Phuket 3-Day Itinerary: Old Town, West-Coast Bays and Phang Nga

This three-day route avoids criss-crossing Phuket's fifty-kilometre length by dedicating one day to the south-western beaches and headlands, one day to the Sino-Portuguese streets and Peranakan kitchens of Phuket Old Town, and one full day on the water among the limestone karsts of Phang Nga Bay or the Phi Phi Islands. Read our before-you-go briefing first.

Day 1: South-Western Beaches, Wat Chalong & Promthep Cape Sunset

• Morning on the sand: start early with a swim in the clear, granite-framed cove of Kata Noi or Nai Harn Beach while the Andaman water is glassy and casuarina trees shade the shore.
• Midday panorama and lunch: pause at Karon Viewpoint (Khao Sam Haad) to photograph the triple crescent of Kata Noi, Kata and Karon bays, then stop for lunch or snorkel at miniature Yanui Beach or Ao Sane.
• Mid-afternoon: drive twenty minutes inland to Wat Chalong, Phuket's most revered Buddhist monastery (cover shoulders and knees), climbing to the upper marble terrace of the Phra Mahathat Chedi.
• Sunset: continue south to Windmill Viewpoint and walk out along the palm-lined ridge of Promthep Cape as the sun drops into the Andaman Sea, finishing with grilled seafood in Rawai or Kata.

Day 2: Sino-Portuguese Phuket Old Town & Peranakan Gastronomy

• Morning breakfast and mansions: head into Phuket Old Town for flaky roti dipped in massaman curry or steamed Hokkien dim sum, then tour the 1903 Anglo-Chinese Chinpracha House and the Thai Hua Museum on Krabi Road.
• Lunchtime: sit down at a classic Old Town kitchen for slow-braised moo hong peppered pork belly, yellow crab curry with betel leaves (gaeng poo) and wok-charred Phuket Hokkien mee, followed by shaved-ice o-aew.
• Late afternoon and evening: stroll beneath the five-foot ways of Thalang Road, pastel Soi Romanee and Phang Nga Road (stepping into the Shrine of the Serene Light); on Sundays, stay for the lantern-lit Lard Yai Walking Street Market.

Day 3: Phang Nga Bay Karsts OR the Phi Phi & Racha Islands

• Option A (Limestone caves of Phang Nga Bay, calm year-round): board an early boat into Ao Phang Nga National Park to sea-kayak through tidal rock tunnels into the emerald lagoons (hongs) of Panak and Hong Islands, view Khao Phing Kan (James Bond Island) and visit stilted Koh Panyee.
• Option B (Turquoise reefs of Koh Phi Phi or Koh Racha, best Dec to Apr): take an early boat from Rassada Pier to snorkel around Bamboo Island, Pileh Lagoon and Maya Bay, or hop to Koh Racha Yai before flying to Chiang Mai.