Thailand · Asia

Phuket

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  • Code:83
  • Type:province

Introduction

Phuket province is a single mountainous island in the Andaman Sea, joined to the mainland by a short bridge, together with some thirty smaller islands scattered off its shores. The beaches made its name, but the province is also rainforest interior, a national-park coast in the north, and an economy that was built on tin and rubber long before anyone came here to swim.

Overview

The useful thing to know is that the island is bigger than the holiday. Almost all of its visitors arrange themselves along the west-facing beaches in the orbit of Phuket town, so the forested interior, the northern national-park shore and the province's own outlying islands stay quiet — and that is where the rewarding version of Phuket begins.

Discover Phuket

The middle of the island is not developed, and that surprises people who only ever see its edges. Khao Phra Thaeo Wildlife Sanctuary protects Phuket's last virgin rainforest — a compact block of genuinely old forest in the north-east of the island, criss-crossed by short trails that end at the Bang Pae and Ton Sai waterfalls, both modest in the dry months and properly full after rain. The reason to come is the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project, based at Bang Pae, which takes gibbons rescued from the photo-prop and pet trades and prepares them, slowly and with a low success rate that the project is honest about, for release back into this forest. Visitors watch and learn rather than handle: the whole point of the work is that these animals stop associating humans with food and safety. Around the sanctuary the interior runs to rubber smallholdings and pineapple, a working landscape that explains more about the island's economy than the beach road does.

Ways to Experience This Destination

Rainforest Interior

Khao Phra Thaeo's last stand of virgin forest, the Bang Pae and Ton Sai waterfalls, and the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project returning rescued animals to the canopy.

National-Park Coast

Sirinat's long undeveloped shore north of the airport, Mai Khao's quiet sand, mangrove behind the beach, and turtle nesting in the cool months.

The Province's Islands

Racha Yai's sheltered snorkelling bays, deeper Racha Noi for experienced divers, and the small islands off Rawai and Chalong within a longtail ride.

Viewpoints and the Hills

Big Buddha on Nakkerd Hill above the southern island, the three-bay panorama at Karon viewpoint, and Promthep Cape's traditional sunset gathering.

Tin-Era and Peranakan Heritage

The Chinese labour and capital that worked the island's tin, the Sino-Thai Peranakan culture it left behind, and the rubber smallholdings that followed the ore.

Frequently asked questions

More than the resort strip suggests. The island's interior holds a protected block of virgin rainforest with short waterfall trails and the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project; the northern shore inside Sirinat National Park is long, quiet and turtle-nesting ground in the cool months; the hill road carries Big Buddha and the island's viewpoints; and the Old Town on the east side has the tin-era Sino-Portuguese architecture. Between them they fill several days that have nothing to do with a sun lounger.

Cities in Phuket

Phuket

Visaja keeps this page's contact details and visa guidance under continuous review — still, requirements can change at short notice, so confirm the essentials with the mission or the official government portal before you travel.