Backpacking Phuket
Phuket has a reputation as the place backpackers are supposed to look down on, and then everybody flies into it anyway. It has the biggest airport in southern Thailand, boats to every island on this coast, and for most people it is where the southern leg starts or ends.
The island is 543 square kilometres, which surprises people: it is not a beach, it is a region. Patong is the loud bit everyone means when they say Phuket. Kata and Karon are calmer versions of the same thing. And Phuket Old Town, which almost nobody bothers with, is streets of Sino-Portuguese shophouses in pink and yellow with some of the best food on the island.
Two days is the right dose. Use it as a hub: one day for the island itself, one for Phang Nga Bay, then get on a boat.
Why Phuket is popular with backpackers
- Cheap flights from everywhere, which is half the reason
- Boats to Phi Phi, Lanta and the smaller islands all leave from here
- Phang Nga Bay, which is one of the best day trips in the country
- Old Town, and hardly anyone goes
- Big social hostels with pools
- Bangla Road, which is a sight in the anthropological sense
Best time to visit Phuket
Phuket is on the Andaman coast with a clear wet and dry season. During the monsoon there is a serious undertow along the west coast, and it costs lives here every year.
Take the red flags seriously here, and this is the one piece of advice on the page that actually matters. Between May and October tourists drown on this coast every year because they went in while the flag was up, and there is no lifeguard on most of these beaches.
Backpacker budget: around €22 a day
- €7hostel bed
- €2local meal
- €1.80beer
- €6scooter per day
Guide prices from our own days in Phuket. Add a tour or a night out and it climbs fast.
Best hostels in Phuket
Selina Serenity Rawai Phuket
Down in Rawai on the quiet southern tip, with a pool and rooms that are nicer than a hostel has any need to be. Sociable but nobody is dragging you out. The pick if you want to see Phuket without sleeping in Patong, and there is proper space to work if you have to.
Slumber Surf Phuket Kata
Walking distance from Kata Beach, which is where most backpackers end up. Something on every day, so you are in a group by your first evening. Popular with surfers, and a good base for the tours that leave from this side.
Lub d Phuket Patong
Big pool, big common areas, and right in the middle of Patong, so the beach and the entire nightlife district are around the corner. Three thousand reviews at 9.2 means it delivers what it promises. Sleep is not on the list of things it promises.
Best things to do in Phuket
Phi Phi and Maya Bay by speedboat
Twenty-one thousand reviews, which tells you how many people do this. A long day on a fast boat taking in Maya Bay, Phi Phi Leh and Bamboo Island. Take the earliest departure available, because the difference in crowds between the first and the third boat is enormous.
Feeding elephants at a sanctuary
Feeding and walking, no riding and no bathing, which is the standard to hold anywhere in Thailand. If a place offers rides or a bath with tourists, it is an attraction rather than a sanctuary, whatever the sign says.
A floating beach club
A converted ship anchored out in the bay with a pool, a DJ and a slide into the sea. Completely unnecessary and a genuinely brilliant day if you round up a group.
Phuket Old Town on foot
The tin-mining money built these streets in the 1900s and the Sino-Portuguese shophouses are still standing, now full of coffee places and street art. This is the part of Phuket that changes people’s minds about Phuket.
Other things worth the ride:
- The Big Buddha, 45 metres tall with the whole island below it
- Sunset at Promthep Cape on the southern tip
- A day on Kata or Karon Beach, both calmer than Patong
- The Sunday Walking Street in Old Town
- Bangla Road in Patong, once, purely for the experience
- Phang Nga Bay by kayak, which is the best day out on this coast
Best area for backpackers
Kata and Patong
Two options, and they are not subtle. Kata is calmer, has the surf and the more relaxed hostels. Patong is the nightlife: bars, clubs, Bangla Road, and hostels built for people who are going out.
What you get in these areas:
- Cheap hostels in both, most with a pool
- Straight onto the beach, which is not true everywhere on the island
- The largest backpacker crowd in southern Thailand
- Most tours pick up from both
- Kata for sleeping, Patong for not sleeping
Rawai and Nai Harn in the south are quieter again, and Old Town is the wildcard: no beach, better food, and the most interesting streets on the island.
How to plan your days in Phuket
Most backpackers use Phuket as the hub and stay two days. Pick how long you have.
Old Town and the west coast. Start in Phuket Old Town with the painted shophouses and the coffee, then head over to Kata or Karon for the afternoon.
Tonight: Bangla Road in Patong, if only so you can say you have seen it.
Phang Nga Bay. Kayaking between limestone towers and through caves that only open up at low tide, with James Bond Island as the famous stop. One of the best days out in Thailand, and not really about the island at all.
Tonight: eat on the quiet side, around Rawai or Nai Harn.
Big Buddha and the south. The 45 metre Buddha looks out over the entire island. Carry on to Promthep Cape for sunset and the emptiest beaches Phuket has.
Tonight: ferry to Phi Phi, or a flight onward.
Food and drink in Phuket
Phuket has its own kitchen with strong Chinese influence, especially in Old Town. Hokkien noodles and dim sum turn up as often as Thai curries, which is not true anywhere else in the south.
Go to the Sunday Walking Street in Old Town or the night market at Chillva. You will eat better there than anywhere on the beach road, for a fraction of the price.
What to eat here:
Getting there and onward
Phuket has the biggest airport in southern Thailand and for a lot of people it is where the trip begins or ends.
From the airport. The airport is in the north, about an hour from the beaches. The Airport Bus Express to Old Town costs a couple of euros; a taxi costs roughly ten times that.
Around the island. Phuket is big and public transport is poor. A scooter is about €6 a day, but the traffic here is heavier and faster than on the smaller islands, so it is not the place to learn.
Onward. Phi Phi is two hours by boat, Krabi two hours by bus, and Khao Sok four and a half hours inland.
- PlaneBangkok in 80 minutes, plus international routes
- FerryPhi Phi 2 hrs · Koh Lanta 3 hrs
- BusKrabi 2 hrs · Khao Sok 4.5 hrs · Bangkok 12 hrs
- ScooterFrom about €6 a day, in heavy traffic
- LongtailOut to Phang Nga Bay and the small islands
Staying safe on Phuket
More tourists get hurt on Phuket than anywhere else in Thailand, and it comes down to two things: the sea during the monsoon, and the traffic.
- Obey the beach flags. Red means do not swim, and it means it
- Film your scooter or jet ski from every angle before you take it
- Book taxis through an app. It is roughly half the street price and there is no negotiation
- Wear your bag in front in Patong. It is the one place here with real pickpocketing
- Swim on a red flag, even when other people are doing it. They are also wrong
- Rent a jet ski without a written agreement about damage
- Follow anyone offering a free show on Bangla Road. There is always a bill
- Get on a scooter after drinking. The traffic here does not forgive it
The jet ski scam is well known on Phuket: you bring it back and damage is suddenly discovered that was already there. Photograph and film every side before you go out, or simply do not rent one.
Rebels on the Road tip
Skip a beach day and spend it in Old Town instead. Everyone flies into Phuket, goes to Patong, decides the island is a write-off and leaves. Twenty minutes away there are streets of century-old shophouses, a Sunday market that fills the whole road, and food that has nothing to do with the beach strip. It is the cheapest and best surprise on the island.
Frequently asked questions
How many days do you need in Phuket?
Two to three. Phuket works best as a hub: one day for the island, one for Phang Nga Bay, then out to the islands.
Is Phuket expensive?
A bit more than the mainland, around €22 a day. Hostels and street food are still cheap; it is the beach road restaurants and the taxis that catch people out.
Is Phuket safe for backpackers?
Yes, with two real exceptions: swimming during the monsoon and riding a scooter in the traffic. Both are what actually hurt people here.
How do you get around Phuket?
Scooter or Grab. Public transport is close to useless on an island this size, and taxis without the app are painfully expensive.
Is Phuket just a party destination?
No, though Patong tries hard to convince you. Old Town, the southern beaches and Phang Nga Bay are all the opposite, and most people who write Phuket off never saw any of them.
