Activities on Phuket Island Thailand
Make your escape and grab a bit of peace
If you spend most of your time here in Patong you might get the impression that the beaches of Phuket are crowded. Not true. While Patong fairly buzzes with people and activity, there are many other beaches to which one can escape and discover blissful solitude. You just need wheels. As one moves away from Patong, the beaches get progressively quieter. The southern part of the island, with the possible exception of Kata, is peaceful. In the north, even more so. You’ll find miles of deserted beach at the top of the island, even in peak season. Crowded beach. Quiet beach. The choice is yours.
Map of Phuket island with Travel Guide
Cable water-skiing
This is a relatively new sport and requires a bit of nerve. Not like water-skiing, participants are coached to perform spectacular aquatic manoeuvres at a high rate of knots. It’s so much fun that many come back for more. Children absolutely love it. It opens at 9 in the morning and closes at 9pm. Follow the kathu Waterfall road, just before you come to the road that will go to Patong in the center of the island. Why not go during the afternoon and visit the waterfall first. Obviously quite dry until the rain starts around August, but otherwise a lovly place for a stroll in a forest environment.
Horse riding
If you’re itching to get back in the saddle then check out Phuket Riding Club, just past the Chalong traffic circle on the right, heading couth.Instructors available on weekend mornings.
Mini golf
Dino Park, between Karon and Kata, is a great venue for families. The mini golf course is complete with realistic-looking dinosaurs and a “live” volcano spewing steam. There’s also a bar and a restaurant serving some of the best hamburgers around.
Golfing
There are four international standard courses on Phuket. Five, counting Thai Muang, just a short trip off the island. All courses have their own special features and excellent standards of (female) caddying.Blue canyon, Laguna Golf Club, Phuket Country Club, Loch Palm.
Go-karting
Go pedal-to-the-metal on the eastern side of Patong hill at Kathu. Lots of fun and not as dangerous as some people imagine.
Traveling in traditional style
The longtail boat, or reua hang yao, is a ubiquitous sight in Thai seas. Originally based on the design of the Arabic dhow, the boats- as we see them these days- have been built here for the last fifty years, using skills handed down from father to son.
No plans, no drawing, yet the incredible seaworthiness of this vessel makes it indispensable for fishing and taxiing around these islands. The engine, generally big enough to power a large truck, is pivot-balanced to rotate almost 360 degres, affording a reverse manoeuve without having to use a gearbox.
It’s an art in itself to handle one, and most Thai fishermen are big strong chaps due to the exertion needed from the effort needed to keep the boat under control. Most boats can be hired to visit nearby islands and fares can be agreed on after bargaining with the owner. Considering the time and skills that went into building each og these fine craft, sailing in one should be a memorable experience for the visitor.
Elephant trekking
Elephant trekking in Phuket
The wild elephant popilation of Phuket was wiped out last century but has been replaced in recent years by an influx of pachyderms brought here for the tourist trade. Since logging was banned in Thailand( officially, at least) about 10 years ago, hundreds of Thai elephants have been out of work and the tourist boom has been a blessing for this work-loving creature. Riding an elephant is an experience not to be missed. These lumbering monsters are incredibly agile for their size and can negotiate slippery slopes that even humans would falter and slip on- all this while carrying three people on their backs.
There are many elephant treks to choose from and most include a lunch package. Some trekking companies do deals where you get to canoe, ride buffaloes and see a monkey training show too.
Take a trip to Fantasea
For anyone a little bored with the nightlife and bars around the island, Phuket Fantasea is definitely the place to try next. This has got to be one of the biggest entertainment complexes in Asia.The drive up to the entrance will leave you in no doubt about what you are going to be offered at Fantasea. It’s all bright lights and big top type cabaret and there are so many staff you can’t possibly get lost.
The evening kicks off with a buffet dinner in the enormous Golden Kinaree Restaurant. Seating up to 4,000 people, this palatial pink and yellow eating house dishes up anything from sushi to fresh green salad. Dinner over, there is plenty of time to take a stroll through Festival Village. This is a purpose-built shopping area decked out with artificial lakes and cave entrances and plenty of glitter. Crafts are for sale from all over Thailand and those in the mood can play games like tombola or skittles. Heaven on earth for children.
Finally comes the big show. A little late for some, starting at 9 pm, but worth it all the same. All guests take their pre-allocated seats in the state-of-the-art theatre and settle down for a spell-binding performance set in ancient Sukhothai with all the feel of a Broadway spectacular. The next one and a half hours takes you through magical illusions, acrobatics, pyrotechnics, brilliant sound effects and of course, elephant antics. Fantasea has over 30 elephants on the team and they provide one of the most memorable parts of the evening.
Buying antiques
Antique Thai Bronze
For real antiques try Chan’s Antiques on the bypass road out towards the airport. Even if you’re not buying, the dazzing display of Buddhas and other statuary along with antique toys, boxes, inlaid cabinetry and pots is well-worth seeing. For those who love the look and aura of antiques but can’t afford the price, reproductions can be a solution.Modern Cultured Stone on Prabaramee Road in Kathu has a selection of reproductions of the finest Khmer and Thai sculptures.
Buddhist temples
All Buddhist monasteries are open to the public. But please do remember these grounds are holy, and there are a few simple rules to observe. Women, in particular, should be careful, for no monk should come into physical contact with any woman, and women should remember that in a place where monks are trying to leave physical desires behind, it is polite to cover their bodies well. Short pants are not acceptable wear in the monastery grounds. When entering temple buildings shoes must be removed.
One popular Buddhist site in Phuket is Wat Chalong, a sprawling temple in the middle of the island. But the island has numerous, equally interesting monasteries that can be visited freely.
Gibbon rehabilitation
Bungy jumping
The Jungle Bungy Jump in Kathu is a real test of guts. Fight the internal struggle that every jumper experiences when standing 54 metres above the ground. It’s well worth the rush in the end and most people manage to throw themselves off and live to tell the tale. Look out for the crane peeking out over the palm tops in Kathu.
Phuket Zoo
For those visitors with a taste for zoo, Phuket’s own zoo is in Soi Palai, a lovely drive off Chao Fa East Road on the way down to the Chalong circle.
