travel42 Port Guide: Phuket City

travel42 Professional Cruise Port of Call Review

Phuket, Thailand's largest island (360 sq mi/930 sq km—about the size of Singapore), is known as the pearl of the Andaman Sea. The island of Phuket (pronounced poo-KET) is linked to the mainland by Sarasin Bridge and is home to the capital, Phuket Town, and several beach resorts, the most famous of which is Patong.

People seeing Phuket for the first time will be impressed with the island's beauty and the opulence of some of the hotels and resorts, but may be perhaps rather shocked by t...