Five days in Phuket works as a base rather than a resort: two boat days (Phang Nga and Phi Phi), one beach day, one Phuket Town and Big Buddha day, and one do-nothing day. Stay on the west coast and accept the taxi costs.
The short version
- Two boat days maximum — a third is one too many.
- Phang Nga for scenery, Phi Phi for the postcard, not both in one day.
- Phuket Town and the Big Buddha make a good half day together.
- Book a hotel on the west coast; the east coast has no swimmable beach.
Day 1: arrive and swim
Kata or Kata Noi for the first night — calm water, walkable restaurants, no need for a car.
Day 2: Phang Nga
Sea kayak through the hongs rather than a speedboat tour of James Bond Island. Tides decide the route; a good operator times it.
Day 3: Phi Phi at dawn
Private longtail at 5:30am, Maya Bay before the fleet, back for lunch and a massage.
Day 4: nothing
Beach, pool, old town in the late afternoon for the Sino-Portuguese shophouses and Lard Yai market if it is a Sunday.
Day 5: depart
Late checkout, Big Buddha on the way to the airport if the flight is in the evening.
What to do when the boats are cancelled
Between May and October, and occasionally in the shoulder weeks of April and November, the marine forecast closes the water. It happens with a day's notice and it is not negotiable — the operators are fined for going out in a small-craft warning.
The substitutes are better than people expect. Phuket Old Town and the Thai Hua Museum are a half day. The Big Buddha and Wat Chalong work in rain. The waterfalls at Kathu and Bang Pae are at their best when it is wet, and the cooking schools run regardless.
The one thing to avoid is substituting a 'monkey show' or an elephant trek for a cancelled boat day. Both are the kind of attraction that gives the island a bad name, and neither is worth the money. Take the spa instead — Phuket has some of the best in the country and rain is the ideal weather for it.
