Travel Guide to Phuket

Summary - Inclusions Phuket Indeed has everything a traveller needs from Mountains , Blue Waters , Peace , Nightlife. Phuket has everything for everyone right from Kids to Teenagers to Honeymoon couple to Adventure seekers. Below I have tried to make easy, simple, step by step and one of the most cost efficient trip that you will ever come across. We travelled in Phuket with all local transports and without any tour guides. Below #itinerary is planned in a way that you save time and kms while travelling without missing out on anything. #Hotels, #Transport #Restaurants are suggested below. Each and every cost mentioned below in incl. 2 adults #food , #stay , #ticket, #fuel , #car . You can choose hotels as per your #budget. My suggestions are based on my budget for the given trip and given day. We were 2 couples travelling on this trip. So, I will break up all the costs for couple here.

Day 1

1) Took a non-stop flight from Mumbai to Phuket by GoAir. The flight duration was only 4hrs 40mins. So, we landed at 7:25 in Phuket. We had an entire day on our hand to explore.

2) We headed straight to our Hotel to Checkin at Woraburi Phuket Resort & Spa. The hotel is right opposite to Karon Beach with all the amenities like Pool, Gym, Excellent room with Sea View. You can book the hotel using my referral link to get discount. https://www.airbnb.co.in/c/akashb176?referral_share_id=bebdf9e7-8028-4fd8-9242-181b1a80f016

3) We reached the hotel by 9:00AM. However, rooms were busy as our check-in time was 12PM. The hotel was kind enough to put all our bags in locker and set us free to roam around.

4) Rent Bike - We rented a Honda 125cc bike for 350 Baht / day . 1Baht = 2 Rupees. The bike rental store is just next to the resort. You will see a pharmacy store on the left side of the hotel. Behind the pharmacy is the bike rental store. S&C Travel. 9:30AM

5) Breakfast - We decided to have some breakfast and then to explore. So, we stopped at a pretty cafe for breakfast Al Dente Cafe which is next to Karlsson restaurant. 10:30AM

6) Bike Ride - We went on a bike ride for an hour as we wanted to checkin at 12PM. Sleep & get fresh for the rest of the day. We went on a bike ride on Patak rd. The road was passing by mountains and sea view

7) Came back to hotel at 12PM. Slept for an hour , got freshen up

8) Wat Chalong temple - Left hotel at 2PM reached at 2:30PM. If you look closely in Thai tradition you will see every house , hotel , resort , temple has Ganesha , Vishnu & then Buddha idols right before the entry of the above places.

9)4PM - Big Buddha. It is the third-tallest statue in Thailand, 148 feet tall and 83.5 feet wide

10) 5:30pm - Sunset . One of the most beautiful sunset, I have seen in Thailand with 360degree Phuket Island view from top of a hill. We halted at a cafe for a cup on coffee and snacks.

11) Reached hotel by 7PM parked the bike in hotel compound. Got ready for some crazy parties in Phuket.

12) Walking street of Phuket, Famous as Bangla Road near Patong beach. We started Bar Hoping at 9PM to 12AM

13) Slept at 1AM

Day 2

1) We had booked a day tour package for 2nd day in Phuket. Please donot book tours online they are very expensive. On the previous day we had stopped by at few stores and got our rates negotiated. The below trip I had taken was costing 3000/- per person online. But I got it for just 1600/- per person. Trip Name - Phang Nga Bay Full day trip with Canoeing. Inclusions - Pickup from Hotel , Phang Nga Bay , Floating Village , Lunch , Cave Canoeing / Kayaking , James Bond Island , Monkey Cave , Buddha Cave , Drop at Hotel

2) Breakfast time in Phuket resorts starts at 6AM unlike 7AM in other places as most of the day trip pickups are between 6:30AM to 7AM. Our pickup was scheduled at 06:30AM. So, we were on time at 6AM for our breakfast. On the dot of 6:30 our pick up van arrived.

3) After picking up few more guests. Our 1st stop was Monkey Cave & Buddha Cave Temple. After feeding bananas to monkeys we headed to the Buddha Cave Temple.

4) Phang Nga Bay - distinctive feature is the limestone rocks that pops out vertically out of the emerald-green water , silent white sand islands and there a 1000's of them but the most famous are James Bond Island and Koh Panyee are just 2 of the more famous spots in this bay.

5) Our first stop in Phang Nga Bay was the Koh Panyee which is famous for its floating village which is based on the sides of Needle like limestone rock.

6) Lunch was organised on the same floating village.

7) Our next stop was going to be of Canoeing in the Ocean caves in middle of Phang Nga Bay at Koh Hong Island.

8) James Bond Island - The actual name of the island is Ko Tapu. However, famously known as James Bond Island since the place was featured in a James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun

9) All the attractions of the day package had come to an end. So, we headed back to the base point where the van was waiting to drop us back to the hotel. We reached back to hotel at 5:30PM. I returned the bike as we had a tour booked next day aswell.

10) We rested for more than an hour had couple of beers which we bought from a near buy 7/11 stores. If you are shopping anything in Thailand from beer ,grocery, juices buy it from 7/11 stores for the cheapest rates.

11) Simon Cabret Show - We left from hotel at 8:45PM as the venue was only 7-8mins from our hotel. There are 3 shows in a day. We took the last show at 9PM. Ticket was 500Baht but we got a negotiated price at 400 Baht which includes pickup and drop but we opted out from pick n drop as we wanted things to move at our pace. Please pre-book your tickets a day or two before as the show is always full. The show is one of the most leading show/event in South East Asia and the Thailand's most famous Lady Boy show.

12) We did not go out for a party that night. We headed back to the hotel it was difficult to get a taxi back as all the audience came by package transfers, I am sure taxi owners would be aware of it. So, we headed to the street and asked for a lift and we got one within seconds. It was fun to ride triple seat in Thailand. Reached hotel and sat on the Karon beach in front of our hotel with beers , prawns , lobsters, oysters and salmon. Slept at 12AM

1) We had booked a Half-day tour package for 3rd day. The below trip I had taken was costing 3000/- per person online. But I got it for just 2300/- per person. 3 Island Snorkeling Tour - Khai Nui, Khai Nok Phi-Phi Islands, and Khai Nai. Inclusions - Pickup from Hotel , stunning scenery of 3 islands , Sunbathe beds & towels, Swim deep waters, Crystal clear waters, Snorkeling, Complimentary refreshments & Snacks, Drop at Hotel.

2) Breakfast-Our pickup was scheduled at 06:30AM. So, we were on time at 6AM for our breakfast. On the dot of 6:30 our pick up van arrived and took us to the jetty where the speed boat was waiting for us.

3) Hopped on a speedboat and started hopping between the scenic Khai Nok, Khai Nui, and Khai Nai Islands. We dived in the deep crystal clear waters which has live corals beneath, we spent about an hour exploring the corals. We enjoyed our time there and went to the next island

4) Our next stop was at Khai Nok island where we our refreshments and snacks awaited. Khai Nok is a beautiful sandbank with bar shacks on it in the middle of a sea. We spent our time here sunbathing , sipping beers , snacks / brunch, taking pictures and swimming near the shore, walking around the island. We spent about 2hrs here

5) Next stop was at the Khai Nui Island for Snorkelling. I have snorkelled many times before. However, no one can beat Khai Nui with the quantity of Fishes it has in its waters from millions of Nemos to Sea turtles and others with 100's of colours. Unfortunately we couldn't capture images while snorkelling as I had tried with my phone the same day earlier and had screwed it up :-P . We snorkelled for around 1hr and then headed back to the jetty and from there to the hotel. We were back in the hotel by 2PM.

6) We went for Lunch directly instead of going to the room as we were hungry after snorkelling for an hour. We walked down 100mtrs to Karon Beach Square, you will find 100's of restraunts , cafes from the most expensive joints to Mcd's & burger kings. We had lunch at Station Cafe, you can definitely find better option than this one.

7) Post lunch we went walking around Phuket and reached the next beach Kata Beach. I recommend you to either stay at Karon or Kata beach on your visit as Patong is overcrowded , its like Juhu beach of Thailand. Karon and Kata are just 7-9Kms away from Patong night life but you will have peace the whole time. We spent 2-3 hrs walking around, sitting in cafes , sitting on beaches , sipping juices, beer , ice creams. Post sunset we were back at the hotel at 6PM.

8) Rested for a while and went out for leg massage before heading to the party at Bangla road. Got leg massage done and took a taxi to Bangla road. Spent an amazing 2-3hrs of the night partying and came back to hotel at 10PM.

9) Next day morning at 5AM. We had to checkout to take a flight to Bangkok and from there by cab or bus directly to Pattaya.