Thailand is well known for its touristic atmosphere and hospitality as well as its reasonable weather for most of the year. And Phuket is no different. During my stay in Thailand, I stayed for most of it in Phuket; The city known for its beaches and surrounding magical islands. But also the city itself has a lot to discover.
One of the most complaints from people about Phuket is how “touristy” it is and that it gets overly crowded. Well, having millions of people visiting per year is a sign of good place. The trick is to try to plan the timing of your trip by avoiding high season for tourism, but at the same time to take into consideration the rainy seasons. From the personal experience, I went in October and it was perfect. It used to be hot and sunny in the morning and it rained only at night after we’d finished all beach-related activities. And even with the rain it was not cold at all.
Things to Do
Arriving there, you’ll be amazed by the reasonable prices and the high humidity. This calls for beach activities. You have either the public beaches option around the city or the day-trips to surrounding island.
Public Beaches
Staying in Phuket will grant you the accessibility to beautiful beaches surrounding you, it can even be a walking distance from where you are staying. From the personal experience, I went to “Patong Beach” and “Kata Beach”. These are the most famous ones there. You can just grab your swimming stuff and go. Completely free. Both have beautiful scenery. However the view was more magical in Kata beach. So the plus side of the public beaches is the quick and easy accessibility, but just the only negative point can be the existence of too many sellers who can insist on you to buy whatever they are selling. Just say thank you and continue in your way till you reach the beach. It should be more peaceful there.
Surrounding Islands
Another option (which is a must. You should do both, you know) is to go on day-trips to the surrounding islands near Phuket. And how to do that? It is super easy there. There are many tour offices there that can do these trips. You can go to one of them either by recommendation from someone who dealt with it (like my case. A friend of mine went to Phuket before me and recommended a tour office) or you can find them everywhere in touristic streets. Even the hotels/hostels you’re staying at. Most of them organize these trips. Prices can vary of course but the average prices are close to each other. But I guess for me the average was around $50 per trip. Activities are countless. From my personal experience, I’ve had 3 trips on 3 days. I’ve been to the James Bond Island, Phi Phi Island, and the 3rd day was a tour in some green places with hiking and rafting. And while I was at the tour office at first, I found many other trips but my time was limited. So you can spend more days there and not get bored.
The city
Aside from the beaches and the day-trips, let’s talk about the city itself. As people say, it can be very touristic during high seasons. But it’s an experience. There are some things to do there like visiting temples. I visited Wat Chalong temple and Big Buddha in one day. Nice places where you enjoy the magical details of the temples as well as the spirituality.
Nightlife
Now let’s talk about the nightlife in Phuket. The significant part that some people go particularly to Thailand for. Of course you would go to Bangla Road, the most touristic street there. It is fun to go to. You would have many options on things to do. Many bars and clubs that it is actually hard to choose and maybe hard to identify the good ones from the bad. But you can rely on Google maps/Trip advisor reviews on which one suits you. Also you can just walk and choose yourself. Depending on the vibes of the place, the light and sound systems, and most importantly the music. Bars and club would play different genres of music. So depending on which one you enjoy, you can choose your place. I did that on the first day there. I am more into electronic music, so I kept walking through different genres (mainly hip-hop) until I found a place with my favorite music and went inside.
Another way to explore the place there is bar crawls. If you are staying at a hostel there, all hostels have bar crawls most of the week. The good thing about it is that you get to explore many places as well as the socializing with other people joining you. So be prepared for a lot of fun there.
Food
It is world wide famous. Thai food is well known around the world and many Thai restaurants exist in various country. But of course, food around the world would be adjusted for the country it sells at so it would be profitable. So the taste can be close, but not so authentic. And Thai food is no different. When you go to Thailand, it’s way more authentic. You feel the spices and the taste. I try as much not to make this article about recommending a specific place or a specific restaurants. But it is just some guidelines for you to make your choices easier. So for the food in Phuket, there are many places you can eat at. For me, I would recommend street food. Always look for the small cart making noodles or some grilled stuff. I prefer these over fancy restaurants. There are a lot of street vendors in Phuket for food. You can either find them walking independently or in an organized street for street food. They have many varieties, but the most famous food there would be noodles, grilled chicken and beef or fish. Also the street vendors selling fruits (whole fruits or juice) are really great. The fruits there are really tasty. Of course you will find restaurants there for different nationalities for food (especially Indian and Chinese restaurants). They are good as well but for me, I’d give them a try when I visit their countries. I’m in Thailand, so…
You can also find a street dedicated for food only in Bangla Road. It has the most varieties. Just the problem is that it is in the most touristic street in Phuket. So it might get too crowded and people working there can sometimes be really persistent in marketing for their place and keep repeating and insisting on you to sit at their place. The food is good, but the street food around the city grants you the more peaceful less touristy option.
Things to Avoid
I have really enjoyed Phuket and I would like to go there again. When you go to a place for the second time, of course you will be more aware. You will take better decisions regarding how you spend your money and what exactly to visit. Based on my experience (and other people who have been there), I can just recommend a few situations that you can avoid or go around to make your trip better.
Phuket can be famous for the large amount of street selling in touristic areas. So it is obvious that you should choose wisely. In the case of food, when you go for a stable street vendor with a cart, it’s usually better quality and taste. Also you can check for famous ones on trip advisor for a better experience. And usually when you find a street vendor with people standing in line for the food, it’s a good place. So look for these signs for to avoid disappointments.
When it comes to transportation, this is not a thing to actually “avoid” like in a bad way, but check for a better choice and a less costly option. It’s better to use the GrabTaxi app to go around. It’s better for fixed prices. Or if you find a metered taxi as well, even though Grab taxi can be cheaper. But the random Tuk tuks and cars around touristic areas can really overcharge tourists.
Maybe another famous thing talked about there is massage places. There are hundreds of them. So the abundance of them might result in variance in quality. Through the touristic area, you’ll find a lot of massage places with many employees of the place standing outside and offering you to enter. Sometimes they get really persistent. This can leave you wondering which place exactly to go to. Some of them do not have the best quality massage to be honest. A few of them might offer more than massage as well. But let’s talk about the massage itself. You can avoid most of these places for your peace of mind. The golden advise (which worked perfectly for me) is to go for the highest rated one on TripAdvisor or Google Maps. I searched on both and the same place was highest rated on both. And it was the best massage experience even. Really professional with reasonable price. So that was the trick there. It can be obvious but for me, I thought about it after a few days. But whatever happens, don’t miss the change of having a Thai massage. You’re in Thailand, so…
So in general, the things to avoid mainly contain overselling from people around you in touristic places. So just be smart about it and choose wisely. This has nothing to do with Thai people of course. Thai people are really nice and welcoming. I have made a lot of local friends there and we are still in contact on social media. My point was that in some touristic places, some people try to sell you things in a really persistent way. Happens in many countries. Just say thank you and try to enjoy your trip and explore the city.
That was the brief about Phuket that some of these point I wish i had known before going there. But that can be the beauty of it. You go around, explore and learn. Each trip gets you more experience and makes you better prepared for the next one. So I hope the information is useful and I hope you enjoy the photos included which I took myself there. Never stop traveling.
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