Must see attractions in Phuket for a newbie

[emphuket]

Hey! I've recently moved here and was just wondering what are some of the must see things to do on the island! I'm not interested in drinking and I can save the majorly touristy stuff like Tiger Kingdom and the elephant camp for when I have family and friends visiting. So far I've been to Thai Hua Museum and done a bit of exploring in Phuket Town. Any recommendations on beaches, museums, nice cafes etc are appreciated. Thanks!

[robertthebruce]

Hi

You won't be bored that's for sure, lots of nice beaches and restaurants, my favourite restaurant is Mon Tris ibetween kata noi and Kata beach, beautiful food and excellent service, also another Healthy Thai Restaurant called "Chanya" it's opposite "House and Home" on the Chalfor road, sorry if I have spelt it wrong,but it's excellent...

Enjoy Phuket we love it...

[phuketandsee]

Check out Layan Beach and the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project http://www.gibbonproject.org/

[grumpyoldman]

Mom Tri's Boathouse? Huh? The most pretentious place to get over priced Thai food? I think not. But to each their own....

How about the Botanical Gardens off Chaofa East, hang the left if coming from Chalong at Muay Tiger. Definitely worth a visit. Picnic lunch Cape Panwa overlooking the sea and Koh Lone at the grassy seaside parks on the way out to Ao Yon. Daytrip to the National Parks and waterfalls Khoa Lak.

[fiddlehead]

I would drive the whole west coast of Phuket, stop and get out and check out each beach along the way.

That IMO is the real beauty of this island.

The view from the windmill near Nai Harn is one of the best.

Check out one of the Thai festivals. They have many at Sapan Hin in Phuket town.
And each Wat has one or two a year. (earplugs can be a good idea at these events however)

There is a tower on top of a mountain over there at Panwa. You can see it from many places in the south of Phuket.
Head up there and check out the 360 views.
You can even see Phi Phi on a good day.

Everything I mentioned above is free.

If you want to pay for more touristy things, Splash Jungle, the Aquarium on Panwa, the Botanical garden, Tin Mining museum are all good.

Play some badminton, tennis or bocca ball over at Sapan Hin in town. Public swimming pool there too.

There are a few National Parks here too: BangPae waterfall, Ton Sai waterfall near Talang, as well as the north part of Nai Yang beach is a NP, Layan beach has another one. These are the natural settings that Thai families go to and well worth seeing a bit of Thailand while you are here. Much of Phuket is a bit distorted in that regard.

Enjoy. Lots to see.

[hkt83100]

Visit geocaching.com and look for geocaches on Phuket Island. Membership is free, the game runs worldwide, and it is fun! Good to get your a$$ out of the chair and explore the outside world.

[surangw]

our kids tried the zip line park last year, had a nice day of it

anyone tried Zorbing at Rollerball yet?

[xylophone]

Visit Wat Chalong then head south to explore that part of the island.

[eezergood]

Surin - now you can actually see the beach

[Tapster]

@surangw....

Went Zorbing when a friend from South Africa visited us a month ago. I took pictures while my wife and her friend Zorbed (is that a word?).

Everyone seemed to love it. Wear a swimsuit, dive or crawl into the Zorb. They chuck water in. You can either sit down and get rolled around or if you're feeling brave, try and stand up and run as the Zorb rolls.......you end up on your ass but it's worth a try.

There are two Zorbs running parallel so you can try to race your friends.

They also lie you down in a row while others ride the Zorb over you. Looks like a strange form of execution but everyone gets up with massive smiles again.

Definitely worth a try.

Here, they are standing up, not showing their incredible core strength!! My bad!

Edited June 26, 2014 by Tapster

[emphuket]

@tapster I'll definitely do the Zorbing when I have family / friends visiting. Good suggestion!

[DanBlack]

Go to the upside down house if you want to see a table nailed to the ceiling, for a couple hundred baht