Phuket, Koh Lanta, Phi Phi
The island of Phuket in southern Thailand is home to some of Thailand’s most beautiful beaches. Phuket offers something for everyone and serves as a home base to explore the nearby islands. Everyone is very friendly in Southern Thailand and definitely like to party when the sun goes down. Keep reading for the best 7 day Phuket itinerary!
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Itinerary Overview:
Day 1: Arrive, Patong, Naka Market
Day 2: Phuket Town, Royal Paradise Market, Soi Bangla
Day 3: Big Buddha, Karon Beach
Day 4: Koh Lanta
Day 5: Phi Phi
Day 6: Paradise Beach, Jungcelyeon
Day 7: Depart
Top 5 Things to do in Southern Thailand
1. Visit a Night Market
2. People watch on Soi Bangla
3. Walk the streets of Phuket Old Town
4. Visit the Phi Phi islands
5. Spend a day relaxing on the beach
Before You Go
- Consider learning a few Thai phrases like Hello, Please and Thank You. It will go a long way with the locals.
- Bring Baht with you as credit card fraud is prominent in Thailand and the use of credit cards should be limited. In addition to Baht, we took AAA travel cards with money pre-loaded on to them and periodically withdrew money from ATMs throughout the trip.
- Look into whether or not any of your transportation throughout the trip can be pre-booked whether it be airports transfers, ferry rides between islands etc. in order to secure a spot.
Day 1: Explore Patong and Visit Naka Market
Arrive into Phuket International Airport and make your way to your hotel to drop off your luggage. We arrived at 3 am as we flew from JFK in New York City, New York. We flew China Eastern Air and had a short layover in Shanghai, China before arriving in Phuket. Airport transfer was included with our hotel stay at Deevana Plaza Phuket in Patong. Check into your hotel, drop off your luggage and set out exploring in order to beat the jet lag.
Walk along Thawewong Road road and explore the shops, restaurants and beach in Patong. You can capture beautiful photos of the sea if you go early in the morning before Patong wakes up. Take it easy during the day and explore the various beach clubs and bars along the water. At night, hop in a taxi and head to the Phuket Weekend Market locally known as Naka Market, which was one of the best experiences of our trip. We bartered for everything from t-shirts to sneakers and handmade goods. We also enjoyed some of the best food on our trip here. Our favorites included the grilled pork chop on a stick, roti and rolled ice cream.
** Phuket Weekend Market is located along Chao Fa West Road and is only open on Saturdays and Sundays from 16:00 into the night.
Day 2: Explore Phuket Town, Royal Paradise Market in Patong, and Soi Bangla
Wake up and grab breakfast from either your hotel or any of the cafes along the water on Thawewong Road before hoping on to a Blue Public Bus to head into Phuket Town. For 30 Baht or around $.97 USD the bus will take you into Phuket Town and you can walk to what is considered Phuket Old Town from there. Phuket Town is filled with shops, cafes, restaurants and temples that are great to explore. The bus drops you off near the City Market, which is filled with exotic fruits, veggies and spices.
After exploring City Market, walk around Old Town. Make sure to walk along Thalang Road to see all of the brightly painted buildings and beautiful architecture.
Stop for lunch at along Soi Romanee, it is lined with beautiful buildings, cafes and bars.
After returning from Phuket Town, enjoy dinner at the Pum Thai Restaurant and Cooking School. We did not take a cooking class while we were there but it is definitely on my list when we return! After dinner, explore the different night markets throughout Patong where you can enjoy rolled ice cream for dessert. The Royal Paradise Night Market is a short walk from Pum Thai. After the sun goes down, Soi Bangla will be closed to motor traffic and the entire street will turn into one big party. Bar hop in order to experience everything that Soi Bangla has to offer. Don’t forget to try a pint of Chang beer, it is a Thai beer modeled after an American style lager.
Day 3: Visit Big Buddha and Relax on Karon Beach
After enjoying breakfast, coordinate a driver to take you to Big Buddha and then drop you off in Karon Beach to relax on the beach. Big Buddha is considered a religious site so be sure to wear appropriate clothing! We had our driver wait while we toured the monument in order to ensure that we had a way back down the mountain.
Opening Hours: From 08:00 – 19:30. If you want to catch the sunset from one of Thailand’s best spots, try to be there before 18:30
Location: Nakkerd Hills, between Kata and Chalong
Dress Code: Dress conservatively
After touring Big Buddha, have your driver drop you off in Karon Beach. Karon Beach is calmer and cleaner than Patong Beach. Enjoy lunch and spend your afternoon relaxing on the beach! When you are ready to head back to Patong, consider taking a tuk tuk.
Day 4: Take the Ferry to Koh Lanta
Take a ferry from Phuket Town to Koh Lanta to spend a relaxing day on a quiet, secluded beach. Consider staying at Phutara Lanta Resort .
If you don’t want to spend the night in Koh Lanta, consider staying in Phi Phi instead!
Day 5: Relax on Phi Phi Island for the Day
Either arrive directly by ferry from Phuket Town or take the ferry from Koh Lanta. Our day visiting Phi Phi was one of the best days of our whole trip! The island is beautiful and the water is warm and crystal clear. We packed our own goggles that we picked up in Phuket Town so that we could do our own snorkeling and see all of the topical fish. From the ferry dock in Phi Phi, hop in in a wooden long boat and ride to one of the more secluded beaches.
There are many activities in Phi Phi to include snorkeling trips, kayaking and visiting monkeys on Monkey Beach.
Day 6: Ride Elephants at Paradise Beach and visit the Jungcelyoen
Spend your last full day in Thailand by riding elephants at Paradise Beach, visiting the Jungcelyeon for last minute souvenirs and enjoy dinner at Wassa Homemade.
We chose to visit with YaYa and Lagoon – two privately owned elephants who enjoy playing in the ocean with humans. There are multiple ways to get to the elephants but we had the best luck by going to the Tri Trang Beach snack table and asking about them. YaYa and Lagoon cameo highly recommended by many locals over some of the other touristy elephant adventures. A taxi took us to the property on Paradise Beach where the elephants live.
After spending the morning with YaYa and Lagoon, we decided to visit the Jungcelyeon in Patong, which is a huge shopping mall. It is filled with both international stores and local markets with handmade crafts.
We spent our last night enjoying dinner at Wassa Homemade, which is where we watched the sunset over the coast. The food, drinks and staff were great! Wassa Homemade is definitely a must visit if you are near Phuket! We arranged a taxi to drive us there from our hotel and had the bartender arrange a return taxi for us since it is located at the top of a very steep hill.
Day 7: Depart
Enjoy your last few moments in Thailand before you depart! We got Thai massages at our hotel before heading to the airport for our flight back to JFK in New York City, New York.
Accommodation Options:
Hostel: Borbaboom Poshtel, Phuket Old Town
Hotel: Deeva Plaza Phuket, Patong Beach
Luxury: Trisara Villas & Residences Phuket, Banana Beach
Transportation Options:
- Tuk Tuk
- Blue Bus
- Taxi
- Hire a private driver
- Walking
Must Visit Restaurant:
You need to visit Wassa Homemade for a delicious smoothie and Thai meal. The views overlooking the coast only got better as the sun went down.
Must Try Food:
Any and all variations of Khao Phat (Thai fried rice) are a must try!!
Spent an awesome month in Phuket getting my ESL certificate in person and your itinerary was so spot-on. The Wassa Homemade restaurant with its hilltop views look awesome and great tip about the steep hills, people really don’t realize just how steep the incline is… until they find themselves in interesting motorbike situations.
Oh yeah, I think some of the craziest driving I’ve seen was in Thailand! That’s so awesome you spent a month there!!
In Hawaii we have a restaurant that’s called “Phuket Thai” and it’s one of the best restaurants there! I knew there was a place in Thailand called Phuket but this and the combo of the delicious food at that restaurant makes me really want to go!
That is awesome!! I bet it’s amazing. I would love to visit Hawaii.
Oh I love Thailand and the last time I went my kids got really sick so didn’t get to enjoy it very much. But I’d love to back again. This is great list, thanks for sharing and I’ll be looking out for the Khao Phat next time I’m there… that looks delicious!
Of course! Glad you got to experience it at least once. Hope the next time you are there you have better luck!!
Pum Thai Restaurant and Cooking School sounds fantastic! I am sure I would make a mess of it if I attempted to cook those dishes, but I’d love to give it a try! If you go back, do you think you’d take the lesson?
I love the look of everything, the beaches, the historic sights and most definitely the food!
I’d love to take a lesson next time! The food was amazing, I wish I could cook like that.
Don’t you think 7 days is too short once you sit in the plane headed back do NY? But, you got the best of Phuket in my opinion. You got to go to Koh Lanta and Phi Phi Island, experienced the night markets, eating authentic Thai food every day, and of course, a foot massage. You shouldn’t miss it while in Thailand.
Oh yeah, was way too short! My Thailand trip was over a spring break while finishing up college so I was limited in the number of days I had. If I could do it again, I would definitely stay longer!! Thank you!!
Oo, I’d love to have dinner at Pum Thai Restaurant and Cooking School, the food there looks so yummy! 🙂
It was amazing, I definitely recommend it if you are in the Patong area! I’d love to try a cooking class next time I’m there.
I need to get to Phuket next time I visit Thailand. It looks so fun and the beaches in that area look stunning. 🙂
Definitely worth a visit! The beaches are amazing and there are so many different beach vibes depending on what you are looking for ~ parties, secluded, water sports etc. All a great time!
I absolutely love Phuket, it is such a wonderful island and I cant wait to go back!
Isn’t it beautiful? So glad you got to enjoy it!!