguese culture. The Chinpracha House on Krabi Road is a good example of this. The China Inn Cafe on Thalang Road, resurrected from a rundown classical building, is also a must visit to enjoy an authentic, local experience. Other places you can visit to get a taste of this specific type of architecture are Phuket Provincial Hall, Thai Hua Museum, Baan Klung Jinda Restaurant and Dibuk Road, whose vintage feel will transport you back in time.

Communities, Religions & Traditions in Phuket

phuket fishing community, culture of phuket

Fishing Culture in Phuket

Buddhists comprise the largest chunk of the population in Phuket, since approximately 95 per cent of Thais are Buddhists. This culture is evident from the several temples, monasteries and wats dotting the map of the island, some of the most notable being Big Buddha, Wat Chaithararam, Wat Phra Nang Sang and Wat Suwan Khirikhet. 

Since Phuket has evolved from what was essentially a fishing village, fishing communities abound here even today. The largest of this community are the Muslim fishermen who migrated from Malaysia. Muslims make up almost 20 per cent of the island's population. A distinct ethnic group, known as the Chao Le are sea gypsies/nomads who also reside in areas like Ko Panyi, Koh Sire, Laem La and Rawai in Phuket. They are identified by their colourful long tail wooden boats faring the waters. A whole festival, called the Chao Le Boat Floating Festival, centers around this community, and is celebrated at nighttime in a striking display of colorful boats. 

A sizeable number of Chinese people can also be found in Phuket. They are usually descendants of tin miners who migrated from China during the 19th century. They have had an important impact on the culture of Phuket, noticeable through its traditional festivals and architecture. The island's two top celebrations derive from Chinese culture - the Vegetarian Festival (a carnival of prayers, food and folk rituals) and the Ghost Festival (ancestor worship for the well being of deceased souls). Both are observed according to the Chinese calendar, and are widely popular all over Phuket.  

A few Hindu and Christian communities also live here. There has been a significant absorption of the Hindu-Sanskritic traditions into Thai culture and mythology, enriching the latter and making it more inclusive. During holiday seasons, Phuket is packed with tourists from all over the world, mainly Europe, USA and China, who flock to the island attracted by its pristine environment and stunning beaches. Phuket also hosts a number of world events which are attended by visitors from all over the world. The major ones are Laguna Phuket Triathlon, Phuket Travel Fair and Phuket Bike Week, which comprise of sports events and cultural programmed.