Phuket

About

Phuket is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands off its coast. Phuket lies off the west coast of mainland Thailand in the Andaman Sea. Phuket Island is connected by the Sarasin Bridge to Phang Nga province to the north. The next nearest province is Krabi, to the east across Phang Nga Bay.

Summary excerpted from the Wikipedia article Phuket, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Text may be clipped or paraphrased to fit this page.

Why visit

Visit Phuket when you want an island base with beaches, food, day trips, and a little urban texture rather than a pure cultural city. Phuket Town is the important counterweight to the resort coast, with Sino-Portuguese streets, shrines, markets, cafes, and local food that connect the island to Chinese, Malay, and Thai histories. Use the beaches honestly, but do not make them the whole trip. Add Phuket Town, a temple or shrine, a market, mangrove or bay scenery, and a boat day only when weather and sea conditions make it sensible.

When to avoid

Phuket is not ideal if you dislike resort sprawl, traffic, inflated beach prices, nightlife noise, or heavy tourism infrastructure. Patong can feel especially commercial, and moving between beaches can take longer than expected. Use taxis or arranged transport when routes are inconvenient. The monsoon season can bring rough seas, red flags, and sudden rain. Do not ignore beach warnings, and do not build a short stay around a single boat trip that weather can cancel.