What Makes It Worth It

🏛 Phi Phi Islands

Phuket is Thailand's largest island and its most visited, sitting in the Andaman Sea off the west coast of the Kra Isthmus — an island of contrasts between its raucous beach-resort nightlife on the west coast and its remarkably intact old town, Buddhist temples, and rubber plantation interior. At 570 square kilometres, it is large enough to feel genuinely diverse, and the range of beaches from the rowdy to the remote within a single 45-minute drive is one of its most practical attributes.

Patong Beach is the island's entertainment engine — 3km of sand backed by a grid of hotels, restaurants, beach clubs, and the famous Bangla Road, whose neon-lit bars and clubs run from dusk until dawn. It is deliberately full-throttle and makes no apologies for it. Kata Beach, 10km south, offers a more family-friendly alternative with surf-worthy waves from April–October. Nai Harn, on the island's southern tip, is a sheltered bay of genuine beauty with a smaller footprint of development. Kamala and Surin on the north mid-coast attract a wealthier crowd with luxury villas and beach clubs like Catch Beach Club and Noori.

Phuket Old Town, the island's original commercial centre, preserves a remarkable streetscape of Sino-Portuguese shophouses dating from the 19th-century tin-mining era — peeling painted facades in mustard, sky blue, and rose pink housing cafés, boutique hotels, and art galleries. The Jui Tui Shrine and Bang Neow Shrine are the centres of Phuket's Vegetarian Festival (October), one of Thailand's most startling religious events, featuring face-piercing devotees walking through fire.

The Phi Phi Islands, accessible by speedboat in 45 minutes, are the island-hopping highlight of the Andaman Sea — Phi Phi Don's extraordinary Maya Bay (the Beach from the Leonardo DiCaprio film) and the dramatic limestone cliffs of the archipelago are the classic images of southern Thai beach travel. Phang Nga Bay, two hours north, is a dramatic seascape of karst limestone islands — including the iconic James Bond Island from The Man with the Golden Gun. Visit October–April (northeast monsoon season) for the calmest Andaman Sea conditions.