Phuket Vacation – Best Places to Visit and Stay

Phuket is the largest Thai island located in the southwest of the country. It’s a destination that many travelers want to book for their first Phuket vacation. The island offers a lot for first-time visitors to get to know Thailand. Impressive temples like the Big Buddha, an iconic symbol of Phuket, fantastic Thai food, beaches, nightlife, and a diverse island world that you can explore by boat.

Phuket is a great starting point for Thailand, and there are also beautiful, tranquil places to vacation there.

Tips for Booking Your Phuket Vacation

To provide you with all the information you need for your Phuket vacation, we have put together a comprehensive guide for you. Here, you will find tips on getting there, accommodation, tours and excursions, great attractions, beaches, currency exchange, as well as the best time to visit Phuket.

Getting to Phuket – Booking a Flight to Phuket

The first questions when booking a Phuket vacation are usually about the arrival, almost on par with accommodation (see the next point).

If you are already in Thailand, for example, during a stopover in Bangkok or at another location, there are several ways to get to Phuket. The quickest is usually a domestic flight, but buses or boats (e.g. from islands like Koh Phi Phi) also go to Phuket. You can find a great overview of the transportation options at our partner 12go.asia, where you can easily buy tickets for the respective mode of transportation online.

If you are traveling from Germany, Austria, Switzerland (or any other country outside of Thailand), the airplane is your best choice. There are various direct flights to Phuket, for example, from Germany with Thai Airways from Frankfurt or from Qatar with Qatar Airways. You can find additional flight connections, price comparisons, and the duration of the journey in a comprehensive overview at Skyscanner.

Accommodation – Booking a Phuket Hotel

The selection of hotels and other accommodations is enormous when you want to book a Phuket vacation. Therefore, the decision can sometimes be quite challenging. It naturally depends on your preferences. Do you want to stay in a small, quiet resort, or do you prefer to stay in the main tourist areas like Patong, Karon, or Kata? What is your budget for accommodation? Because from budget hotels to luxury hotels, everything is offered on Phuket.

The following hotels in different locations can be recommended on Phuket:

• Patong: Amari Phuket – Fantastic location at the southern end of Patong Beach. Partial sea view and just a few minutes’ walk to the center.
• Patong – ibis Hotel – Quiet hotel on the northern Patong Beach. Good value for money, great pool area, and many dining options in the immediate vicinity.
• Rawai: Stay Wellbeing & Lifestyle Resort – Modern hotel with excellent facilities such as a swimming pool, fitness center, etc. The breakfast buffet ensures a great start to the day. Additionally, the hotel offers a free shuttle bus to Naiharn Beach.
• Kata: Katanoi Resort – Lovely resort in a prime location, 1-2 minutes from the beach. Many restaurants and bars in the area make dining out and your stay enjoyable.
• Chalong: Lemonade Phuket – Nice, small hotel for a not too high budget. The spacious rooms come with a balcony, and the indoor swimming pool provides a refreshing dip.

Of course, this is only a small selection of hotels we enjoyed very much. Phuket also offers numerous accommodations in other places such as Karon, Phuket Town, Naiharn, Surin, Kamala, and many more.

If you prefer staying in your own accommodation rather than a hotel, Phuket also offers many houses or villas for rent. You can find a comprehensive overview of accommodations with prices, amenities, and many other filters here.

Phuket Vacation – Tours and Excursions

Do you want to book some tours or excursions for your Phuket vacation in advance to enhance your anticipation or simply to get informed out of curiosity? Then we can recommend an initial overview of tours on Phuket on GetYourGuide.

Here you will find numerous suggestions for exploring Phuket and its surroundings. We present three excursions here, and you can find more in our article on Phuket Tours and Excursions:

• Phuket: Southern Flavours Food Tour with 15+ Tastings – On this tour, you will meet a local guide at a market in Phuket Town at 10.00 AM. Together, you will embark on an exploration of Phuket Town’s old town with many stops to try various Thai food dishes. Here, you can discover real insider tips for your Phuket vacation, making this tour our recommendation, especially for foodies! We loved it!
• The Phi Phi Islands for Early Birds – The trip to Koh Phi Phi is one of the most popular on Phuket. In the morning, you will head to Maya Bay, where the movie “The Beach” was filmed. Afterwards, there are additional stops at Pileh Lagoon, Monkey Beach, snorkeling on the larger island of Koh Phi Phi Don, and finally, Bamboo Island. A trip to paradise!
• James Bond Island Tour by Longtail Boat – The Khao Phing Kan, as the James Bond Rock is actually called, is the highlight of this tour. Additionally, you will visit Wat Suwan Kuha with a large reclining Buddha statue and enjoy lunch on Koh Panyi, the floating village.

Best Time to Visit Phuket for a Vacation

To book a delightful vacation in Phuket, it’s important for many travelers that the weather cooperates. While it’s hot all year round in Phuket, and you can always enjoy the tropical temperatures, you probably want to avoid the rain during your vacation.

So, what is the best time to enjoy a vacation in Phuket? The west coast of Thailand, where Phuket is located, receives the least amount of rain between the months of November and April. November marks the end of the rainy season, and April marks the beginning. In these months, there can be a bit more rain. You’ll experience the fewest rainy days on Phuket from December to March. During this period, there are an average of 3 to 8 rainy days per month. In March and April, temperatures can climb above 40 degrees, making them the hottest months and the end of the so-called dry season.

However, you can still visit Phuket outside of these prime months. With some bad luck, you may encounter more rain, but the off-season has its advantages. The island is generally greener, and there are fewer tourists around. This can also be reflected in prices for accommodations and tours, saving you some money. The month with the most average rainfall is September and October, so you might want to consider avoiding these months. While other months can also bring occasional showers, you won’t be short of sunshine.

Exchanging Money in Phuket

Often, travelers wonder how to exchange their money before their vacation. Does it make sense to exchange some Thai Baht in your home country beforehand or better to do it on-site? We recommend not exchanging beforehand because the exchange rates in your home country, whether at the bank or at the airport, are usually much worse than in Thailand.

If you have a credit card, you can withdraw cash directly in Thailand from one of the many ATMs. This incurs a foreign transaction fee of 220 Baht (approximately €6) per withdrawal, but exchanging money is not necessarily cheaper, as there are fees involved there as well.

Info: The exchange rate from Euro to Thai Baht has fluctuated significantly over the past few years. For a rough mental conversion, we use a ratio of 1 € = 40 Baht. The current exchange rate is approximately 38.1 Baht for 1 Euro, but it can change daily (as of December 2023). You can find the most up-to-date rate here.

Alternatively, you can also exchange your cash that you’ve brought with you on-site. There are many currency exchanges affiliated with banks, as well as many independent, standalone exchanges available in Phuket. The latter usually offer slightly better exchange rates, but you won’t usually notice a significant difference. However, before exchanging, research the current rates so that you know which rate is genuinely good for you. Compare several banks/exchange offices and choose the best one for that day.

If you are in one of the main tourist areas of Phuket, such as Patong, Kata, or Karon, you will often find exchanges every few meters. In other places, you might encounter them a bit less frequently, but you will still find them.

Our Top 3 Attractions for Your Phuket Vacation

Phuket attracts many vacationers and is Thailand’s most popular island. There are many attractions to discover on Phuket. Whether you do this with an organized tour or on your own is up to you. We would like to introduce you to three Phuket attractions that you shouldn’t miss.

In our other articles, you can gather more inspiration for Phuket viewpoints or general Phuket tips.

Soi Romanee in Phuket Town

You should not miss Soi Romanee during a trip to Phuket Town. It is one of the most famous streets there and a popular photo spot because the old, colorful houses are truly impressive.

Promthep Cape

Promthep Cape is located at the southernmost tip of Phuket. On-site, there is a small maritime museum, a shrine, and a lighthouse, but the highlight are the sunsets there. Hundreds of people often come to watch the spectacle as the sun disappears on the horizon. A must-visit, even though it’s crowded.

Big Buddha

The Big Buddha is Phuket’s landmark, and it sits high on Nakkerd Hill. From some places in Phuket, you can already see the large statue from a distance. At the Big Buddha itself, you can also enjoy a view of the bay of Chalong.

Our Top 3 Beaches for your Phuket Vacation

As mentioned earlier, Phuket is the largest island in Thailand. It’s not surprising that there are countless beaches to discover all around Phuket. Out of the over 20 beaches you can consider visiting when booking a Phuket vacation, we’d like to introduce you to three. The options are diverse, but our favorites are as follows:

Freedom Beach

For us, one of the most beautiful beaches in Phuket. However, it is also sometimes very crowded. Even the entrance fee of 200 Baht doesn’t deter visitors. It’s located somewhat hidden behind a hill, a short distance south of Patong. The journey is worth it, and the white sandy beach and the turquoise clear sea are inviting for relaxation.

Laem Singh Beach

North of Patong, you’ll find Surin Beach, where you can take a boat to Laem Singh Beach for 100 Baht. The beach is visible from the Laem Singh Viewpoint and looks fantastic. Tropical blue waters, a few shade-providing trees, and not too many visitors make this beach almost perfect for a Phuket vacation.

Kata Noi Beach

In the south on the west coast of Phuket, after the main beaches of Patong, Karon, and Kata, you’ll find the “small” Kata Noi Beach. Although it can get quite busy during the high season, the beach is great for swimming. It offers fine sand, turquoise sea, and is also suitable for children. There are also restaurants on-site to enjoy a full day at the beach.

You can find more beautiful beaches in Phuket in our article Phuket Beaches – Our Favorites. There, we list a few more.

Have you ever considered booking a Phuket vacation? Have you been to Phuket and have tips for first-time visitors? We look forward to your comment.