Spas And Herbal Saunas

Phuket is quickly moving in the number and quality of spas and herbal saunas to rival its sister island of Koh Samui .While the word 'spa' originally implied mineral springs, today the name encompasses all sorts of relaxing and invigorating treatments. Herbal saunas are steam baths infused with aromatic herbs offering great mental relaxation and skin cleansing. There is a full range of operations from inexpensive traditional Thai-style to the more luxuriors. Pamper yourself head to toe at any of these restorative retreats.

Go-Karts

One of Phuket's Go-Kart tracks can be found between Kata and Patong,at the bottom of Patong Hill. A new one has recently opened outside Chalong on the Kata Hill. Reasonably priced and exhilarating, it's great fun for the whole family.

National Parks

In the northern part of the island are two national parks. Nai Yang lies on The western side, has camping space available on a quiet beach away from the throngs that gather further south. More in the middle of the northern part of the island is Khao Phra Thaew. A trek through here will give you a feeling of what the whole island looked like only a couple of decades ago. On the eastern side of the park is the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project - a worthwhile organisation that strives to teach gibbons how to survive in their natural environment. Staffed by an international group of volunteers, there is a lot of information available about the project at the counter. There are also two waterfalls in this park:Tong Sai on the western edge and Bang Pae on the eastern side.

Boat Cruising

A truly lovely and exciting experience is to take an overnight cruise through Phang Nga Bay. Enjoy the peacefulness of both sunrise and sunset and the excitement of diving,snorkelling, swimming or beachcombing during the day. Charter boats are available with captain, crew and meals including fresh seafood from local fishing craft. These are available through companies like Thai Marine Leisure (TML) (Tel: 239 111) or Sunsail (Tel: 239 057). Some of the diving companies offer live-aboard excursions through the bay. An exotic amvience to such an expedition would be to charter a Chinese sailing junk (The Junk at Tel: 342 186) or a pirate ship like the Jolly Roger (Tel: 340 636).

Elephant Trekking

Elephant trekking is quite popular on Phuket with around 30 companies conducting tours. Check out the tour operators carefully to both ensure that you will have a good trek(visually pleasing)as well as healthy and well cared for elephants to ride.

The National Museum

The museum has exhibits of the famous Battle of Thaland, during which the island of Phuket (or Junkceylon, as it was then named) repelled the Burmese. The history of tin mining and rubber plantations is also displayed in a very serene and pleasant atmosphere. To find the museum, go towards the famous Heroines Monument in Thalang and travel a few hundredmetres east. Open 8.30am to 4pm. (Tel: 311 426).

Seashells

Many of the shops that sell seashells are concentrated in the Rawai area as well as on the western side. The shells you see for sale, however, are not from anywhere near here but rather are from places such as the Philippines, Be wary of those who might tell you differently The Seashell Museum near Rawai has both a shop filled with things made from shells as well as a museum downstairs. It's open every day.

Koh Samui

The second largest of Thailand's tropical resort islands, Koh Samui is not far away and is a contrast with its relaxed atmosphere to the hustle and bustle of Phuket. You can make the four-hour drive across Thailand in a self-
drive car or take a government bus, then catch the hourly car ferry out to Samui.An alternative way is to take the daily Bangkok Airways flight from Phuket to Samui and be there in half-an-hour

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Diving

One of the world's top diving spots, the Andaman Sea surrounds Phuket Island with myriad opportunities for marine life viewing and the marine life viewing and the pure enjoyment of experiencing the beauty of the undersea world. The Similan Islands, an uninhabited chain of rocky outcroppings, lie about 90km north of Phuket and offer great chamces to see (maybe even to swim with) a whale shark in clear and calm tropical waters. Manta rays are common and the coral exceptionally varied and colourful. It's one of the most beautiful spots in the world and deserves to be treated with caution and care, to ensure that it will be there the next time you visit. Do not touch the coral ever, by standing on it or even touching it lightly with a finger. It's a rare and fragile organism.