Things to do in Phuket

Culture · Phuket City

Sino-Portuguese shophouses in ice-cream colours along Thalang and Dibuk roads — the island's actual town, and nothing like the beach strip.

Local tip: Come on a Sunday evening for the walking street, or a weekday morning for the coffee shops. This is where island residents live rather than visit.

Nature · Southern Phuket

A near-perfect crescent bay backed by a lake, with the island's most-photographed sunset headland a few minutes away.

Local tip: Nai Harn keeps its lifeguards and its flags taken seriously. Promthep is packed at sunset — the viewpoint just north of it is nearly as good and nearly empty.

Nightlife · West coast

The island's tourism engine — a dense strip of bars, clubs and beach clubs that runs at full volume every night of high season.

Local tip: Useful to know and unpleasant to live in. Most long-term residents visit Patong occasionally and would not consider renting there.

Landmark · Nakkerd Hills, Chalong

A 45-metre marble Buddha on a ridge with a view over Chalong Bay, Kata and half the island.

Local tip: Go early morning for the light and the quiet. The road up is steep and narrow — a bad first ride if you have just rented a motorbike.

Nature · Eastern Phuket

A calm east-coast bay with mangroves and an aquarium, sheltered when the west coast is closed by monsoon swell.

Local tip: This is where locals swim during the monsoon months. When the west side has red flags out, the east coast is usually flat and safe.

Food · Thalang, northeast Phuket

A working Muslim fishing village with a mangrove boardwalk and seafood restaurants over the water, an hour and a world away from Patong.

Local tip: Go for a late lunch on a weekday. Almost no visitors make it here and the seafood is priced for the people who caught it.