Incredible Phuket Experience in 3 Days
Phuket is a must-see city due to its white sand beaches, turquoise water, and incredible rock formations jutting out from the water. In this 3-day guide to Phuket, I’ll cover everything you need to know to plan a perfect trip based on my experience.
Let’s get started!
Phuket is the island city of Thailand that offers travelers a chance to relax on the beach and explore Thailand's natural beauty. A few key things to know before visiting are:
Cash is king in Thailand. While some places will accept credit cards, many smaller vendors will only accept cash. The currency is the Thailand Baht (pronounced “bot”).
Most bathrooms don’t cater to Western visitors and will have a hose or a bucket rather than toilet paper. Plan ahead and pack some travel toilet paper wipes.
Be prepared when visiting temples. Shoulders and knees must be covered and shoes must be removed to enter. Some also require a face mask to enter.
Thailand uses type A, B, and C plug types. While some places will use US outlets, come prepared with a universal travel adapter that converts to European plugs.
John Gray Sea Canoe
For your first full day in Phuket, I highly recommend booking the John Gray Sea Canoe tour through Phang Na Bay. You won’t get picked up until shortly before lunch, so you have time to enjoy a nice breakfast and relax on the beach in the morning before departing on this tour. The tour offers hotel pickup and depending on where your hotel is situated, pickup time is generally around 11:30 am-12:30 pm.
Once you arrive at Ao Po, there’ll be a small gift shop where you can buy drinks if you want to bring any on the ship as they only provide water and tea. From there, you’ll board the boat and set sail through Phang Na Bay. On your way, you’ll be served a light Thai lunch before being paired with someone who will row your canoe. Hop into your guide’s canoe and relax while they paddle you around the islands, into caves and hongs. In one cave, we had to lay flat on our backs so as not to touch the top of the cave to get through while our guide expertly paddled us through it. From there we emerged into a beautiful lagoon with cliffs surrounding us on all sides. At another cave, we paddled below bats flying above us. After a few hours exploring the bay, you’ll have a dinner buffet while you enjoy the sunset aboard the ship.
After dinner you will get to make your own Loy Krathong out of local plants and flowers. Then hop on your canoe one more time to light and float your Loy Krathong. During this time you can also see the bioluminescent plankton in the water. Finally, you’ll board the ship and return back to Ao Po before being transferred back to your hotel around 10:00 pm.
Since you’ll get in late the previous day, today is a nice day to sleep in a little, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, and explore what Phuket has to offer. You can take today to explore the city or relax on the beach. If you head into the city, one of the top sites you’ll want to see is the Big Buddha statue on a cliff overlooking the town.
We decided we were going to explore the options our resort had to offer since there were many things available to do at the Anantara Layan Phuket resort. In the morning we took a kayak and paddled around the beach and explored the nearby area. Then we took a relaxing dip in the pool before lunch. After lunch, we tried out the zipline, the rock climbing wall, and checked out the arcade. This was a nice way to break up our two tours especially since the one the day before got in late and the tour the next day had an early morning start.
Zip Line
Rock Climbing Wall
For our last day in Phuket, we took a guided snorkeling tour to Maya Bay and the Phi Phi islands. We had an early morning pickup around 6 am so we arranged a to-go breakfast from the hotel to eat on the drive to the pier. We arrived at the pier around 7:30 am and they had coffee and tea waiting for us along with a light snack. From there, we boarded our boat and there were only 7 people on the tour, including the two of us so there was plenty of room to stretch out and relax on the boat as you head toward Maya Bay. The benefit of leaving so early is you arrive in Maya Bay before the bulk of the tourists arrive. It was a short walk from where we got off our boat to the bay, but only took about 5 minutes. Here, there were several other tourists, but by the time we were leaving, it was definitely getting a lot more crowded. When we visited, the bay was closed for swimming to restore the marine habitat, and there were people monitoring that you don’t wade too far into the water. However, this made it nice to get pictures without a ton of other people being in your photo. After spending about an hour here, we got back on our boat to head to our first snorkeling site.
Maya Bay
Your exact snorkeling spot will vary based on the tides and wind directions of the day, but you’ll find a nice spot near Phi Phi Le and Phi Phi Don islands. You’re provided with a snorkeling mask, fins, and floating devices but you’re also welcome to bring your own. Spend some time seeing all the incredible fish, and you’ll likely even see a school of clown fish like Nemo!
After finishing your morning snorkel, board the boat and head off towards Phi Phi Don Island for lunch. Along the way, you’ll pass the famous Viking Cave where you’ll see lots of birds. However, you cannot enter the cave as it’s now preserved for the bird nest collection industry. Next, you’ll pass a small beach where you might see macaque monkeys. When we visited we saw quite a few monkeys and even a couple of babies. Our guides tossed the monkeys some bananas which they eagerly ate. Some boats allowed their guests to get off at the beach and get next to the monkeys, but I do NOT recommend that as they can be quite aggressive. However, we got close enough from our boat to take photos and enjoy watching the monkeys.
After arriving at Phi Phi Don, we were served a large lunch consisting of curry, chicken, seafood, rice, vegetables, and french fries. We then had a little time to walk on the white sand beach and explore the local shops on the island.
We then headed to our last snorkeling spot where you have another 30 minutes or so to snorkel and enjoy the beautiful fish. Our last stop was at Bamboo Island, where we were provided with bamboo mats to set out on the beach to sit and relax, or you can swim in the water. Finally, we headed back to the pier and returned to the hotel around 5 pm.
Trekker Tip: Book a tour that departs early to avoid the bulk of the crowds at Maya Bay.
Views from the boat
During our visit in 2022, we stayed at the Anantara Layan Phuket Resort. We had a room with a private pool large enough to swim a few strokes in and an outdoor bathtub. The hotel is situated right on the beach and has hanging baskets where you can enjoy the views or kayak and paddleboard if you want to explore the waterfront. The hotel has two main pools, one large pool overlooking the beach, and a quiet pool secluded in a garden.
In addition to the water activities, the resort offers several on-land activities as well. There is an activity center that is a decent walk away from the main part of the resort, but the staff is more than willing to take you there by golf cart. At the activity center, you’ll find a Muay Thai boxing area, a small children’s pool, an arcade and hangout area, a rock climbing wall, and a zip line. There is also a gym in the main part of the resort. Some of these activities are included, but others cost a small fee.
Breakfast was served daily overlooking the beach and offered a large buffet of options to choose from. Champagne was also included for your morning mimosas! One day we left the resort early and they arranged a to-go breakfast for us with plenty of options to choose from.
The only downside of this resort is it’s a good distance away from town, so we ended up eating dinner at the resort for a couple of nights which was more expensive than the options in town would have been. However, the food was exceptional so that and the convenience made up for the added cost. Book the steak restaurant, Age, in the morning to guarantee a spot and you won’t be disappointed in your meal!
Anantara deluxe pool villa
Pond at the resort
Bring some Thai Baht to pay local vendors since not all places accept credit cards.
Pack a universal power adapter so all your electronics remain charged.
Sunscreen is a must as you’ll spend a lot of time outside.
Pack pants or long skirts as knees must be covered to enter the temples.
Also, back a shawl as shoulders also must be covered to enter the temples.
Always bring a water bottle so you stay hydrated.
Take a camera so you can capture every moment!