3 Days in Phuket, Thailand

Phuket, pronounced “poo-ket,” “is a “rainforested, mountainous island in the Andaman Sea, and has some of Thailand’s most popular beaches, mainly situated along the clear waters of the western shore. The island is home to many high-end seaside resorts, spas and restaurants. Phuket City, the capital, has old shophouses and busy markets. Patong, the main resort town, has many nightclubs, bars and discos.”

Thanks, Google 😉

Phuket has absolutely stunning beaches and is great for anyone to visit as part of their first time being in Thailand – it has nightlife, excursions, pristine, white sand beaches and crystal blue water, and temples galore. It was definitely highly populated, and very touristy, so for anyone looking for more of the “hidden gems,” stay tuned because that post will come when we eventually make our second trip 🙂 But overall it’s definitely a city you should include on your itinerary whether you want touristy places or not because there are a ton of other areas in the city that you can stay at that are much more mellow than where we stayed in Patong.

Day 1 & 2 – Patong 

We stayed in Patong, the main resort town which is definitely known for its nightlife. Since we’ve never been to the city, we wanted to stay in the more touristy part so we could see as much as we could in our short stay and didn’t want to have to worry about getting from point a to point b.

A couple things I want to say to start about getting around the area: in other parts of the country (i.e. Chiang Mai), the covered pickup trucks that pick up and drop off passengers are called songtaews, and the noisy motorized 3 wheel vehicles are called tuk-tuks. Not on Phuket: here, the locals call communal pickup trucks tuk-tuks, while songtaews are referring to the giant colorful buses you see on the main roads, also called baht buses. We didn’t have to use either of these much when we were there because we walked, but in all honesty I wish we would have rented a mo-ped to get around anywhere – that will be well worth your money spent, and is probably the easiest way to get around to to all of the places you want to see! We decided to rent one when we went to Krabi at the end of the trip and instantly regretted not getting them the entire time.

We also found a killer deal on our hotel, which was absolutely amazing and right on the beach. Usually I’m someone that loves to pack the itinerary and see as much as possible, but for this particular portion of the trip all I wanted was to sit on the beach and relax. So next time I would definitely want to go explore more of the island and see the temples, Big Buddha, and other areas of the island (next post coming right up!).

But back to the hotel – it was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. We stayed at The Bay & Beach Club (which is now called Kudo) in the Pool & Beach Suites which we paid $338 all in for two nights (or 11,200 baht).

It sits right on the beach, and each of the rooms comes with a jacuzzi on the balcony. One thing to keep in mind that I wish I knew: the jacuzzi takes about an hour to actually fill up…. So plan that in advance lol.

The location was great – just a few steps away from the main strip of Patong, which is where all the bars, restaurants and nightlife are. We were only there for 2 nights, so we used this time to chill out on the beach during the day and go out at night.

There’s also a 7 Eleven across the street from the hotel, and one thing I will say is 7 Elevens in Thailand are much, much better than the 7 Elevens in the United States. That sounds weird, but they carry everything your heart desires and have these heavenly little snacks called “toasties,” cheese croissant sandwiches, that you will crave every day for the rest of your life… and to paint a better picture, this piece by Bodega Hostels will show you exactly what I’m talking about!

We did a 7 Eleven Haul (because why not?) and here are a few of the delicious snacks we got that you should definitely pick up the next time you find yourself in a Thai 7 Eleven.

Both nights we ended up on the main street on Bangla Road, where we stopped by a bunch of different bars and learned the infamous Cup Game (photo below)… now, it’s funny because the first time we went to one of the bars, “The Honky Tonk,” one of the bartenders wanted to sit down with us and teach us the Cup Game – we thought he was just bored and being friendly and wanted to play. But, after playing the game twice with him, we learned he was actually trying to hustle us! So BEWARE. Not only is it a ploy to get tourists to buy them drinks, it’s also HIGHLY ADDICTING so play at your own risk.

After we realized what he was trying to do, we ended up making friends with him and he let us play without consequence, so that’s they key! Make friends with your hustlers 😉

It also came in handy because when we ended up going to all the other bars, they didn’t know we could play and beat them at their own game. It was all fun and games though, and we ended up making a bunch of friends along the way.

Day 3 – Phuket Town

We were going to Koh Phi Phi the next day and we needed to catch the ferry from Rassada Pier in Phuket Town, so we decided to stay a night in Phuket Town to explore that area!

Phuket Town (Old Town) is often referred to as the cultural hub of the city. The hotel we stayed at was the Blu Monkey Boutique Hotel Phuket Town for $52, and it was adorable and well worth it.

The hotel was walking distance to everything we needed to do, and the town itself was definitely much more laid back than Patong. In the Old Town, Thalang Road, the main road, is lined with colorful 19th-century preserved shophouses and Sino-Portuguese buildings.

Once we got settled in the hotel, we went for a walk to grab lunch at Kopitiam by Walei, known for its authentic Phuketian-style Pad Thai. The lines are typically long at this restaurant, especially on Sundays when the city had it’s Walking Street Market! We got the Massaman Curry and Moo Hong, a famous local braised pork belly dish flavored with soy sauce and Chinese spices, served with boiled egg and chili in fish sauce. It was delicious!

Afterwards, we walked through the Vanich Walking Street (now called The Oasis Thalang) which was a little indoor market that had everything from souvenirs, to clothing, to food! It’s also air conditioned, which is a huge bonus and is a nice little break from the scorching heat / humidity mid-day.

After we walked around for a bit and worked up an appetite, we went to dinner at Five Loaves – a burger restaurant. Yes, I said it! We needed a change in food, and when we walked by it in the afternoon it caught my eye.

It’s a local burger café, and they pride themselves on their fresh Australian beef. They were truly some of the best burgers we’ve ever had, and we’ve had many. I got the Phuhawaii burger and my boyfriend got the Abundant Life. They also have a signature fry sauce that’s phenomenal – definitely recommend trying this place if you need a change in pace for dinner!

Another thing I recommend doing if you find yourself in the area is taking a walk down Soi Romanee, a hidden gem in the area. It’s a small street full of beautiful, vibrant, colorful, renovated buildings today, but before it was known as Phuket’s red light district about 15 years ago.

Overall, a definitely think Phuket Town is worth visiting, and there was so much we didn’t get to see since we were only there for a night. Phuket itself is absolutely a must-see on your trip, and I would spend a few days here just exploring the area, soaking up the sun on the beaches, seeing the temples, and everything else the city has to offer.