20 Amazing Places People Always Miss in Phuket – Phuket Hidden Places

Phuket Hidden Places

Surprisingly, there are still amazing places people miss entirely when visiting Phuket. And like most people you want to visit Phuket but you wish to see it from a less known angle and discover places most people haven’t heard of.

Many would say there are no such places in Phuket anymore, but there are! After 24 years spent on Phuket Island, I found a lot more than you would think! So here are some of the little places I rediscovered and where I spend time when I feel like getting away from it all, and these are just few among many!

1. Banana Beach

Banana Beach is quite large with shallow clear blue waters, large palm trees and an excellent sand quality, it is a mystery why it hasn’t been developed like the rest of the island. It’s not totally deserted though, a restaurant has been there as long as I can remember. Banana Beach is hard to find if you don’t know where to look. Just finding the road passing by its entrance is tricky for most visitors. The best way is to go to the airport, and when you are almost there, at the T-junction turn left instead of right as you would for Phuket Airport, follow the signs to Naithon beach (which is also very nice) and drive few more kilometers. Read more

2. Sai Kaew Beach

Haad Sai Gaew, means ‘Glass Sand Beach’ in Thai is a beautiful endless beach located at the very north of Phuket Island. During the high season, The sea over there has a nice blue tone and walking alone for miles, you would never guess you are still in Phuket. It is also home of some great small seafood restaurants. Read more

3. Bon Island

Bon island (or Koh Bon) is located just south of Rawai Beach in Phuket and is just a short longtail boat ride away. The isle’s coast is dotted by few sandy beaches and despite been so close to Phuket, it hasn’t yet been invaded. Only two beaches on Bon island are occupied, but only during daytime. Read more

4. Wat Sri Sunthorn

Wat Sri Sunthorn sounds like any another Wat, and since there are maybe 40 of them in Phuket, you might ask what can be different about this one? I has a huge reclining Buddha very visible from the main road, but missed by most visitors. Read more

5. Bang Pae Seafood

Another of our great week end favourite in Phuket. Bang Pae Seafood serves a large choice of delicious and really local dishes. Sit in a perfect nature setting made of huge mangrove trees growing right into the sea and totally out of the beaten tracks. Read more

6. Wat Kao Rang

Here is of other sitting Buddha of Phuket, not the Big Buddha but the original and first sitting golden Buddha on the island, built long ago on the hillside of the popular Khao Rang Hill in Phuket Town. Here too, many people don’t even know about this beautiful temple. Read more

7. Discover Secret Old Phuket Town

Thalang Road is where everyone goes on a Phuket exploration, it’s a nice walk and a must do. But if you too have a passion for old houses, you might want to explore a bit deeper to uncover some amazing mansions still standing right before our eyes, but everyone drive too fast to even notice them. It is so easy to imagine Phuket hundred years ago when standing in front of one of these beautiful mansions. Read more

8. Nai Yang Beach

Stay away from crowded beaches and discover, Nai Yang, a bay of Phuket that hasn’t change much in years.  Locals love to come on weekends for a picnic and a barbecue under immense trees while kids splash about in the sea. It’s a national park so there might be a little fee to enter, but you will love the unique relaxed atmosphere of Nai Yang beach. Read more

9. Laem Singh Beach

Laem Singh Beach might come as a surprise in a ‘off the beaten track’ list because it was so popular and crowded for so long. But Laem Singh closed to the public a couple of years ago people who loved it only had their eyes to cry. Recently a couple of boats started taking people there to Laem Singh for a small fee. (You can’t cross the land, but law allows you to reach by sea : read this)

If you find that tiny boat on Surin beach and spend a few hours on Laem Singh, you will understand right away why it is on this list. Read here how to get there

10. Nui Beach

For long time, Nui Beach was a bit of a mystery beach in Phuket. Few people heard of it mostly because getting there was so challenging. It was hard to find, hard to reach at the end of a steep dirt road, and if by chance you found it, the staff at that ‘private’ beach used to ask 500 baht entry fee. Luckily someone finally changed that and the entry is now free! Read here how to reach Nui Beach.

11. Wassa Homemade Bar

There are quite a few impressive viewpoints around Phuket but Wassa Homemade bar offers a nice terrace to enjoy the famous ever-changing Phuket sunsets with a cold drink, sitting comfortably high over Patong Beach. Read more

12. The Cove in Ao Yon

The Cove is a tiny but very enjoyable seafront bar and restaurant found at the end of the hidden Ao Yon Beach. A few tables with large umbrellas are set just by the beach and the place is very peaceful for a break at any time of the day. The Cove serves Italian, Spanish, seafood and Thai cuisine so it should please everyone. It’s just a little far, unless you are staying in the Panwa area. Read more

13. Rimpan Seafood

Rimpan Seafood is a tiny restaurant hidden at the foot of the Sarasin Bridge in the north of Phuket. The tiny beach where it sits might not have great sand but it is peaceful and nice for a short dip, even during low season. Food is really Thai (no, that’s not the case all the time!) with some really good local dishes, and very well priced. Read more

14. Piang Prai Restaurant

Piang Prai is an excellent local restaurant in a very enjoyable green setting, just next to the relatively well-known Bang Pae waterfall. The place is breezy and spacious, a good way to relax before of after visiting the waterfalls. Piang Pari serves of course a great Thai food at local prices, including some local specialties. Read more

15. Black Rock Viewpoint

Black Rock is a relatively new viewpoint located a little further than the very well-known Karon Viewpoint on the way to Nai Harn Beach. The thing is that it is a little challenging to reach and find via a dirt road. There is also a bit of climb to do in the forest, but the view from the top is worth the effort. As an extra bonus, if you reached Black Rock, you also found the elusive Nui Beach, which is even harder to find and is also worth stopping at. Read more

16. Wat Phra Nang Sang

Almost everyone drive pass this unusual and colorful temple but almost no one ever stops. Wat Phra Nang Sang has a bit of an unusual history. On the interesting side it is the oldest temple of Phuket and supposedly shelters a relic of Lord Buddha, but I’m not entirely sure about this fact. On the unusual side, Wat Phra Nang Sand was displaying very strange statues. One was an immense black statue of a very revered monk called Luang Por Chaem, but the body proportions were so strange, people asked for the statue to be demolished. It didn’t take long and they took it down, together with other statues of mythical giants having their breasts out and holding machine guns. The temple is still beautiful, with a lot of paintings to admire, including a reclining Buddha. It is absolutely not off the beaten track but strangely, no one seems to take the time to stop. Read more

17. Kathu Museum

The Kathu museum is a new addition to the museums of Phuket list. It opened without fanfare and is very modest, but the house itself is so beautiful, it is worth a stop on your way from Patong to Phuket Town (or vice versa). The museum displays an interesting list of the most typical Phuket dishes, spices and ingredients. This house was a part of a beer company distribution and was abandoned for a very long time. Story to come soon, see the map below in the meantime.

18. Kathu Village

Kathu is a small village as well as a small district, halfway between Phuket town and Patong Beach. The name of Kathu is not unknown but very few people add it to their list of Things to Do in Phuket. The village of Kathu itself is not really impressive, except maybe for a couple of temples, a few mural paintings and an annual festival. The street is lined with small little shops and administrative buildings. The location just away from the main road kept it relatively tranquil, but chances are, you will go to Kathu without knowing it. Read more

19. Mor Mu Dong

One of the most local and talked about but hard to find seafood restaurant in the eastern mangrove of Phuket island. It’s great, fun and you get a full blast of the real local life. By now, everyone knows that Andrew Zimmern from ‘Bizarre Food’ tried it and so should you. Read more

20. Samet Nangshe Viewpoint

Also located in Phang Nga Bay this amazing view point has gained popularity. Of course just like any newly discovered attraction it has become very busy and potentially crowded but it is still worth the trip. A very early walk to Samet Nangshe located high above sea level will offer you a spectacular 5.30 am sunrise photo. Located about 75 kilometre from Patong Beach, 25 kilometres past the Sarasin bridge connecting Phuket to the mainland (1.30 hours drive). Read more

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