Cohiba Sea View Villa 8

There's a lot to see and do in Phuket besides visiting one or several of its 40+ beaches. Whether you're on a romantic getaway, family holiday or travelling with your friends, Phuket always has something up its sleeve. From beach massages and shopping sprees to feathery cabaret shows with sparkling sequins, here are some trip ideas to add to your Phuket itinerary:

• Go on a Shopping Spree | Surin Beach boasts souvenir and handicraft stores galore; one that's particularly good is the Lemongrass House. Specialising in handcrafted spa products, the stall offers anything from shampoos and body lotions to essential oils. Community street markets sell all kinds of things from elephant trousers to barbecue chicken and coconut-based Thai desserts. For a truly local market, head to Bang Tao Mukaram Mosque in the morning or late afternoon. A nice way to end the day on a balmy evening is the Thursday night market behind Cherngtalay's Lotus mall. At The Plaza Surin, a high-end shopping mall, you can find upmarket, international fashion brands.
• Dive into Local Coffee Culture | Thai people like to sip coffee in the morning, so you will find numerous coffee shops in the area. Nuatone Cafe, hidden away in Bangtao's jungle next to a waterfall, ten kilometres from your villa in Phuket, is a great place to sample local coffee in peace. Lounge in a hammock or slump into a beanbag on a suspended net above the ground. The bubbling brook and the boop-boop-boops of greater coucals add to the relaxed atmosphere.
• Visit Phuket Elephant Nature Reserve | A 14-kilometre drive from your Phuket villa is this ethical sanctuary, which has saved formerly captive and cruelly trained elephants. The sanctuary enforces a strict no riding and no bathing policy, but you get to enjoy responsible interactions, eg. walking alongside these gentle giants, or feeding them baby bananas, pineapple and sugarcane. Imagine what it’s like to be near when they bellow as they blow air from their trunks.
• Enjoy Bathing and Beach Walks at Layan Beach | Perfect for beach walks, this stretch of powdery white sand at the northern end of Bang Tao Beach is washed by cosmically emerald water, which is particularly calm from December to April, Phuket's high season. Since this is a gently sloping beach, it’s ideal for bathing in the warm water.
• Pull Off a Family Getaway at Blue Tree | Blue Tree's waterpark is history, but the community centre is alive and less than eight kilometres from your villa. With a kids zone, skate and forest park as well as a lifestyle village, there's a lot to do. There are indoor and outdoor playgrounds, too, so you’ll get to enjoy quality time with your loved ones.
• Visit the Old Town | Twenty-six kilometres from the Layan Beach, Phuket's old town is well worth a stroll. Beautiful in the daytime and especially at night when they are lit, its colourful shophouses are a sight to behold. These Sino-European row houses were mansions of tin barons in the 19th century. These days, the repurposed buildings function as galleries, coffee shops, and clothes stores. If you visit on a Sunday, you can amble along the Lard Yai Night Market.
• Visit a Cabaret Show | Simon Cabaret in the Patong Beach area may spring to mind first when you think of lip-syncing transgender people clad in flamboyant, glittering costumes. But FantaSea at Kamala Beach has comparable shows. Fourteen kilometres from Cohiba Sea View Villa 8, it's also closer than Simon Cabaret. The spectacular show combines ballet and acrobatic elements with special effects such as pyrotechnics.
• Go Beach Clubbing at Carpe Diem Beach Club | Just ten kilometres from your villa, the bohemian Carpe Diem Beach Club offers fine dining, music, and entertainment in one place. Watch fire spinners setting the night ablaze or dance your heart out as big-name DJs spin catchy Afro tunes.