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Region: Southern Thailand> Province: Phuket>Location: Phuket Town

Phuket Town sights and attractions

Phuket activities - There's loads to do

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Scuba diving is in abundant supply on Phuket, the dive capital of Thailand. Three to four-day certification courses are widely available (expect to pay upwards of 12,000B) as well as daytrips and live-aboards to dive sites in Phuket, Krabi, and Phang Nga (25,000 to 40,000B for a five-day tour). See our feature Diving in Phuket for more info.

Diving provides the opportunity to explore ship wrecks, swim through caves and down along dramatic drop-offs, but otherwise most of the sea life here can enjoyed on a snorkelling trip to one of the many shallow coral reefs off the main island and its surrounding islets. The Ao Chalong pier is the departure point for a lot of tours, especially one-day snorkelling trips to Coral, Raya and Phi Phi Islands, which allow for plenty of time to lay around in the sun on the beautiful beaches as well. Tours go for as little as 900B, or up to 4,000B for longer tours on bigger boats. If you want to try parasailing, you can do it while you're on Coral Island through Phuket Marine Tour, at about 1,500B a pop.

Deep sea fishing is available off the coast of Phuket. Private boats are available if you've got the money for it, but for a comparatively inexpensive one-day trip try Prasert Seri Fishing Tour, leaving from the Ao Chalong pier, at a cost of 2,000B per person.

Jet skiing is only legal on five Phuket beaches: Karon, Patong, Kata, Kamala and Bangtao. According to the law, you're supposed to have a "Second Class Helmsman's" license in order to operate a jet ski in Thai waters, which we're assuming most of you don't. Many operators will rent jet ski's to you anyway, but there's a 10,000B fine if you get caught without a license. The easiest way to avoid that is to ride as a passenger.

There's water-skiing on an artificial made lake near the Kathu Waterfall offered through Phuket Cable Ski-prices range from 500B for an hour to 1,000B for a full day. You won't chop up any swimmers or damage any coral reefs, and if you get drunk and fall off, the water is only 2 metres deep and a nice man in a boat will promptly come to fish you out.

If you're feeling soaked-to-the-skin by the choices above, Phuket has a large national park, inland and to the north, Khao Phra Thaew Wildlife & Forest Reserve. It costs 200B to enter, though late in the day there's often no one at the gate and you can just drive in. Most people find the Ton Sai Falls small and disappointing, but the Bang Pae Falls are worth a visit, especially to take a look at the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project.

For a bit of a thrill, there's a bungy jumping operation just outside Phuket Town. Jungle Bungy jump charge around 1,300B. There's a Go Car/ATV park just outside Phuket Town as well, but it's steep: prices start at 500B for 10 minutes on the track.

A bit to the south in Chalong, there's a collection of outfits on the road towards Nai Harn that offer snake, monkey, elephant shows and ATV rentals. You can show up and sample them a'la carte, or you can book through Amazing Bukit Safari, and get them all bundled up together. It's cheaper that way, and fun for the kids.

Phang Nga Province is worth a visit in its own right, but most people see it on day trips from Phuket. All sorts of tours are available, but a few interesting ones include white-water rafting, as well as some elephant riding, such as Real Rafting Adventure, with tours starting at 1,300B. A word to the wise: ten minutes on an elephant is a really cool experience. After that, returns diminish seriously, so go for the shorter rides when possible.

Many, many tours offer trips to Koh Tapoo in Phang Nga Bay, better known as James Bond Island because it was featured in the classic James Bond film -- oh, who cares anyway, it's a beautiful place. Tours bundle the trip differently, with snorkelling, canoeing, elephant rides, or some combination of the three, plus all sorts of excursions along the way. Expect to pay between 1,000 to 3,000B per adult, depending on what you get.

Probably the best way to see Phang Nga bay is by sea kayak, enabling you to paddle, swim, and explore the bio-luminescent caves. The most popular and professional, but by no means the cheapest, is John Gray's SeaCanoe -- tours start at 3,450B per person. For a more humble and affordable tour, try a place like Phang-nga Exporer, with prices starting at 990B. You can also see the area without having to paddle under your own power through companies like Phuket Sealand, who charge 700B for a half-day tour.

Thai cooking and massage classes are popular all over Thailand and Phuket is no exception. Just about everyone who can cook Thai food (which is pretty much half the population) will try offering cooking classes at some point -- the best of the small-time operators seems to be Pat Thienthong who operates a cooking school out of her home outside Phuket Town, unsurprisingly named Pat's Home. She even has a place to put you up for the night if you like, bed and breakfast style, for 950B.

But if you want to hook up with a group, which is part of the fun of a cooking class anyway, make the trip out to Phuket Thai Cookery School on Sirey Island -- don't worry, there's a bridge across the water and it's only a 10-minute ride from Phuket Town. Classes start at 1,900B for one day. Massage classes are available at a lot of the ritzy spas around the island, but there's one operation in Phuket Town that gets good recommendations: Leela Massage.

Least we forget, there are things to do on Phuket that don't cost a fortune. Two city parks -- Saphan Hin on the water, and Suan Luang a bit inland, are located on the 10 baht bus line that makes a circuit around Phuket Town. Schedules are available at the bus station and a lot of tour agencies. Camping is cheap and tents are available for rent at 200B a night at Sirinath National Park on Layan beach, which is gorgeous. You can tour the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project for free, though you should kick in a donation as you leave.

Phuket offers a handful of good view points -- Panwa Cape and Karon Viewpoint are two of the better-known ones -- but two you might not know about are Nakkerd Viewpoint, where a huge golden Buddha is under construction and Khao To Sae. Nakkerd Viewpoint is off Chaofa Road in Chalang -- if you don't have your own transport, the best way to get there is to catch the songtheaw to Wat Chalong and charter a tuk-tuk for 200 to 300B up the hill. The Khao To Sae viewpoint is near Phuket Town and can be reached by taking Surin Road and following it all the way up.

If you're confident of your motorbike skills you can't go wrong renting a motorbike for 200B a day and heading along any winding, hilly road you find along the coast. Many of the hills have spectacular views, and the valleys dip down into one cool, green patch of forest after another. And when you get tired of riding, engage in the number one pastime in Phuket, which is, of course, laying around on the beach doing absolutely nothing.

The Gibbon Rehabilitation Project, Bang Pae Waterfall, Pa Kock, Thalang, Phuket. T: (076) 260 492, F: (076) 260 491. http://www.gibbonproject.org

Jungle Bungy Jump, http://www.phuketbungy.com

Phuket Cable Ski, 86/3 Moo 6 Vichitsongkram Rd, Phuket. T: (076) 202 525-7, F: (076) 321 255. http://www.phuketcableski.com

Amazing Bukit Safari, 52/52 Phuket Villa 2, Soi 2, Chaofa Rd, Phuket. T: (076) 264 378, F: (076) 218 428

Real Rafting Adventure, 60/30 Moo 6, Kathu, Phuket. T: (076) 323 603, F: (076) 202 766. http://www.sutingroup.com

Phuket Marine Tour, 71/23 M.4 Wiset Rd, Rawai, Phuket. T: (076) 383 951, F: (076) 280 371. http://www.phuketmarinetour.com

John Gray's SeaCanoe, 124 Soi 1 Yaowarad Rd, Phuket town, Phuket. T: (076) 254-505-7, F: (076) 226 077. http://www.johngray-seacanoe.com

Phang-Nga Explorer, 78/436 Moo 2, Chaofa Rd, Phuket. T: (076) 220 346, F: (076) 209 274. http://www.phuketcanoe.com

Phuket Sealand, 125/1 Phang Nga Rd, Phuket town, Phuket. T: (076) 222 900, F: (076) 232 905. http://www.phuketsealand.com

Presert Seri Fishing Tour, 11/4 Moo 5, Viset Rd, Phuket. T: (076) 280 934, F: (076) 383 884. http://www.preasertserifishing.com

Pat's Home, 26/4 Kwang Rd, Phuket. T: (076) 263 366, F: (076) 263 044. http://phuketdir.com/patscooking/index.htm

Phuket Thai Cookery School, 39/4 Thepatan Rd, Phuket. T: (076) 252354, F: (076) 219 761. http://www.phuketthaicookeryschool.com

Leela Massage, 44 Rasada Rd, Phuket Town. T: (076) 256 631, F: (076) 256 631