8 things you MUST do in Phuket Thailand!

Every year we try to plan a big trip, usually at the end of the year and if the timing works out, around our birthdays in November. We are exactly one week apart so its always a nice time to plan a getaway.

-Woo Woo Scorpios-

Last year wasn’t just any ol’ birthday though, no, this was Callie’s 30th birthday!!! We both were dying for a new adventure and since neither one of us have been to Southeast Asia we decided on Thailand! Keep reading to check out the 8 things you HAVE to do in Phuket Thailand!

Plan ahead

There was some back and fourth on what we were going to do or where we were gonna go exactly. So we drew up a wish list. At first we wanted to fly into to Chiang Mai, take in the breathtaking temples and plush rolling country side; Then ride the night train down to Bangkok for an unforgettable party night. After all that, we would flying over to Phuket, where we could end our vacation on a relaxing white sand beach while island hoping from The Phi Phi Islands to Krabi.

Where to go? What to do?

Clearly we wanted to see it all! The reality was, that we used some of our vacation days earlier in the year to explore the Grand Canyon. Not to mention Thailand is pretty large, so fitting all of that in in eleven days was gonna be rough.

Beach Vibes

We came to the conclusion that what we really wanted to do was just relax, eat delicious food, immerse ourselves into another culture and meet new friends. Where else can you do that than at the beach. We chose Surin Phuket and boy were we happy we did!

The planning started early. We narrowed it down to the things we wanted to see and all the places we wanted to explore in Phuket. Here is a list of everything we did, plus all that we learned while we were there! Keep scrolling for the fun details, pictures and links to all these places so you can go on a similar adventure!

8 things you MUST do in Phuket Thailand

1. Elephant Jungle Sanctuary Phuket

2. Ride on a long-tail boat

3. Khao Phing Kan (James Bond Island)

4.Phi Phi Islands

5. Temples

• Big Buddha
• Wat Chalong Temple
• Suwan Kuha Temple (aka Monkey Temple)

6. Old Phuket Town

7. Patong Beach

8. Thai Massages

Book it!

We really didn’t know where to begin so we started by booking our flight. We were laying in bed one night and just bought our flights! That kinda locked us in and then we had to find a place to stay. We usually book through Hotels Combined, but we found a super cheap condo through Airbnb. It was a really cute place in Surin Beach for $40 a night called 6th Ave Surin Hotel and Resort.

Here is the link to the Airbnb and our host Ira. Believe it or not this was actually our first time using Airbnb and it was amazing! Our host was very informative and responsive. They also hooked us up with a local named Joe who owns a tour company.

Joe was our saving grace and we HIGHLY recommend you reach out to him if you’re going to Phuket.

Leave us a comment or message us and we will give you Joe’s contact info!

You can find our email on our “work with us” page OR on Instagram

Layover in Shanghai

It’s 8,668 miles from Los Angeles (LAX) to Phuket (HKT) and direct flights are wildly expensive. So we had a layover in Shanghai, China. It’s a lot of travel time but saving the extra money was worth it for us.

6th ave Surin

We landed at around 3:00am Thailand time and Joe picked us up. He took us to our condo where we showered and fell asleep.

 

Our condo at the 6th ave Surin featured two separate rooms; A fully equipped kitchen, folding sofa, air conditioning

The most comfortable bed ever!!!

Day 1

We woke up around 12:00pm the day we arrived. With all the traveling we just did we decided to just settle in and explore around our condo. Right away we felt like we were on island time! It’s a tranquil & peaceful environment. One of the things that made us pick this place was that it was just a 5-10 min walk (650m) from two beautiful beaches – Surin & BangTao.

On our walk we discovered several bars, restaurants and convenience stores…

711’s! They’re everywhere!

One of our favorite things to do in new places is to get familiar with the culture and figure out what is close by!

We walked to Surin beach, had an amazing lunch at Surin Chill house and got the 1st of many Thai massages.

                               

James Bond Island

Day 2

Our second day was one for the books! Joe set up a private longtail boat ride / tour of the Khao Phing Kan island, aka James Bond Island.

We were soooo happy that we had a private boat.

The island was ridiculously crowded and the tour companies were herding crowds of 25 – 30 people on and off the boats. It cost a little bit more for a a private tour but completely worth it! The island was beautiful but we have to admit that it was so busy it was hard to enjoy the sights.

After exploring James Bond Island we jumped back into our boat with Joe and headed to Ko Panyi for a wonderful lunch for two.

Ko Panyi is a village notable for being built on stilts by Indonesian fishermen and was established at the end of the 18th century.

It’s sits within the protection of the island’s bay out in the middle of the ocean. The population consists of 360 families and it was one of the coolest parts of our trip.

We ate a traditional Thai lunch

and explored the local shops and got a sneak peak into the locals world.

When we first arrived it was hot and with a wonderful breeze in the air until it started to rain, correction…POUR! We got caught in a rainstorm and we loved every moment of it.

Then we headed to Wat Suwan Khuha aka the Monkey temple which happens to be in a cave!!

…Side note, Callie hand fed a monkey…So her life is complete.

Day 3

We started with an early morning workout followed by a dip in the roof top pool at our condo!

Then it was off to explore the other beaches and little towns around our condo. We discovered a really cool bar / restaurant called Nok and Jo’s on our walk and came back for dinner and a show… Much to our surprise it was a ladyboy cabaret show!!

We ate an amazing meal, drank a few beers while the girls put on a show! When it was getting late we asked the owner of the bar to arrange a ride for us. He called a tuk tuk and told us it would only cost around $2.00. We obviously didn’t want to walk back to our hotel in the dark so we hitched a ride home on a tuk tuk. 

When we were going to pay, our driver tried to tell us it would be around $10 now. It literally was about a block away and he was just trying to get us for more money. We kindly told him all we had was the $2.00 and he eventually accepted it. Point is, don’t get taken advantage of just because of the language barrier. Another tip, don’t carry all your money on you.

Day 4

This was by far the most magical day of them all. We arranged a pick up with Joe at our hotel and was taken to Patong Beach where we were then transported to the elephantjunglesanctuary to be elephant owners for the day.

It started off by cutting up their food and separating it into big buckets so we all had enough to feed them. We were feeding them bananas, watermelons and sugar cane and they loved every moment of it.

Then we changed into our bathing suits and gave these amazing creature mud baths

followed by a cool rain rinse. We then shared a great buffet style Thai lunch with so many amazing people from all over the world, The sanctuary gave us gifts and we headed back to our condo!

We grabbed a pizza to go and chilled in our condo reveling in the unforgettable experience we were so blessed to have that day. Honestly, this day kind of feels like a dream still. We will always remember the connection we felt with these massive creatures and the kindness they possess in their eyes.

We can’t even begin to explain what it felt like to be that up close and personal to the elephants!!! When you think of spending time with elephants in Thailand, you probably have this imagine in your head of riding on their backs through the jungle, it’s called trekking and it’s everywhere there.

It’s so incredibly sad, abusive and unfortunate that this kind of animal abuse still goes on but the truth is people are wildly uneducated. If you plan of visiting Thailand and want to hang out with these gentle giants we urge you to go spend time with these guys in an organic and natural setting. Elephant Jungle Sanctuary Phuket is really doing some amazing work and we would recommend it 1000x over!

Unfortunately animal cruelty is overlooked because it’s a way for people to make money. We may not be able to save every animal but you can do your part by not supporting them.

Day 5

Another unforgettable day on the books! We spent the whole day island hoping on the Phi Phi islands!

We got up early, headed to the marina and set off on a speed boat for a 7 hour tour with See Sea blue marine tours!

We were the first ones on the boat, which means we were able to sit at the front so we could actually see where we were headed since it was about an hour ride to the islands.

We immediately hit it off with two of the most lovely brits who we spent the whole day laughing with!

First stop was the island where they shot “The Beach” with Leonardo DiCaprio. When we pulled up the water was so aqua blue it looked fake!We went for a swim in the ridiculously warm water and walked around a bit.Then it was off to two more islands, snorkeling and a buffet lunch.

We had the best time relaxing on a boat, soaking up the sun and getting to know our new found friends. For it’s the friends we meet along life’s road who help us appreciate the journey!

DAY 6

Day six was made up of relaxing and rejuvenating (and nurturing those sunburns we got the day before). We felt a little like we were trying to fit it all from the moment we landed so we decided to have a slow vacay day. We woke up late without an alarm, made breakfast at the condo and walked around a a bit in the little town near our place. 

We stopped and got a fish massage which was something we have been on the look out for since we landed.

Yes it’s touristy, but we don’t care…It was SO different!! They are called garra rufa or doctor fish that feed on algae and bacteria. You sit down and put your feet in a tank filled with these little guys and they basically nibble off the dead skin on your legs and feet. It tickled so much and we both were non stop laughing the entire time!

We then went and got one hour foot massages / heaven! We grabbed an açaí bowl, chilled, drank some beers and watched the sunset on the beach while we played with our @djispark_official… We love LA but gotta say, there is nothing quite like island time…

Day 7

Day seven we literally just laid on the beach all day; swam in the ridiculously warm water and ate bomb street food. The ocean always reminds us of how busy we’ve become… Whether it’s work, social media, trying to connect with everyone in our lives, it seems like we are always trying to MAKE time and planning ahead. We feel like more than ever people are always trying to prove how hard they work. The showcase of how much effort they are putting in is somehow equal to their worth. We need to stop the glorification of busy…

Somewhere along the road we have lost touch with just taking a breath and appreciating the now. With this trip we have learned to pay attention to the person next to you, try something new, get out of your comfort zone, look up from your phone and just soak up the moment. Simplify, slow down and be kind. That’s the recipe for success and a happy life!

Day 8

Day eight marked a very special day. Callie turned 30 years old 🎉 When we mapped out this trip months ago we decided to plan it around both of our birthdays. We’re actually 7 days apart! Instead of spendings a bunch of money on a dinner, drinks and partying we were in search of adventure…and boy did we find it! Thailand was the most magical place to become another year older!

We started off the day with the best damn banana nutella pancakes this side of the international dateline! Then it was off on a spiritual journey.

In Thailand, it is traditional to go to your local temple on your birthday to make merit.

We actually didn’t know this when we planned our day but the divine sense of order had its way like usual.

We visited the Big Buddha which sits on top of the Nakkerd hill between Chalong and Kata. It’s 45 meters tall and can be seen all the way from Phuket town! It’s one of the most important and revered landmarks on the island and we are so happy we went on this day in particular!

There was such a peaceful calmness in the air (even with all the people taking pics ) We meditated, prayed and were blessed by the monks.

Then we headed to Chalong temple to revel in the ornate beauty that this place is!!

After, it was off to old Phuket town where we ate lunch on the most picturesque street and did some souvenir shopping.

We later watched the sunset on the beach and finished the night with a wonderful dinner and drinks🍸 Most people dread this milestone of 30 but we say, don’t regret growing older, it’s a privilege denied to many.

Day 9

Our last day was bitter sweet. We just kinda took it easy. Ate some delicious Thai food, walked around, got a two hour massage and laid at the pool to watch the sunset. We headed to the airport and even though it was an unforgettable trip we couldn’t wait to get home to our family, friends and Miss Chloe. We landed Wednesday morning and had a beautiful Thanksgiving the following day with our family.

There’s so much to be thankful for. It’s not happy people who are thankful, it’s thankful people who are happy.

We hope you enjoyed reading about our travels and hope that one day you get to experience a trip just like this one!

Let us know what you think in the comments below!

XO

Callie & Leo