One day in Phuket
 

What is the best way to spend a day in Phuket?

Are you going to Phuket for only one day, or are you looking for an excursion for one day out of a multi-day stay or are you staying near Phuket and going to go to Phuket for a day trip?

For a day trip to Phuket, you could go shopping or try Phuket Fantasea at night. For a day trip out of Phuket, you could try kayaking (johngray-seacanoe.com) in Phang Nga, take a trip to Phi Phi, dive the Similan Islands (though this is best for a live aboard for a couple of days at least), visit the national parks in Phang Nga province...

Depends what you like to do. I would take a day trip to Ko Phi Phi where you can snorkel and swim and see some beautiful islands. They generally leave about 8:00am and return around 4:30. Cost $30.00.

Guess I have to make myself clear, I will be in Phuket on a cruise, the ship will dock at around 9 AM and depart at 6 PM. I'm afraid there's not enough time to go for snorkling. Should I spend time on the beach? If so, which is a good one? Any places I should visit?

Well the last thing you'll want to do is hop onto another boat and go out to islands. You could do two things: have a city/temple tour, or spend the day at the beach. Or perhaps you could do a bit of both. Personally I'd head straight for Patong, purely because it's a hub. I know many people will say Patong is dreadful and there are more idyllic spots of Phuket Island but those more idyllic spots tend to be out of the way. But Patong has a nice beach, plenty of restaurants & shops. You'll come across tour agents everywhere and in the shop windows you'll see posters for city tours & temple tours & elephant treks. If any of these things interest you then go for it. On the other hand if you want to curl up on the beach and have a tasty Thai lunch then Patong's fine for a day.

Some people enjoy adventure tours like the 4-in-1 Safari under the link below.

http://www.siamsafari.com/

Otherwise, there are plenty of places that sell snorkeling tours all along the beach for 1/2 day and full days so you might want to do a web search to see what interests you or just go on the fly.

Phuket is beautiful itself as well, but I prefer the Kata beach to spending time around Patong (you can do shopping both places if you're wanting to pick up a few things).

Have fun!