After arriving in Phuket, the first order of business is to visit Phuket Old Town and discover the past of the island it once was. Colorful old Chinese-European-style houses reminiscing those antique houses you see often in countries like Malaysia and Singapore with a little of Phuket's own touch. There are lines and lines of tourist attractions and shops for you to check out in the Phuket Old Town from interesting museums to places selling souvenirs for you to enjoy. Not to mention all the cool restaurants and unique cafes for you to indulge yourself in.

In Phuket Old Town, there are many options for you to check out if you're looking for a nice restaurant to try traditional dishes, from the incredibly affordable Lock Tien local food center to the incredibly high-quality One Chun Cafe and Tu Kab Khao Restaurant, which all serve delicious local food like Hokkien noodles, crab curry soup, and more. You can't go wrong with Kopitiam, a typical Kopitiam-style café that serves the customary sweet and strong kopi, if you're looking for cafes to unwind in (coffee).

Every Sunday, the entire main street of Phuket Old Town is turned into a lively walking street market full of street food stalls, local performers, and a ton of shops selling cheap handicrafts and more. The Sunday Walking Street really brings new life to the old peaceful Phuket Old Town with a ton of people visiting, both locals as well as foreigners, all walking up and down the street, trying out all sorts of delicious street food Thailand is known for.

Phuket Sunday Walking Street starts around 4 PM and goes all the way into the night up until 10 PM every Sunday of the week. There are a ton of street food you can try here, all selling at a lower price point than if you were to buy them in restaurants. The Golden Dragon Monument is in a small park and you can easily find a nice quiet place to sit and enjoy your food at your own leisure.

If you are looking for a nice viewpoint near Phuket Old Town to enjoy a nice sunset over the city, there is no better place to be than at Khao Rang Viewpoint. Located within walking distance of the old town, the Khao Rang Viewpoint offers a great vantage point where you will be able to see as far as the southeastern coast of the island. You can either walk up Khao Rang Viewpoint from the Old Town which should take around 30 - 45 minutes one way or you can rent a motorbike and ride up to the viewpoint.

Once you are at Khao Rang Viewpoint, you will find a few restaurants and shops you can replenish your energy at. Just watch out for monkeys if you are planning to buy something to eat at the viewpoint. Khao Rang Viewpoint also makes for a great place to exercise as you will find many locals climbing to the top on foot every evening for the sunset.

One of the oldest and most renowned temples in Phuket, Wat Chalong is one of the most important places on the island and a must-visit for tourists. The temple is located just southwest of Phuket Old Town and it can easily be reached by motorcycle on your way to the coasts. Within the temple, you will find several stunning architecture as well as a massive pagoda where you can climb out to see the view of the surrounding area.

You can spend around half an hour here, walking the temple ground, checking out all the stunning ordination halls, and hiking up to the top of the pagoda. From the top of the pagoda, you will be able to see the Big Buddha statue on top of a mountain which is where we will be heading next. The temple opens from 8 AM to 5 PM every day and like most temples in Thailand, you can enter for free.

The Big Buddha is definitely the highlight of visiting Phuket. The statue is 45 m high and it is located on top of one of the highest viewpoints in the area where you will be able to get a panoramic view of the entire southern coastal area of Phuket. The ride up there is quite steep but incredible and you should be able to go up there with a rented moped just fine. There are some really steep sections but the road is good and as long as you take it slow when coming down, you should have no trouble getting up and down the Big Buddha safely.

Once you are at the top, you can park your moped at a designated parking area and you will have to walk up a bit to the viewing platform and a bit more to the Big Buddha statue itself. From the platform, you can see the entire southern coast of Phuket with Promthep Cape, Nai Harn, and Rawai beaches all in your vicinity. You can even see Kata beach from behind if you walk a little further to the other side of the platform.

In the southernmost part of Phuket, Nai Harn is a beautiful beach with fine, pure white sand that is hidden between lush hills and a few little islets. The protected cove is an excellent place to anchor for sailing boats and luxury yachts and has long been a favorite of both foreigners as well as locals. The beach is vast, with clear blue water during the high season, and not too busy during the high season (December to May). However, it can get a bit crowded during the peak months of December and January.

If you are looking for a quiet and cozy beach to go sunbathing in Phuket, you can't go wrong with Nai Harn Beach. The land in front of the beach itself is protected by law, and thankfully nothing can be built on it, and very tall casuarina trees cover it. If you get hungry, there is a line of small restaurants just across the small street beyond this land. It’s not further than a hundred meters. At the south end of the beach, a small stream of water from the lake across the road crosses the beach, and you will have to get your feet wet to go to the other side.

Black Rock is a stunning viewpoint near Nai Harn Beach where you will be able to get an unmatched panoramic view of the entire southern coast of Phuket, providing an even better view than from the Big Buddha statue. From this viewpoint, you will have an incredible vista over Nai Harn Beach and Promthep Cape as well as all the other small islands around Phuket. It is probably one of the best viewpoints in Phuket and a must-do if you are in Nai Harn.

There are 2 ways you can get up there. First, you will have to ride your moped to a dirt road leading up to the Black Rock viewpoint, and from there, you have 2 options. You can either walk the length of around 2 km to the trailhead to the Black Rock viewpoint or you can hire one of the taxi drivers there to take you up on their pick-up trucks. Unless of course, you are still feeling active and don't mind hiking a little further. There is another cool place to hike to beyond Black Rock Viewpoint called Krating Cape which is a better place to watch the sunset than at Black Rock.

Krating Cape is another viewpoint that offers a great view of the ocean as well as a fun hike that will take you through a more remote part of the island. Since the cape is facing west, it is also one of the best places around to watch the sunset over the ocean. There are 2 ways you can get to Krating Cape, you can either continue on and hike from Black Rock Viewpoint for another 1 km (around 1 hour) following the road until you arrive at the intersection above and turn left. Once you arrive at a large banyan tree, turn right and you should arrive at an opening with the ocean on the horizon. Continue on and you will be met with a stunning vista of the ocean and the cape.

The view from Krating Cape may not be as beautiful as Black Rock Viewpoint but if you are there before sunset, you will find yourself completely in solitude. Just make sure to spare some time for the hike back otherwise you will be hiking back at night which is not recommended. Once you are done, you take the same way back and continue along the road for about 2 hours before you arrive back at the taxi stall where you parked your moped. Many people, including myself, often combine Black Rock Viewpoint with Krating Cape into a 5-km long hike which should take about 4 hours to complete.

Patong's 3 km strip of golden sand is one of the most popular beaches in Phuket. Coconut, palm, and tropical almond trees line Patong Beach's shoreline, dividing it from the main road. Beach massage parlors are surrounded by vendors selling snacks and beverages in this slightly cooler location. Additionally, there are beachfront eateries and pubs that serve straightforward Thai and international cuisine, especially in the center of the beach and close to Bangla Road.

During peak season, a little sandy brook hidden in Patong Beach's northern section has very shallow, clean water. A river's mouth is in the southern portion, where several fishing boats moor. The headland that divides Patong from Karon is ringed by a number of coves and beaches, as well as a small fishing community. The best time to visit Patong Beach in Phuket is between November and April when the sea is very flat and calm. From May to October, the beach experiences large waves and dangerous swells. While you can go in the water on some days, pay strict attention to the red warning flags when they're out on the sand.

Promthep Cape seems to be an irresistible spot for a good old sunset photo at the very south of Phuket island, not far from Nai Harn Beach on the way to Rawai Beach. This landmark has always been a daily meeting point for hundreds of tourists to line up with a camera facing west. Colorful buses download hordes of tourists hungry for a sunset picture, and the place starts buzzing with flashes.

It is a great and easy place to visit and the place is extremely well facilitated with a large parking lot, restaurants, shops, and toilets available on site. The place gets extremely crowded at sunset so be sure to come early and find the best spot for the sunset before the crowd gets here. If you want to take your trip to the next level, you can also watch the sunset at Promthep Cape on a boat instead. You can book a sunset cruise to Promthep Cape from here which includes snorkeling and dinner.