Things to do in Phuket

Temples and the Big Buddha

Wat Chalong is Phuket's most famous temple. Its halls keep likenesses of the revered abbots Luang Pho Chaem and Luang Pho Chuang, and it keeps a relic of the Buddha, a gift from Sri Lanka. It's free, and open every day from 07:00 to 17:00.

Its yearly fair runs for about a week around Chinese New Year, from dusk: Phuket in February

The Big Buddha, a huge white image on Nakkerd Hill between Chalong and Kata, opened again in March 2026, after a landslide in August 2024 closed it. It is now part of a temple, so dress as you would for one. Entry was free when it reopened, no fee had been reported by August 2026, and donations go to the temple. It's open every day from 09:00 to 18:00.

It closes before sunset all year, so go in the morning or the afternoon. No bus goes up: it's a hill road from the Chalong side. The hill is still watched for landslides, so check it's open before you go, especially after heavy rain.

At Wat Phra Thong in Thalang, a gold-covered Buddha image sits half-buried in the floor of its hall. The legend says soldiers of a Burmese army tried to dig it up in the war of 1785, until hornets drove them off. It's free, 07:00 to 17:00.

Temples are places of worship, so:

• Cover your shoulders and knees: sleeves, and trousers or a skirt to the knee.
• Take your shoes off before you go into a hall, and step over the threshold, not on it.
• Don't point your feet at a Buddha image or a monk. Women shouldn't touch a monk or his robes.
• Don't take a selfie with a Buddha image, or photograph people while they pray.

Places to visit in Phuket Town

Old Town is a walk of shophouses, Chinese shrines, museums and cafés, with a walking street on Thalang Road every Sunday from 16:00 to 22:00: Phuket Old Town

For dinner, the town's night markets: Night markets in Phuket Town

North of town, the Thalang National Museum tells the island's story, from its first peoples and the Battle of Thalang to its Chinese settlers and the island's growth. Its listings disagree on the days and hours it opens, so check before you go. There's an entry fee.

Saphan Hin, by the sea at the end of Phuket Road, is where the town comes to walk and exercise, with a monument to the first tin dredge.

Island trips: Phi Phi, Phang Nga Bay and more

Day trips to the islands leave from Phuket's piers, Chalong's long pier among them. Phi Phi, Phang Nga Bay and the Similan islands are national parks, and each charges foreign visitors an entry fee, in force since 2022.

Phi Phi is in Krabi province. Landing on its islands means a park fee, reported at 400 baht for a foreign adult. Its famous Maya Bay closes every year from 1 August to 30 September. The rest of the year, visits are timed and capped, boats land at Loh Samah at the back of the island, and nobody may swim: the bay is a nursery for blacktip reef sharks, and the fine is up to 100,000 baht.

The park sells entry by e-ticket only, and single-use plastic and foam aren't allowed, so bring a bottle you can refill.

Phang Nga Bay, north-east of Phuket, is a national park of about 40 limestone islands, 300 baht for a foreign adult. Its famous rock, Ko Tapu, "James Bond Island", is seen from a distance: boats may not go close, and you land on Khao Phing Kan beside it. Jet skis, parasailing and banana boats aren't allowed in the national park.

Closer to home, Coral Island (Ko He), about 5 km off Rawai, and Racha Yai are Phuket's own islands. Speedboats go to Coral Island from Chalong Pier, and you can stay the night on Racha Yai.

Further out, the Similan and Surin islands are open from 15 October to 15 May, 500 baht for a foreign adult. Nobody may stay the night on the Similan islands, so trips there are day trips: Phuket in January

On any boat trip:

• Put the life jacket on before the boat leaves, and keep it on.
• In rough weather the marine office keeps small boats in port, and trips are called off at short notice, most often from May to October.
• Leave sun cream with oxybenzone, octinoxate, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor or butylparaben at home: the national parks have banned it.

Viewpoints and sunsets

The south has the views. Promthep Cape, at the island's southern tip, is the classic sunset spot: free, open 06:00 to 19:00, and busy, so come at least an hour before sunset. Karon Viewpoint looks along the bays of Kata Noi, Kata and Karon, and the Windmill Viewpoint over Ya Nui and Nai Harn.

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

And the beaches, from Mai Khao in the north to Nai Harn in the south: Phuket's beaches

Nature and wildlife

In the north, Khao Phra Thaeo is a protected rainforest, home to more than 100 kinds of wildlife. Its waterfalls, Ton Sai and Bang Pae, are small: Ton Sai has plenty of water in the rainy season, and local people swim in Bang Pae's pools. Beside Bang Pae, a foundation's project cares for gibbons that were kept or hunted illegally, and prepares them to go back to the wild.

Monkey Hill (Khao Toh Sae), in Phuket Town, is a free hill park with viewpoints over the town and a troop of more than 800 macaques, open 08:00 to 18:30. Don't feed them: they bite, and in February 2024 a checkpoint was set up to stop visitors taking food up. The parks department sterilised macaques there and on Khao Rang in May 2026.

If you'd like to see elephants, choose a place where you only watch them, without riding or bathing them. Animal-welfare researchers have found most of Thailand's tourist elephants kept in poor conditions, and a "sanctuary" name is no guarantee of care. The Tourism Authority of Thailand calls animal entertainment cruelty.

Don't pay for a photo with a wild animal, such as a slow loris at a market stall: keeping one is a crime, and you can report it on the parks department's hotline, 1362.

Nights out

Patong's Bangla Road is the island's nightlife street, a walking street of bars and clubs. Licensed venues in its late-night zones may stay open until 04:00. Carry proof of your age: bars and clubs turn away anyone under 20.

Shops sell alcohol from 11:00 until midnight, and not at all on the main Buddhist holy days, when only licensed hotels, licensed entertainment venues, similar venues in designated tourist zones and the airport may.

Muay Thai, the art of eight limbs, is everywhere: many gyms teach visitors of all levels, a good number of them in Chalong. Patong's cabaret shows are part of the island's evenings too.

Thai massage and surfing

Thai massage, nuad thai, has been on UNESCO's list of the world's living heritage since 2019. Before you lie down, look at the counter for the shop's licence and the health department's sign: a gold hand and a purple orchid.

Surfing here is a monsoon sport, from May to October, and Kata is one of the few beaches where you can rent a board or take a lesson. It's the red-flag season too, so surf only where the lifeguards allow.

Things to do for couples, families and on your own

• Couples: sunset at Promthep Cape, a day on the water that ends at sunset, Old Town's Sunday walking street, and a day trip to the Similan islands.
• Families: Wat Chalong, the aquarium at Cape Panwa, run by the government's marine and coastal resources department, a picnic by Ton Sai waterfall, and the seaside park at Saphan Hin.
• On your own: a walk round Old Town and its museums, a Muay Thai class, a Thai massage, and the Big Buddha in the morning.

Free things to do in Phuket

• Wat Chalong and Wat Phra Thong, and the Big Buddha, where no fee has been reported.
• Promthep Cape, Karon Viewpoint and Monkey Hill.
• Old Town's streets, and its Sunday walking street.
• The beaches: the sand is public land.
• Saphan Hin's seaside park.

Do's and don'ts in Phuket

• Don't insult the monarchy, the nation or the religion.
• Don't touch anyone's head, or point at things with your feet.
• Cannabis flowers have been prescription-only since June 2025, and smoking cannabis in public is banned.
• Vapes and e-cigarettes are illegal: don't bring them.
• Nudity on the beach can be an offence, with a fine of up to 5,000 baht.
• A drone must be registered before it flies.
• To ride a scooter, carry a licence that covers motorbikes: police fine riders without the right one. Wear helmets, rider and passenger: the fine is up to 2,000 baht.