Phuket tours

The best Phuket tours, picked for a group

Phuket tours come in two kinds: the sea, with Phang Nga Bay, Phi Phi and the Similans, and the land, with the Big Buddha, Old Town and the elephants.

The best Phuket day tours fill one sea day and one land day, and the group keeps the evening for Patong.

We run private tours in Phuket: your own host, your own car and your own boat, timed to your group and not to a tour bus.

Send Tanner your dates and your number, and he plans the days.

Is Phang Nga Bay worth it?

Phang Nga Bay is the calm sea tour: green limestone towers in flat water, sea caves by canoe, then James Bond Island, the needle rock from the 1974 film.

Ao Phang Nga is a ฿300 park for foreign adults, half for children, the Department of National Parks fee rules list (checked November 2026).

Go early: the big tour boats reach James Bond Island around midday, and you only get a short time ashore.

Every stop, the caves and lunch at Koh Panyee are in our Phang Nga Bay guide and the James Bond Island guide.

Ask Tanner to send your own boat at 8am, ahead of the crowds.

Phi Phi and Maya Bay

Phi Phi is the island tour everyone has seen in photos: Maya Bay, the green water of Pileh Lagoon, then lunch on Phi Phi Don.

TAT lists the Phi Phi park fee at ฿400 a foreign adult and ฿200 a child. You pay it in cash when you land.

Maya Bay closes every year from 1 August to 30 September, the Royal Gazette notice of 9 January 2026 says. There's no swimming in the bay.

Shared speedboats carry big groups; your own boat leaves when you're ready and stops where you want.

Ferries, speedboats and your own boat compared: see Phuket to Phi Phi and our Phi Phi island tour.

Tell Tanner the day, and he times the boat for Maya Bay's opening.

When are the Similans open?

The Similans are the long day out for the clearest water in Thailand: granite boulders, white sand and reef, out in the Andaman Sea.

The park is open from 15 October 2026 to 15 May 2027, the Government Public Relations Department announced on 15 September 2026. It closes every year in the monsoon.

The foreign entry fee is ฿500 an adult on an e-ticket, and daily visitor numbers are limited, so book early.

Boats leave from the Khao Lak coast, about 80 minutes north of Phuket airport by car (Google Maps, checked November 2026).

Day trips only, with no overnight stays: plan it with our Similan Islands guide.

Ask Tanner for the van at 6am and the boat waiting at the pier.

The Big Buddha and Old Town

The Big Buddha and Old Town are the best land tour for a first day: the white marble Buddha on the hill above Chalong, Wat Chalong below it, then lunch in Phuket Town.

Old Town is Sino-Portuguese shophouses in pastel colours, coffee shops and the Sunday evening walking street on Thalang Road.

Wat Chalong is a working temple, so dress for it and keep your voice down inside.

Finish at Promthep Cape for the sunset, then the car takes you to dinner.

More for a slow day: see things to do in Phuket.

Ask Tanner to have the car at the villa at 9am.

Temple and market manners on a Phuket tour

Dress for the temples: covered shoulders and knees, and shoes off before you go inside, the Thai government's temple guide on Thailand.go.th says (checked November 2026).

At the Big Buddha and Wat Chalong, don't point your feet at a Buddha image, and don't climb on the statues for a photo.

Monks don't touch women, so women pass things to a monk by setting them down first.

At the Old Town market, ask with a smile before you bargain, and ask before you take photos of the stallholders.

Tanner's guide briefs the group in the car, so nobody gets it wrong.

Is there an ethical elephant sanctuary?

An ethical elephant sanctuary is the morning tour for watching rescued elephants walk and feed in the forest, with no riding and no bathing.

Riding is still legal in Thailand: the 2020 elephant welfare rules in the Royal Gazette limit loads, ages and working hours, but don't ban it, so pick a sanctuary that doesn't offer it.

Phuket Elephant Sanctuary in Paklok doesn't offer riding, its own site says. You watch the elephants from the trail, and there's no bathing.

Which sanctuary, and how to spot a bad one: see ethical elephant sanctuaries in Phuket.

Ask Tanner to book the morning visit and the van.

A yacht day, on your own boat

A yacht day is the Phuket tour that turns into the party: your own boat, a DJ on deck, lunch at anchor and nobody else on board.

Pick Phang Nga Bay for calm water or Phi Phi for the beaches, and the boat goes where your group wants.

Tanner prices the boat for your date, with the DJ and the bar on top.

Catamarans, motor yachts and the bigger boats: see yacht charter in Phuket.

Send Tanner your number, and he holds the boat.

Night tours: Bangla Road and Illuzion

A Phuket night tour is the evening done properly: sunset at a beach club, dinner, then Bangla Road and your own VIP section at Illuzion.

Illuzion is Patong's superclub, and a prime VIP section there is from about ฿20,000.

We get you in: we arrange the host, the car, the door and the VIP table, and the club bills the table.

Walk the street with our Bangla Road guide, and see the Phuket nightlife guide for every club.

Tell Tanner the night, and he holds the table.

Private tour or group tour?

A private tour wins for a group: you leave when you're ready, stop where you want, and the boat and the car are yours.

A shared tour is cheaper per seat but runs to its own clock, with hotel pick-ups and a full boat.

Tour companies in Thailand must hold a tourism business licence, the Thai government's travel guide says, so ask to see it before you pay anyone.

Ask Tanner to price your day.

A one-day Phuket island tour

Here's the land day we plan most for a first visit:

• 9am: the Big Buddha on the hill, before the heat.
• 10:30am: Wat Chalong, then coffee in Old Town.
• 1pm: lunch in Phuket Town, then a pool afternoon at the villa.
• 6pm: sunset at Promthep Cape.
• 9pm: dinner, then Bangla Road and the club.

Plan it with Tanner, and the car is with you from 9am.

How many days do you need?

Four days covers Phuket for a first trip: one sea day, one land day, one day on your own yacht, and one free for the pool and the beach club.

Five days adds the Similans, or a road day to Krabi, about 2 hours 45 minutes from Phuket Town by car (Google Maps, checked November 2026); see Phuket to Krabi.

For every boat and road trip, see day trips from Phuket, and for the jungle, the Phuket zipline.

Send Tanner your days, and he fills them.

Park rules on a boat day

Bring cash: the park fees for Phang Nga Bay, Phi Phi and the Similans are paid per guest, on top of the boat.

Leave the reef-harmful sunscreen at home, because the Department of National Parks has banned it in national parks since August 2021.

Boats moor only at buoys or piers, never on coral, and drones need the park's permission.

The Andaman Sea is calmest from November to April; from May to October some boat days move or get cut short.

Ask Tanner what to pack, and he sends the list the day before.

Phuket tours in short

• Phang Nga Bay: limestone towers and James Bond Island; ฿300 park fee.

• Phi Phi: Maya Bay and Pileh Lagoon; ฿400 park fee, cash.
• The Similans: open 15 October 2026 to 15 May 2027; ฿500 e-ticket.
• Land day: the Big Buddha, Wat Chalong and Old Town.
• The car: a luxury van for up to 4 from ฿6,500 for 10 hours.

Checked November 2026.