Phuket itinerary, day by day

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Day 1: Phuket Old Town

Start in Old Town, the historic heart of Phuket Town, while the morning is still cool. Walk its streets of old shophouses and look into the Chinese shrines. The Thai Hua Museum, in a Chinese school that opened in 1934, is open every day, 09:00 to 17:00; the Philatelic Museum, in the old post office, opens Tuesday to Saturday only.

In the afternoon, go up a hill for the view. Khao Rang, on the town's edge, has a pavilion looking over the town and the bays. Monkey Hill (Khao Toh Sae) is free, open 08:00 to 18:30; in February 2024 officials put its macaques at more than 800. Don't feed them: they bite.

On a Sunday, stay for the walking street on Thalang Road, from 16:00 to 22:00. On other evenings, eat at one of the town's night markets: Night markets in Phuket Town

The shophouses, shrines, museums and food, street by street: Phuket Old Town

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Day 2: the Big Buddha, Wat Chalong and Promthep Cape

Be at the Big Buddha on Nakkerd Hill for 09:00, when it opens, before the day heats up. It reopened in March 2026, after a landslide in August 2024 closed it, and it's part of a temple now, so dress for one, with your shoulders and knees covered. The hill is still watched, so after heavy rain, check it's open. You'll need a taxi or your own wheels: no bus climbs the hill.

Next, Wat Chalong, Phuket's most famous temple: it's free, and open 07:00 to 17:00. Then head south to Rawai for lunch at the seafood market by the pier.

In the afternoon, stop at Karon Viewpoint, which looks along the bays of Kata Noi, Kata and Karon, and swim at Nai Harn if the flags allow. On the way to the cape, the Windmill Viewpoint looks over Ya Nui and Nai Harn.

End the day at Promthep Cape, the island's southern tip, for the sunset. It's free, and shuts at 19:00; through the year the sun sets between 18:04 and 18:48. Come at least an hour before sunset: the road jams and parking is hard to find.

Today's sunset, and more places to watch it: Sunset in Phuket

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Day 3: Phi Phi or Phang Nga Bay

Give a whole day to the islands. Day trips leave from Phuket's piers, Chalong's long pier among them, and both of these trips go into national parks, which charge foreign visitors to enter.

Phi Phi, in Krabi province, is the famous trip. Expect the park's entry fee, and a service fee reported at 400 baht for a foreign adult on top. Maya Bay shuts every year from 1 August to 30 September. The rest of the year you see it in timed visits, landing at Loh Samah behind it, and nobody swims there: the bay is a nursery for blacktip reef sharks.

Phang Nga Bay, north-east of Phuket, is the other classic: about 40 limestone islands in a national park, where entry is 300 baht for a foreign adult. Ko Tapu, the "James Bond Island", is seen from the beach at Khao Phing Kan, as boats may not go near it.

Put your life jacket on before the boat leaves, and leave sun cream with oxybenzone, octinoxate, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor or butylparaben at home, as the parks ban it. Phi Phi doesn't allow single-use plastic either, so bring a bottle to refill.

More island trips, and the parks' fees: Things to do in Phuket

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Day 4: the north, from Thalang to Mai Khao

Drive north on the road to Thalang. Near the monument to Thalang's heroines, the Thalang National Museum tells the island's story, from its first peoples and the Battle of Thalang to its Chinese settlers; its listings disagree on when it opens, so check first. Further on, Wat Phra Thong keeps a gilded Buddha image half-buried in the floor of its hall, free to see from 07:00 to 17:00.

Then pick one of the waterfalls in the Khao Phra Thaeo rainforest, home to more than 100 kinds of wildlife: Ton Sai, near the Thalang intersection, for a picnic in the shade, or Bang Pae, where local people swim in the pools, and a foundation's project nearby cares for gibbons that were kept or hunted illegally.

Finish on the beaches of Sirinat National Park, about 13 km of sand from Sai Kaew to Nai Yang. At Mai Khao, planes come in low over the beach as they land.

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Day 5: a beach, a massage and Muay Thai

Keep a day for doing very little. Pick a beach on the west coast, and swim only where the flags allow: Phuket's beaches

In the afternoon, have a Thai massage. Nuad thai has been on UNESCO's list of living heritage since 2019; before you lie down, check the counter for the shop's licence and the health department's sign of a gold hand and a purple orchid.

Or take a Muay Thai class: the art of eight limbs is taught to visitors of every level at many gyms, plenty of them in Chalong.

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Day 6: the Similan islands, or Phuket's own

From 15 October to 15 May, go further out, to the Similan islands. You can't stay the night there, so it's a day trip. Every visitor needs an e-ticket, bought ahead, or on the day until 08:00, with a passport number, and the park's fee is 500 baht for a foreign adult.

When the Similan islands are shut, or for a shorter day on the water, Phuket's own islands are close. Speedboats run from Chalong Pier to Coral Island (Ko He), about 5 km off Rawai, and boats go to Racha Yai from Rawai and Chalong, where you can stay the night. From May to October, these trips can be called off too.

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Day 7: a day to spare

Leave the last day open. From May to October, boat trips can be called off at short notice, so a free day lets you move the island trip. If the weather holds, end the week on the water: some of Phuket's yacht and catamaran charters run day cruises that end at sunset. Or go back to the place you liked most.

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A Phuket itinerary in the rainy season

• From May to October, in the south-west monsoon, boat trips can be called off at short notice, and in rough weather the marine office can keep small boats in port. Do the island day first, so there's time to move it.
• A red flag on the beach means no swimming.
• The Similan islands are open only from 15 October to 15 May, and Maya Bay closes from 1 August to 30 September.
• On a wet day: Old Town's museums and shrines, the aquarium at Cape Panwa, run by the government's marine research institute, or a Thai massage.

The weather month by month: When to visit Phuket

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Getting around

• The airport's own page lists buses to the town, to Patong and down the west coast's beaches to Rawai, but it was written in 2021, so check the times before you rely on them.
• For the days out, take a taxi and ask for the meter, or agree the fare before you get in. With a car booked on an app, check the plate and the driver's name.
• If there's a dispute, don't argue: note the plate, and call the Tourist Police on 1155.
• To ride a scooter, carry a licence that covers motorbikes, as police fine riders without one, and wear a helmet, rider and passenger: the helmet fine is up to 2,000 baht.

Taxis, tuk-tuks and apps, and the roads: Solo travel and safety in Phuket

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Before you go

• Since 15 September 2026, British, American, Australian and Indian passports, among others, get up to 30 days without a visa for a holiday. Check the rules for yours before you book.
• Fill in the digital arrival card online in the three days before you land, and beware of fake sites that charge for it.
• Pack clothes for the temples, with your shoulders and knees covered.
• Take out travel insurance: hospitals want a guarantee of payment before they treat you.

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An itinerary for couples, families or on your own

• Couples: keep the sunset at Promthep Cape, and end the week with a cruise that comes back at sunset.
• Families: in the north, a picnic at Ton Sai waterfall rather than the museum, and on a wet day, the aquarium at Cape Panwa.
• On your own: Old Town on a Sunday, a Muay Thai class, and the Big Buddha first thing in the morning.

For couples, from sunsets and dinners to getting married here: Phuket for couples and honeymooners

For families, from the beaches and the sea to car seats and health: Phuket with children