How to Spend 4 Days in Phuket (Beyond Just Island Hopping)
Last Updated: March 20, 2024
Known for its amazing beaches and mountainous terrain, Phuket is one place you can easily spend many days soaking up the sun. But there’s more to Phuket than simply laying on the beach or taking a boat tour to the islands! Here we break down our best 4-day itinerary for Phuket which includes some time for island hopping, but also takes you off the beaten path to a few hidden gems in Phuket.
Best Guide on to How to Spend 4 Days in Phuket
If you’ve never been to Phuket, the first thing you’ll quickly notice is the heat. As soon as you step outside of the airport your glasses will steam up, and you’ll quickly want to put on your bathing suit. It’s no wonder Phuket is one of the most popular beach destinations in the world!
Picture yourself in an affordable 4-star hotel with a rooftop overlooking the ocean which is directly across the street.
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Complete Phuket 4-Day Itinerary: Table of Contents
How many days should you spend in Phuket?
This is a hard question to answer, because it really depends on your travel style and priorities. But you will really want at least 3 to 4 days to get a taste of all the island has to offer. Phuket is also more expensive than other parts of Thailand, so if you’re traveling on a tighter budget, you may not want to spend more than 3 days there. But if you have the time and budget for it, you could easily spend up to 7 days in Phuket.
One thing we were surprised to learn when planning our trip is that the island of Phuket is actually quite large! It can take over two hours to go from the island’s northernmost point to the southernmost point, and about an hour to cross from east to west. So as you’re planning things to do, keep in mind that you’ll need to factor in travel time across the island. This is one reason why you’ll want to have at least 3 to 4 days in Phuket.
Where to stay in Phuket?
We ended up staying at Patong Beach because it had the widest selection of hotels, and most of the best tours provide complimentary pick up near Patong Beach. Plus, you’ll have access to plenty of highly rated restaurants, restaurants, and local vendors.
Patong sometimes gets a bad rap given its nighttime party culture. We are not big nightlife people, and we still had a lovely time staying at Patong Beach in Phuket. Patong has great accessibility to everything you need, including lots of currency exchange booths, laundry wash and fold services, and massage parlors. And as we mentioned, nearly all tour experiences pick up in Patong. This makes Patong Beach a very walkable place to lodge.
And the beach itself in Patong is quite lovely. It often doesn’t get mentioned in top beaches in Phuket because of the potential crowds and hectic nightlife, but Patong Beach is undeniably beautiful.
Day 1: Old Phuket Town, Cashew Factory, Big Buddha and More
On Day 1 of our 4-day Phuket itinerary, we recommend you explore some awesome cultural activities and viewpoints all over the island. This will give you a great sense of all the island has to offer and will help you decide how you want to prioritize the rest of your time in Phuket.
Explore Old Phuket Town
Old Phuket Town is a charming section of the island with brightly painted historical buildings and lots of adorable shops and restaurants. You can walk down Thalang Road and admire the unique Sino-Portuguese (i.e. Chinese Portuguese fusion) architecture.
Old Town is home to many coffee shops with floral decor and delicious coffee and pastries. We recommend Kor Ra Kang Cafe for the aesthetic, and RUSH Coffee Rommani for the coffee.
There are tons of little souvenir shops in Old Phuket Town with more affordable prices than you’ll find closer to the beach. So it’s the perfect spot to finally buy your elephant pants.
Visit a Cashew Factory
Visiting the Cashew Factory in Phuket is one of the island’s hidden gems. Sure, it’s not as popular to visit as a tourist, but cashews are a major staple in Thailand, and it’s fun to learn a little bit about how they’re harvested and sold. You’ll likely see cashews in your mini bar at the hotel or in many of your favorite Thai dishes. So why not visit the cashew factory in Phuket?
At the Cashew Factory, you learn about the shelling and roasting process. You can watch a local worker cracking the shell and extracting the nut. The best part? You get to sample tons of cashew flavors from spicy to sweet!
Wat Chalong, Phuket’s Largest Temple
Next visit the Wat Chalong Temple (also called Chaithararam Temple) and its surrounding complex. This temple complex is full of beautiful golden and sparkling buildings with Thai architecture.
Something unique about this temple experience is that you’ll also hear firecrackers going off regularly outside the temple door, which are used for making a wish.
Be sure to wear clothes that cover your shoulders and knees so that you can enter the temple. And wear shoes that are easy to slide off, as you’ll have to take your shoes off at the doorway.
Phuket’s Big Buddha
Next on this Phuket itinerary, go to Mt. Nakkerd Buddha Garden to visit the famous Phuket Big Buddha. The Big Buddha is an impressive 148ft structure that sits atop one of Phuket’s tallest peaks. The garden at the Big Buddha offers great views of the surrounding landscape.
What is there to do at Big Buddha? You climb up the 94 steps to the Big Buddha statue to take in its massive size and get panoramic views of Phuket Island. Plus, you get a chance to see some wild monkeys. However, these monkeys have big teeth and are wild. Don’t get too close or they will try to get into your bag in search of food.
We spent about 45 minutes at Big Buddha. We recommend spending anywhere from 1-2 hours at Big Buddha.
Karon Viewpoint
Lastly, Karon viewpoint is another great stop for views of the ocean and mountains, not too far from the Big Buddha. Karon viewpoint is a great photo spot. But do note, this is likely a very quick stop. Plan to spend no more than 30 minutes at Karon Viewpoint.
Consider a City Tour of Phuket
If you’re interested in the above itinerary to explore Phuket, it may be easier to check out all these stops via an organized tour that picks you up at your hotel and drops you off at each location throughout the day. This frees you from thinking about parking, as well as any additional planning while in Phuket! We sometimes find taking organized tours to be stress free and informative, as you can always ask your guide or driver questions from their local perspective. We went on this Phuket city tour and really loved it.
Day 2: Island Hopping at the Phi Phi Islands
Phi Phi Islands
Hop on a boat and travel to the gorgeous Phi Phi Islands–smaller islands around the coast of Phuket. These islands feature the iconic turquoise blue waters with limestone cliffs that most people envision when they think of Phuket.
Exploring the Phi Phi Islands is definitely a full-day event, and the only real way to do it is to book some kind of tour. But a tour ticket comes with much more than you’d expect, including breakfast, lunch, snacks, fruit, water, and even dessert. They also provide towels, flippers, lifejackets, goggles, and anything else you’d need to snorkel and see the fish.
Is the snorkeling equipment clean? Yes, when you get your snorkeling gear, you’ll get a brand new, packaged mouthpiece. The towels are handed to you clean and folded. Although the flippers and life jackets aren’t brand new, they are sanitized and look well taken care of.
Although you can’t swim at Ko Phi Phi Le (Maya Bay) (Thailand’s most iconic beach), you’ll certainly be wowed by the preservation of the finest bit of nature. Don’t let the “no swim” sign stop you from taking photos. It’s okay to step into the water to take photos.
Our very favorite part of our Phi Phi Islands tour was snorkeling. We got to see rainbow fish, swordfish, coral, anemones, and up to 7 sharks!
Also, you’ll get a chance to explore the island city of Ko Phi Phi Don, which is also where lunch will be provided.
Note – The one thing that is not included in your tour ticket is a ride on their long-tail boats in the Pileh Lagoon. This costs about an additional $9 each, but it was definitely worth it! If you choose to opt out, you’re given the chance to climb out of the main boat and go for a swim!
The day wraps up with a stop at Bamboo Beach where you can either lounge for an hour, explore the island, or swim & snorkel some more.
Here is the tour that we did of the Phi Phi Islands – it included everything we were hoping for and we genuinely had a lovely time.
Day 3: Elephant Sanctuary + Chillva Night Market
On Day 3 of our Phuket 4-day itinerary, we recommend doing two of our very favorite hidden gem experiences in Phuket–visiting an Elephant Sanctuary and checking out Chillva Night Market (a popping spot for tourists and locals alike).
Phuket Elephant Sanctuary
Don’t be swayed by the marketing for riding elephants, instead, consider visiting an elephant sanctuary where elephants who have been tortured by the tourism industry get a second chance to rehabilitate and heal from their trauma.
At Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, elephants get the freedom to live naturally in 30 acres of lush tropical jungle. As a visitor you get to walk alongside them, learn their stories, and even offer them food! Given they eat over 400 pounds of food a day, I’m sure they’ll accept.
At Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, elephants get the freedom to live naturally in 30 acres of lush tropical jungle. As a visitor you get to walk alongside them, learn their stories, and even offer them food! Given they eat over 400 pounds of food a day, I’m sure they’ll accept.
The sanctuary also has a canopy walkway that allows you to view the elephants from up high, so if you’re not a fan of getting too close, you can observe them from above.
We paid for a transportation service that picked us up at our hotel in Patong and took us to the Elephant Sanctuary, which included an authentic Thai lunch. They also provided pick up after lunch and allowed us to explore the sanctuary’s gift shop which gives the proceeds back to the care and rescue of elephants.
Chillva Night Market
In the late afternoon or evening, consider exploring Phuket’s Chillva Night Market. This is the place to try every type of street food imaginable, hear local music, and shop for clothing and other products. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Chillva Market did not feel nearly as touristy as the rest of Phuket. You can easily spend a few hours sampling food from all the different vendors, hunting for vintage clothing deals, and enjoying the lively vibes at Chillva.
Day 4: Beach and Fine Dining
Relax at the Beach
We recommend spending at least one day in Phuket simply relaxing and enjoying the beach at one of Phuket’s many lovely beaches! What are the best beaches to visit in Phuket? Some of the best beaches in Phuket include Karon, Kata, and Freedom Beach (this last one requires a 10 minute hike to get to!).
Patong Beach is also one of the most popular beaches in Phuket, and it’s where many of the hotels, resorts, and nightlife are located. As mentioned above, Patong sometimes gets a bad rap given its nighttime party culture. But we spent a morning at Patong Beach because it was near our hotel, and we loved the beach. You can swim, rent jet skis, buy street food, and rent a chair and umbrella.
Get a Massage or Spa Treatment
Phuket is vacation central and no vacation would be complete without some serious relaxation. Phuket is home to many massage parlors where you can get any number of different types of massages (foot massage, full body massage, body scrub, Thai massage, and more) at a very affordable price. A word of caution – Thai massage involves a lot of difficult stretching, assisted yoga poses and deep pressure on your muscles, which can feel somewhat painful if you’re not used to it. We had no idea what we were in for going into our Thai massage in Phuket!
Fine Dining at Blue Elephant
Phuket is home to many amazing fine dining opportunities. And the nice part is that many tourists can enjoy fine dining for a more affordable price, for individuals traveling from countries with a strong currency exchange (like the US dollar or Euro).
We recommend the Blue Elephant in Old Town, Phuket. This Michelin Guide restaurant is located inside an old colonial-era mansion, with beautiful decor. The service is impeccable and the food is delicious (try the Massaman Lamb Curry–you won’t regret it!). You do have to reserve in advance, but it was not difficult to book a table online. Overall, we felt like royalty dining there, and we hope you will too.
Other Top Things to Do in Phuket
If you have more time and want to add a few items to your Phuket itinerary, here are a few other top things to do in Phuket:
James Bond Island tour – This is another amazing island hopping day near Phuket. It is very similar to the Phi Phi Islands tour. We almost did both, but because they were so similar, we opted out of the James Bond tour. The Phi Phi Islands seem to have the prettier clear turquoise water, whereas the islands near James Bond Island have more interesting rock structures. Your call which you like best! Here is the highly rated James Bond Island tour that we almost tried out.
Take a Muay Thai class – Muay Thai is Thailand’s own version of boxing, and you can take a beginner Muay Thai class while in Phuket. Learn all the basics of this unique type of martial arts during your time in Phuket, no experience necessary.
Take a Thai cooking class – Love Thai food? Learn to make it yourself! There are lots of cooking class options available in Phuket where you can learn to make famous dishes like Pad Thai and Mango Sticky Rice. Check out this 5-star cooking class in Phuket.
Phuket is one of the world’s top vacation destinations, and for good reason. There is so much to do in Phuket, and its lush mountainous terrain meeting the ocean is beautiful. We loved spending four days in Phuket, and we hope our four-day Phuket itinerary helps you have a wonderful time too! If you’re looking to explore more of Thailand, we recommend checking out Bangkok and Chiang Mai.