A dream for most people is to relax on a beautiful beach, travel to stunning islands, and indulge themselves in a tropical atmosphere under the bright sun. Phuket is a perfect destination for all of those things and it is well-known for creating amazing experiences for vacations and tourisms. Phuket is located on the side of the Andaman Sea along the Indian Ocean coastlines.
In the province?s early years, it has gained a lot of wealth from tin and rubber and it was once one of the major trading routes between India and China. Nowadays, Phuket is extremely famous for its tourism to many people in the world. In fact, it was once having tourism as its top source of revenue! Phuket?s beaches are mostly on the west coast and the Phuket Town is actually on the southeast with an airport in the north of the province.
General information about Phuket Thailand
As Phuket is the world?s famous destination for tropical vacation or getaway, there is nothing you can deny about the beauty of the atmosphere here. There are white sand beaches, beautiful islands, breath taking views of the natural resources, and many more. However, the best of the best attractions is compiled in this one list for your convenience! Phuket is the world?s famous town for a vacation near or in the sea. It is also the biggest island in Thailand which is known for being the Pearl of Andaman Sea.
Phuket’s Popular Travel Attractions
Karon Beach, Kata Beach, and Kata Noi Beach
There are white sand beaches and crystal-clear water all around Phuket. In Phuket alone, there are more than 20 beautiful beaches you can visit to! However, the best beaches are Karon Beach, Kata Beach, and Kata Noi Beach which are the three connected bays that truly shape like a curve.
In these three beaches, there are countless hotels and resorts, including delicious restaurants. There is also a sightseeing spot where you can see all three bays – Karon Sightseeing Spot. Apart from the beauty of the white sand in the Phuket Island that I have just mentioned, the islands nearby are equally beautiful.
Racha Yai Island
This is an island with five bays which have soft and refined sand. The sand is really suitable for sunbathing and do some sightseeing. There is also a spot where you can dive to see some of the most amazing coral reefs. With crystal-clear water and the beautiful coral reefs, this spot is one of the very famous diving spots in the Andaman Sea. You can also watch the sunset and stay at a resort at the end of your day here.
Mai Ton Island
Another island that I really recommend you to visit is Mai Ton Island which is a small peaceful island with a long white sand beach.
The water is clear enough for you to see the fishes swimming in there. In some occasions, you might get to see dolphins and the undisturbed coral reefs. With these precious beauties and characteristics, this island is also known as the Maldives of Thailand.
Lham Phrom Thep
This place is a famous sightseeing spot and a symbol of Phuket in which people who come to this province must take a day to appreciate the stunning views. Also, it is one of the spots where you can watch the most beautiful sunset in Thailand!
Local Tellls
Phuket, as you may know, contains so many beautiful beaches that one?s might be dying to see at least once in their lifetime. However, there are more places in Phuket which are hidden away from most tourists and are yet unexplored by many. If you want to discover them, you must follow what the locals are recommending! In Phuket, there are many magnificent beaches, but there is one beach that is different from the other beaches which is called Mai Kao Beach or White Wood Beach.
Mai Kao Beach
It is a beach with the longest distance in all of Phuket with more than 10 kilometers in length. The thing that made this beach special is that it is very close to the airport. So, this beach has become famous for people who want to take a group or a couple pictures when the plane is landing nearby.
This beach is also known for its peacefulness and purity in which it may be the reason why this is the only beach in Phuket where the sea turtles lay their eggs. If you are in Thailand just for the beaches, I am pretty sure that you are missing out a lot here! There are traces of Thailand?s cultural aspects all around Phuket that you should visit.
Phra Buddha Ming Mongkol Ake Nakiri
or the Big Buddha is a Buddha statue with the attitude of subduing Mara with a height of more than 45 meters. It is decorated with beautiful white marbles.
To really show you how much marbles there are, the weight of the marbles alone is more than 135 tons! The statue is situated on the top of the mountain and you can also see the amazing views in a 360 degrees angles around the Phuket Island.
The Old Town of Phuket
If you want to see some histories, the Old Town of Phuket is highly recommended. This place is consisting of a historical road that pairs with Phuket?s city for more than 150 years. Sino-Portuguese or Chino-Portuguese building is also located here in this area.
To put it simply, it is basically a building that combines the two architectural styles from the eastern and western world together as one. You can also visit other old structures that will surely give you some beautiful vintage vibes and unique features of the Phuket city. You could experience the way of life of the people up close in this town. There are six road zones you can visit and there are restaurants and countless shops for you to do some shopping and eating.
Wat Chalong
As Thailand is famous for its temple, Phuket also has one of it. Wat Chalong is an old temple that is here with Phuket since the beginning and people who come to Phuket must come to visit.
The really unique thing about this temple is the Buddha statue of Luang Pho Cham which is a monk that the locals really respect. This particular statue is also mentioned in the province?s motto, so you know it must be important. There are people constantly coming here to pay respect to the statue. There are also a Maha Chedi with many levels, Buddha statues in different attitudes, and a Buddhist relic at the top of the temple. At the top, you could also see a beautiful view of the entire temple!
Other interesting information about Phuket, Thailand
The Motto for Phuket is ?Pearl of the Andaman, Southern Paradise, Golden Beaches, Land of the duo of Heroines and Highly Revered Laung Pho Chaem?.
To Get to Phuket:
The distance from Bangkok to Phuket is around 862 kilometers and there are different ways for you to reach here. The first and the most popular choice in reaching this province is by plane. You can catch a flight from many airports around the world, but most from the Asian countries. After you have landed, you can use any of these following transportations to get to where you want to go : Municipal air-con airport bus, shuttle buses, minibus services, and meter taxis.
The next choice of traveling is to use the bus. You can take the bus from the Southern Bus Terminal to Phuket which will costs you around 650 to 950 bath and it will take you around 13 hours to get here. There are also private bus companies you can take, but you have to book the ticket online as there are quite a few schedules per day. You could rather drive here yourself if you want to but take some rests along the trip!
Travel around Phuket:
Getting around Phuket might be a burden for you if you do not plan for some mean of transportations as the public transports are very limited here. However, there are still some ways you can get around that.
Songthaews or the local bus
I recommend using the songthaews or the local bus to travel around Phuket. There are specific lines you can take, so you need to ask the driver first if the bus is going to your destination.
Taxi
There are also many types of taxi you can choose to get on in Phuket, but the basic of all of them are still the same and I cannot stress this enough. Ask for the price first before you get in the ride!
Motorcycle taxis/ TukTuk
Moreover, there are some motorcycle taxis around that you can take to get around town or you can take the tuktuks as well.
For accommodation in Phuket:
As I have said before, there are countless hotels, resorts, and others in Phuket. The cheapest room may start with 1,000 baht per night and the expensive resorts might go up to 60,000 baht per night! I hope you have the greatest time here!
Suggested Cities around Phuket
Phang Nga ? The Center for Islands in Thailand
Prachuapkirikhan ? One of the Finest Places to Rest in Thailand
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