As much as I would love to solely focus on visiting countries I haven't been to yet, if there is one place I don't mind making an exception for, it's Thailand. I would go back in a heartbeat. Thailand is different from other places I have been to, given that the overall experience is guaranteed to be good. Not to mention, the food is one of the best perks of visiting Thailand. You can never go wrong with Thai food, and I feel like the more you explore the country, the more you fall in love with it.Â

When it came to choosing where to go next, Thailand quickly became our back up plan when we realized that we wouldn't have enough time to apply for our visa for Vietnam. We decided to opt in for a new region this time, even though the lantern festival (something I would love to experience!) was happening in Chiang Mai around the same time.
Given that we had no intention of visiting Phuket and our trip was a spontaneous one, we landed with zero plans in mind! We booked the hotel as soon as we landed, and decided to stay in Old Town for the first two nights.
After checking in, we freshened up, and proceeded to find lunch nearby. Staying at Hotel Midtown Ratsada in the heart of the Old Town gave us the opportunity to explore the neighborhood freely. We stopped for our first meal at Café Delight, and had Thai tea from next door, before proceeding to explore more of Old Town by foot, in search of a tour for our second day. The day concluded with a massage at Kim's.
We had an early start to our day as we had booked a full-day tour. They picked us up from the hotel and we made our way to the boat. As we had breakfast at the hotel, we didn't eat the breakfast they served on tour. We had a fairly small group. We opted for the Phi Phi Island, Maya Bay and Khai Island tour. If you book this or something similar, I recommend bringing a pair of water shoes, sunscreen and a towel. Lunch and drinks are provided.
The tour gives you the opportunity to relax (not as much as you'd expect though, due to the amount of people), explore Maya Beach, swim and snorkel. We also stopped by Monkey Beach along the way. As Phuket is a very popular destination, if you visit during peak season, you are guaranteed to see loads of tourists.
I didn't enjoy the tour too much as every single stop we made had too many people. Since there are multiple tours going out at the same time, you can expect over 300 people in one spot at a time, which means you don't get to enjoy the place as you expect to do so. For lunch, all groups are allocated different restaurants on the island, and you will find yourself eating lunch among hundreds of other people.
Though during that time you get free time to explore on your own, you will come across a big crowd, which may or may not impact how much you enjoy your day. Personally, I am not a fan of crowds and thus, I would say opting in for a private tour or a tour that leaves earlier would have given me the chance to enjoy each stop more, but now I know for next time! We got back to the hotel around 6 pm.
The day after a tour, I always feel tired. At this point, we were set to move to a different hotel by the beach. We spent the morning exploring the remainder of Old Town Phuket, where we had lunch. As it was Sunday, we originally planned on going to the Lard Yai Night Market (also known as the Sunday Walking Street Market), but opted out as we spent a good chunk of the day in the Old Town, where we completed our shopping (mainly spices, the herbal inhaler, Thai tea and a few others), went for massages and enjoyed the picturesque town.

Did you know that Phuket is also home to several Michelin restaurants? We decided to try one while we were here. We found ourselves at Raya Restaurant for lunch. One of their signature menu items is the creamy coconut crab curry with rice noodles, which we tried and found pretty good! The fish we ordered was also good, crispy with a sweet and sour sauce. I preferred the curry, and found that they were quite generous with the crab meat portion.
Halfway through the day, we moved to the Holiday Inn Resort Phuket. Though it does not offer direct access to the beach, it is only a short walk (I'd say like 2-3 minutes) away.

I loved the pool, and being able to relax in a quieter environment. The location of the hotel was pretty good as well, since we were within walking distance of many restaurants and the popular Bangla Road.
The majority of the morning was spent relaxing, by the beach and at the hotel. We also walked over to the mall nearby, where we enjoyed one of the best refreshing coconut and mango dessert. We booked the Siam Niramit Dinner & Show. When it comes to shows, there's a few to choose from. Looking back, I wish I opted in for the Carnival Magic instead, as it looks just as nice, however I still enjoyed the show and overall experience.
The option we booked included a ride to the theatre. Once we got there, around 5 pm, we had time to explore the grounds and the authentic Thai village, where we got to see and learn more about Thai culture, traditional Thai handicrafts and saw a water buffalo.

Before the show, we went up to the restaurant for dinner, and I was surprised to find that the food is certified halal! The buffet dinner was wonderful, with a huge variety of Thai and international dishes. I preferred the Thai food and found that everything I tried was amazing. I had 7 mango sticky rice (though they were bite-sized, they were addicting!) Other menu items included Khao Soi, Pad Thai, Panang Curry, Tom Yum, Massaman Curry and more.

Prior to the show, there was an introductory show outside. We then proceeded to the theatre, where we got to watch the show. The costumes and effects were very nice and the show itself was nice, with a good use of effects. The show provides insight on the cultural heritage of Thailand in a journey through time. A big no for me was seeing the elephants dressed up for pictures when you enter the grounds at the beginning.
Though they are an essential part of Thai culture, I think the experience would have been better if they did not include animals. Phones are not allowed during the show, but only towards the end.
There is quite a lot of activities in Phuket. Though we only spent 4 days, you can easily spend more and do more. I felt like 4 was enough for me, as I got to experience and see the highlights according to my preferences. If I were to go back, I would opt in to stay at a neighboring island for a few days for a beach break and maybe visiting Carnival Magic.
There are other island tour options as well to consider that I haven't done. From Phuket, you also have the option of a Thai cooking class or visiting an elephant sanctuary. As I have done both of those in Chiang Mai previously, I decided not to do it again, but I do advise you to research well before booking any experiences involving elephants, as there are a lot of places that are not ethical.
We came on a one-way ticket, unsure of how long to stay, but we left on the fourth day, as I found tickets to Siem Reap, Cambodia and thought, why not hop on over to another country? I didn't really care about exploring more populated tourist areas in and around Phuket, since I felt like one day around the islands was enough for me. The more of them you see, the more it starts to look and feel the same anyway.
Have you been to Phuket? Let me know!
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