Phuket, Thailand. Close your eyes for a moment. Imagine pristine white sand beaches, like the kind you see on postcards, with stunning aquamarine water, the colors so highly saturated that it looks fake. Imagine drinking coconuts by the beach, and swaying in the crystal clear ocean. Imagine not caring what time zone you’re in, and forgetting even the most troubling of your worries. This is true island life. This is Phuket. BUT, as I learned, you need to know where to look. Phuket is a massive island and the most popular tourist destination in Thailand. I had to do lots of research and ask people for their recommendations in order to optimize my long weekend there. I visited right before the rainy season at the beginning of June with my best friend from college. We stayed from Thursday night to Sunday afternoon, but I wish it could have been longer. Keep reading for our exact itinerary so you know which spots are worth it in this real-life island paradise.

Travel Tips

Don’t stay in Patong Beach. It is extremely touristy and crowded. I’d recommend finding a nice hotel near Karon Beach or Kata Beach. Most of the action happens on the southwest side of the island, so I would recommend looking there for accommodation.

We booked a 2 hour, direct flight from Chiang Mai –> Phuket at the beginning of June for ~$115 USD. Easy peasy. It takes ~1 hour to travel from the Phuket airport to the popular areas of Phuket. Remember this before you book your flights!! Don’t arrive at midnight because you might not be able to find a ride to your hotel. There is a bus from the Phuket airport that runs every hour and drops off at certain parts of Phuket, but we just missed it and decided to take a Grab instead. Split between two people it was ~100 baht each.

Beginning of June was a great time of year to go. Right before rainy season so the weather is still good but people start to clear out.

BRING CASH with you before you arrive. You will need it mostly everywhere in Thailand, but you will most definitely need it right as you exit the airport.

Keep in mind although Phuket is still insanely cheap according to US standards, it is one of the most expensive places in Thailand. I had sticker shock coming from Chiang Mai.

There are Grabs and Bolts (similar to Uber or Lyft) everywhere in Phuket, so we used those to get around. They are very affordable. I would not recommend driving a motorbike in Phuket, unless you are there for longer than a week. The roads are INSANE and steep and personally, I would not feel comfortable on such busy and windy roads.

Book at least one excursion. We did the kayak one at Phang Nga Bay and it was probably the best excursion I’ve ever been on. More details on this in the itinerary below. While Phuket has lovely beaches and great nightlife, there is also so much beauty surrounding it that is worth a day trip.

Our Itinerary: Broken Down

Thursday Night

Flight landed: 6pm on Thursday night. ~1 hour Grab ride to hotel. Found a cheap Thai restaurant for dinner, had a few cocktails, then explored Patong Beach area. Got super overwhelmed by the insanely busy streets filled with merchants and tourists (although there are a lot of good souvenir shops), so I bought a cute Phuket bucket hat and we left and called it an early night.

Friday

Woke up around 9am, walked to this adorable coffee shop called Petcharat Cafe. It is locally owned by this LOVELY Thai woman. She is an angel on this earth. She was so dedicated to making sure we had a good experience. We had such a great time chatting with her, and we ordered the banana toast, not knowing what to expect. This lady comes out with a buttery delightful delicacy with homemade vanilla bean ice-cream on top. Not only was the iced latte delicious but the toast was out of this world. I love finding little gems like this one.

Around 11am we took a Grab to Kata Noi Beach, an intimate, gorgeous beach located in the southwest of Phuket. We asked our airport Grab driver, a Phuket native, what his favorite beach was. He said Kata Noi, so off to Kata Noi we went! It was perfect. It cost 100 baht for a lounge chair (very reasonable). There is a bar which serves beer, cocktails, and food. The waves were high, and so were our spirits. There are mountainous cliffs cocooning the stretch of beach, giving it the loveliest, intimate feel. It feels like a private beach, but it’s actually public. I would get here before noon if you want to reserve a lounge chair. Swaying in the crystal clear water in the ocean, gazing at the mountainous cliffs surrounding us, a little tipsy off cocktails … I mean, really, does it get any better?

We called it quits around 4pm and decided to go to After Beach Bar & Restaurant for a late lunch. Mad views from this place. We took a Grab from the beach because the restaurant is straight uphill on the cliff. Once seated, you have a direct aerial view of the Kata Noi landscape. It’s just stunning. The food was good (a bit pricey) but yummy! Took a Grab back to the hotel and watched the sunset from the roof.

Ordered in food around 8pm and sat in our robes and watched Netflix. It was great after a long day in the sun (plus I had horrible sun poisoning).

Mustered up the courage around 10pm to go to the Patong Backpacker Bar which was like a glorified university party. If you want to meet young backpackers then go here. Cheap drinks and party vibes.

Saturday

This was the full day John Gray’s Hong by Starlight with Sea Cave Kayaking excursion, totaling ~$115 USD. SO FREAKING WORTH IT! This was one of the best excursions (if not THE best) I’ve ever done. It’s 10 hours (they pick you up from your hotel around 10:30am) and drive a bit to the other end of Phuket. From there we got on this big boat with around 20 other people and sped off to Phang Nga Bay and its National Park. Untouched, beautifully preserved rock formations greeted us from the boat as we approached the islands. We hopped into a kayak with our hilarious, upbeat guide Term, and kayaked through caves, weaving into the rock formations and discovering the most heavenly sights my eyes have ever seen. It felt like we were on another planet. We saw monkeys swinging from the balcony of trees canopying above us, saw bats sleeping in caves, saw bioluminescent plankton in the water once the sun set. It was a spiritual experience, one that I will never forget. Plus, we were the only boat on the water. It felt very secluded and private, unlike other day trips from Phuket. The food they fed us was also delicious! Sydney and I sat on the bow of the ship on the way home, star gazing and soaking in the most beautiful sights I ever imagined I’d see. We got back to the hotel ~9pm. I don’t believe I can accurately describe its beauty, so I’ll let the photos speak for itself.

Sunday

We woke up and decided to head to the highly recommended Freedom Beach ~10am. You can either pay for a boat to take you there or hike down. We decided to hike, so we took a Grab to the free Freedom Beach entrance and hiked down ~15 minutes before reaching the secluded area. We had a chill time here, we drank some coconuts and swam in the aquamarine waves. It cost ~50 baht for a beach blanket here. Freedom Beach was a bit more crowded than Kata Noi but still gorgeous and not overly busy. Would recommend to fulfill all your beach fantasies. But only go here if you know you can hike back up, because it is STEEP.

We headed back to the hotel around 1pm and packed our stuff up to go to the airport.

So that’s it. My Phuket Itinerary. I hope this was useful in planning your own time in Phuket. I would have liked to see the Phuket Old Town as well (I’ve heard amazing things), but I kept my sight set on the beach due to limited time. If you’re planning a trip here … get ready. There’s a reason people come from far and wide to see it! But now, thanks to me, you can avoid the mega crowds and sail into the best beach holiday of your life.

xx Gracie

If you enjoyed reading this article, check out my others!

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