phuket island

Phuket (ภูเก็ต) [1], pronounced (roughly) "pu-ged", is Thailand's largest island. It is 48 km in length, 21 km at its widest, and is in Southern Thailand, on the west-facing Andaman Sea coastline, suspended from the southern tip of Phang Nga Province by a pair of short but substantial road bridges

Cities
    Phuket Town — the administrative centre of the province, and the island's main population centre
    Chalong Bay — home to Phuket's most popular yacht anchorage and the primary gateway to the islands off Phuket
    Kamala — a quieter beach to the north of Patong
    Karon — the second most-developed beach after Patong, split into Karon Yai and Karon Noi beaches
    Kata — busy, clean tourist beach with good surf
    Nai Thon and Nai Yang — two quiet beaches in Sirinat National Park
    Patong — the largest beach resort, known for its nightlife
    Rawai — set off point for lots of local islands, popular with locals for eating on the beach
    Surin — an up-and-coming upmarket destination

International flights
    Australia - V Australia , Jetstar  and Strategic Airlines , have direct flights from/to major cities in Australia.

    Malaysia - AirAsia  flies to Kuala Lumpur (LCCT), FireFly  flies to Penang, using small ATR-Turboprop aircraft, and Malaysia Airlines  has flights from/to Kuala Lumpur. Qatar Airways also operates daily flights from Kuala Lumpur.

    Singapore - SilkAir  has 32 flights a week. Low cost alternatives are Thai AirAsia  and Tiger Airways [11]. In addition, Jetstar flies there too!

    Indonesia - AirAsia  flies from/to Jakarta and Denpasar Bali, and often this is the cheapest connection between Thailand and Java and more eastern parts of Indonesia (promotional fares are often $30-50 for 3 hours flight). They had flights to Medan on Sumatra, as well, but they have been discontinued due to low demand.

    Germany - Air Berlin  has nonstop flights to Berlin(ends 26 April) and Munich.

    Qatar - Qatar Airways  operates direct daily flights from/to Doha, which transit in Kuala Lumpur.

    Korea - Asiana Airlines  non stop services from Seoul with connections from New York.

    Taipei, Taiwan - China Airlines Non Stop Direct flights from Taipei to Phuket. Taipei can be easily connected to Japan, Korea and Americas.

    Hong Kong, Hong Kong - Dragonair Non Stop Direct flights from Hong Kong to Phuket. Hong Kong can conncet you to the rest of the world via Cathay Pacific or other major airlines.

Other low cost direct connections include India, Macau, Seoul and Busan

Get around 

Phuket is a large island and you need some form of transport to get around. Public transport is very limited and taxis and tuk-tuks are the only practical means. Another, more dangerous option is rent your own wheels. Hotels generally offer shuttle bus services into Phuket Town, and also have taxi and car hire facilities.

to do

Swimming, snorkeling, diving, yachting, jet-skiing and parasailing are the most popular activities on the island. Other activities include windsurfing, kite surfing, wakeboarding and deep sea fishing. Popular kite surfing locations include Nai Yang in summer and Chalong Bay in winter season. Sea Canoeing is a popular activity in the Phang Nga Bay, as many grottoes are only accessible by canoe.
Sailing and yachting

Phuket has become the sailing and yachting center of Thailand and adjacent countries. It's the home of Six the Senses Phuket Raceweek , King's Cup Regatta , Phang Nga Bay Regatta , the Phuket International Boat Show (PIMEX) , four marinas, two yacht clubs - Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC)  and Phuket Yacht Club (PYC)  and some well sheltered anchorages which are teeming with yachts. The marinas are all located at the eastern side of the island which makes them an ideal starting point to explore the nature wonders of the Phang Nga Bay. An entire fleet of traditional junk rigged boats is located there, offering day trips. But as well real sailing yachts are on offer for this.

Phuket has sailing yachts of virtually every size and for all budgets on offer to explore the surrounding beautiful islands on a yacht charter. Sailing Thailand Island Cruises [41] operates a wide array of sailing catamarans from budget to luxury, most of them located in Chalong Bay. SweetDreamers Phuket Sailing also offer many different sailing tours from Chalong Bay in Southeastern Phuket. Small sailing craft like Hobie Cats and Lasers are available at most of the tourist hot spots on the west side, e.g. Patong and Kata.

For sailboat tours in Phang Nga bay see:

    Phuket Sail Tours  Tel:+66 (0) 87 8970 492 - Small group tours departing into Phang Nga bay. Ticket price is adult 3,250 baht, child 3-12 years 2,000 baht. Price is all inclusive.
at the bottom of the pictures the beauty of phuket