Before we get into the list, a quick word on how I travel—so you know whether this guide is for you. I’m not the cocktails-on-the-beach, beach bars, hotels, tourist-strip kind of traveler. I’m a foodie who now lives in Asia, so I’m chasing a great cup of coffee first and then good local food second—with the occasional plate of Western food when I need a reset. Quiet beaches, untouched nature (ideally), quieter local corners, design-led cafés & Airbnbs and a long, slow massage. That’s my version of a good trip.
I’ve been to Phuket four times over the last twelve years—for travel and for Pilates trainings—and this is the long-form version of the texts I send friends when they ask me where to go.
A note up front, though: Phuket isn’t a perfect place. It’s crowded, changing fast, and a lot of the island is being built over in real time. Spend a few days off the main strips, though, and you still find pockets that feel like themselves — a few really good kitchens, cafés with serious coffee, and one viewpoint worth setting a 4am alarm for.
This is the short list. The places I’d actually send a friend.
Where to stay
I stayed in one Airbnb I’d happily go back to, located in a quiet corner not too far from Old Town, well-designed, equipped with everything you need and close enough to a handful of the spots—all spots listed down below can be reached within less than 1 hour drive. If you want the same one, it’s here.
Beaches
Phuket’s most popular beaches are packed with people and jetskies, lined with sunbeds and crowded by 9am depending on the season you’re traveling in. Skip them. These are my two favorites:
Naithon Beach is the move. West coast, palm-lined and somehow doesn’t feel too crowded—the kind of stretch where you can put your towel down without negotiating for space. Shade is rare though, so I’d come earlier in the morning if you can’t stay too long in the sun. It’s also where Happyman Café lives (more on that below), which makes for an easy half-day plan: coffee, beach, repeat.
Banana Beach is the second pick—a small cove with calm water and a short scramble down from the road. Worth the effort for how few people make it down.
Cafés worth your morning
Phuket has a real café scene if you know where to look. A few I came back to:
- GRAPH (Old Town) — The one I’d send you to first. Beautiful space, serious coffee.
- Happyman Café (Naithon Beach) — The moodiest interior on the island. Go for the room as much as the cup.
- Slowthrive Coffee House — Slow mornings, made for them.
- 5th Element — Easy daily driver.
- Kan’s Haus — if you’re in Patong and want to sip coffee while overlooking the beach.
- Coffee Talk — Tucked away, feels very local, low-key. My favorite item on the menu: Blue Americano (has a blueberry taste to it, hence the origin of its name).
Where to eat
Grouped by what you’re in the mood for.
Thai
- Head to Krua Rim Na Sakhu, overlooking rice fields. The setting alone is worth the drive. Food is already pre-cooked and you just point at what you’d like to add to your plate. Simple but so good.
- Most other Thai food I would recommend to order on Grab. It sounds lazy, I know, but the local Thai kitchens on the app are genuinely good, fast and a fraction of what the tourist restaurants charge. This is how I ate most of my meals.
- Sunset with the BEST fried and grilled fish → Kiaw Food Shack. Toes in the sand, the kind of experience you’ll be telling people about. I couldn’t wait to return to this spot after two years.
- Dinner & a wander at a more quiet market: Chillva Market. Eat your way through (or for take-away) and shop on the same trip.
- Fruit → Grab again. The fresh fruit deliveries are absurdly cheap and embarrassingly good.
Italian
Everbean Pizzeria in Old Town. Properly good—not “good for Italian-in-Asia,” just good.
Turkish
Capadoccia (multiple locations). Solid when you need a break from Thai.
Western Brekkie
Bartels never disappoints.
Wellness
Pilates Atelier Phuket
A real Pilates studio with the full apparatus—reformer, chair, tower—the kind of place you’d want even back home. Worth a rest day from the beach.
SAMA Onsen & Massage
Ask for Ae. She’s the only therapist I’ve found who actually gets the knots out of tense upper traps instead of just pressing around them. Book the 90 minutes. Trust me.
Samet Nangshe Viewpoint
the viewpoint worth your 4am alarm
Set the alarm, drive in the dark, hop on the first pick-up that will drive you up the hill to Bay View Cafe (Google Maps) where you find the viewpoint, get some nice shots during sunrise and then grab coffee at the same spot. Such a fun trip to watch the sun come up over the limestone karsts of Phang Nga Bay. It’s the kind of sunrise you only need to see once—but you’ll be glad you did.
A word of warning: I did the trip in the month of February and the drive this early in the morning was actually really really chilly. So prepare a warm layer for the ride.
Similan National Park
One-day trip
The Similan Islands are stunning. Think turquoise water, softest white sand, the postcard version of Thailand.
I want to be honest and keep it real, though: it’s heavily overcrowded and on my trip I watched tourists feed fish (illegal) and stand directly on coral. If that’s a dealbreaker, skip it.
If you go: pick an operator that takes this seriously and briefs guests on reef etiquette before the boat leaves. Also accept that you’ll be sharing the beach with hundreds of other people and treat it as a one-time look rather than the secluded paradise the photos promise.
A few practical heads-ups
Things I wish someone had told me before I landed
Skip Patong
It’s the loudest tourist strip on the island—bars, crowds and an active sex-tourism scene that’s hard to ignore once you’ve seen it. I had a few moments there I won’t forget for the wrong reasons.
On scooters vs Grab
I use Grab for almost everything. Food, transport, fruit. It’s the single most useful app on the island, and it’s how I’d handle most of your getting-around.
If you’re confident on a scooter and have an international license, renting one is the most freeing way to see the island. If you’re not, don’t force it—traffic is intense, roads are unforgiving, and rental scams are common. Grab covers almost everywhere you’d want to go.
Police checks are frequent—and the fines are real. Carry your license and passport whenever you’re on a scooter and don’t ride down any underpass and after even one drink. People assume Thailand is loose about this. Phuket isn’t.
In some places, you’ll feel left out
Most restaurants translate menus into English, Chinese, Russian and so on—but a few Russian-owned places don’t offer translations from Russian (Phuket has a huge Russian-speaking traveler base) and walking into a spot where you can’t read a single line on the menu is a strange feeling in a country that’s otherwise so welcoming to everyone. I had a couple of places on my list I never got to try because of it. Worth knowing if you’re planning where to eat.
When to go
I’d aim for the shoulder months—late October to early December, or April—when the rain has mostly cleared but high season hasn’t fully landed. The famous beaches are slightly more bearable, and you can still get cafés and viewpoints almost to yourself in the mornings.
Constructions
The island is being built over fast. Huge new complexes are going up everywhere and a lot of the landscape is being reshaped in the process. The spots above are the ones that, for now, still feel like themselves. Go while they do.
So—is Phuket worth it?
Honestly, mixed. It’s not the trip I’d see myself do over and over again, and I left with complicated feelings about how the island is overcrowded with tourism and changing landscape. But this list is the part that worked—the sunrise at Samet Nangshe overlooking the bay, the iced cappuccino at Happyman, the food and friendliness of the staff at Kiaw, Ae’s hands at SAMA. If you go, go for these.
Safe travels
—Siri
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