What to Do in Phuket in 3 Days

1. Rent a Taxi and Explore Phuket

There are so many travel agent in Phuket offering Phuket City Day Tour. However, as you may not want to follow their itinerary, you could always arrange your own day tour. It is not recommended to travel by public transports, since grab, tuk-tuk, and metered taxi are extremely expensive. The best way to explore Phuket is by renting a car or motorcycle, but there’s no need to book a car rent in advance. When you arrive in Phuket International Airport, you will find some well-known car rentals in the arrival hall, such as Avis, National, Hertz, and Sixt. Make sure you have the international driving license to be able to rent from them.

If you can’t drive by yourself, you could rent a taxi instead. There are dozens of taxi drivers standing on the sidewalk around Patong area, offering taxi services which you can negotiate to get the cheapest price. Do not rent the taxi from the counter inside the airport as it costs THB 2,800 for 6 hours, excluding gasoline and insurance. Also, do not ask the taxi drivers at the airport, the cheapest the drivers could give us was THB 300 per hour.

Here’s how we found the best deal. We went to Malin Plaza the night before our tour day and when we left the market, some drivers offered us a taxi. So we asked them if they want to rent us their taxi for a day. They first offered us THB 2,500 for 8 hours, but we negotiate and finally got THB 1,800 for 7 hours, including gasoline. The price for tuk-tuk and taxi are same, so you should rent a taxi instead, as it is more comfortable and some roads in Phuket are quite steep. Our driver was called Mr. Bug, he was really nice. Even though he didn’t really good in English but we still could communicate with him. We tried to text him the next morning before he picked us up and we decided to translate our message into Thai using google translate and it worked.

2. Relax on the Beach

Phuket is basically an island, so you would find lots of beaches here. Some of the most famous on the west coast are Patong, Karon, Kata, Ao Sane, Ya Nui, and Nai Yang. Patong and Kata Beach are the area where the most tourist stay in Phuket, so please expect the crowd of people relaxing and sun bathing. You should go to Karon Beach if you’re looking for a quieter one. I’m not sure if you can swim at these beaches as there were ‘no swimming’ signs when we went there. Ao Sane and Ya Nui are coral beaches and they are well-known for snorkeling and diving. You should find counters offering snorkeling and diving equipment on the beaches. Nai Yang is the quietest beach in Phuket that we went to. Since it is located quite near to the airport, there are less people staying on the area. You should come here on sunsets and enjoy the view while having a great dinner on the seashore.

Sunset at Nai Yang Beach

3. Go to Viewpoints and See Sunsets

The most famous viewpoint in Phuket is Kata/ Karon Viewpoint, where you can have a view of Kata, Karon, and Kata Noi Beach. Since it is pretty famous, there would be so many people at the viewpoint, so you will have to wait to get some proper pictures. It would be better if you come early in the morning to avoid the crowd. I have to say that this was not the best viewpoint in Phuket. There are other viewpoints better than this, which are Black Rock Viewpoint, Windmill Viewpoint, and Promthep Cape. Both Black Rock and Windmill Viewpoint have better views. Since they are not that famous, there are less people coming here, so you can enjoy your time and take great pictures. The bad side, some locals do not even know about these places. Just like our driver, he said that there was only one viewpoint in Phuket which was Kata/ Karon Viewpoint. But the thing is, we found many reviews about those viewpoints, so they must be reachable. The other viewpoint is Promthep Cape.

Promthep Cape

By far, I think this is the best viewpoint in Phuket, especially to see the sunsets. If you would like it to be less crowded, you should go in the morning or afternoon since it gets pretty full just before sunset time, mostly by tourists. To have the best sunset view, you should turn left once you pass the entrance and walk on the right side. There would be small stairs and you will find people sitting on the stones. Right there, you will have the best sunset view, and also the best photo spot. Actually, you can go a little further to the southernmost point of Phuket. I’m not really sure how to get there, we could not find any ways leading to that area, so we assumed it must not open for public. I read some blogs that the way to that point is a little bit steep and rough. So make sure you wear proper clothes and shoes. Also you will need to come earlier so you can reach that point without missing the sunset.

4. Go to Night Market

Phuket is not as crowded as Bangkok, but you can still find some night markets such as Malin Plaza Patong, Bangla Night Market, Phuket Weekend Market, Phuket Walking Street, and Banzaan Fresh Market. Malin Plaza (opens daily, 14.00 – 24.00) is basically a food market, mostly are Thai foods such as Tom Yam, Pad Thai, grilled seafood, crepes, mango sticky rice, and freshly cut fruits. There are also stalls selling clothes and souvenirs but it was not really interesting. There wasn’t too many people when we went there. Phuket Weekend Market (opens Saturdays & Sundays, 16.00 – 21.00) and Phuket Walking Streets (opens Sundays, 16.00 – 22.00) are located close enough to each other, in Phuket Old Town.

Bangla Night Market (opens daily, 16.00 – 02.00) is located at Bangla Road which is the center of nightlife in Phuket. This area gets pretty crowded at night since it is full with bars, clubs, and night market. This road is on the opposite of Jungceylon Shopping Centre and also Banzaan Fresh Market. Banzaan Fresh Market is actually a wet market which opens daily from 06.00 – 21.00, but at night, the outside of the market building turns to be a food market. This market is much better than Malin Plaza, you will find more foods here with much cheaper price. If you only have a short time, you should choose Banzaan instead, so you could go around Bangla at the same time.

5. Visit Phi Phi Island

Phi Phi Island is one of the top tourist destinations in Thailand. The island is full of foreigners, which mostly are Westerners. The high season and the ideal time to visit Phi Phi is between November and April. But please beware since the accommodation could be fully booked. The only way to reach the island is either by ferry or speed boat. The speed boat costs around THB 1,000 per person at the cheapest for one way ticket, while the ferry costs THB 1,000 per person for a round-trip ticket. There’s no need to book the ferry ticket in advance, there are lots of tour agents selling ferry tickets, and trust me you won’t be run out of ticket. 

I bought the ferry ticket from a tour agent which was right in front of Malin Plaza. They offered us Phi Phi Cruiser for THB 1,000 per person, including land transfer Patong – Rassada Pier – Patong. But since we would go to Nai Yang area once we get back from Phi Phi, we had to pay another THB 200 for the minibus transfer, so the total should be THB 1,200 per person. We did negotiate and got THB 900 per person including land transfer Patong – Rassada Pier – Nai Yang. If you’re going back to Patong again, it should be cheaper than this. It was an open ticket, so you could choose the ferry schedule as long as it is still within 7 days. The earliest ferry to Phi Phi is at 08.30 no matter what ferry you choose, and you will be picked up around 07.00 or so from your hotel, depending on which area you are staying. I would recommend you to book Phi Phi Cruiser since the ferry was clean and comfortable, and they also arrange the accommodation really well.

Phi Phi Viewpoint