Traveling with your family can be a wonderful experience, building memories that will last a lifetime but doing so with children under five comes with its own set of issues and they’re very different to those experienced when traveling with older children, if your children are older be sure to check out our other blog about the best things to do in Phuket for families with kids under 5.
What are the best things to do in Phuket with kids under 5? Let’s jump right in and take a look at the Top 11 Things To Do In Phuket For Families With Kids Under 5 Years Old
Great For Kids Of: Any age
Location: Khao Sok, Phang Nga
Type Of Activity: Outdoor
Khao Sok Elephant Sanctuary is home to some very happy elephants, rescued and retired to our beautiful safe haven in the Koh Sok rainforest. Our elephants are free to do as they please, resting in the shade of palm trees or splashing about in the freshwater river that runs through their new home. We offer several tours which are designed to keep our elephants and our visitors happy, although the well-being of these majestic animals is our primary concern. While here you will be able to walk with the elephants and make them some food, you can make yourselves a banana leaf plate to take home and make a traditional Thai dessert which we’re sure you’ll enjoy. If it’s the right time of year, you’ll also be able to plant some grass and banana seeds to help grow some future food for our beautiful elephants. We’re sure you’ll be delighted to be able to watch the elephants living their best life here at the sanctuary.
Great For Kids Of: 6 and under
Location: Rawai, Phuket
Type Of Activity: Outdoor
Warning! If you bring your children to Rawai Park Kids Club, they’re not going to want to leave! A big, colourful playground full of activities for all interests. There’s a large, shallow pool with slides, fountains and waterfalls. There’s a stage for the budding performers and a climbing area for the slightly older ones. Under cover from the sun or the rain, there’s a huge indoor play area with all manner of toys to keep your little ones active, happy and occupied. The professional staff make sure that everyone is looked after with constant supervision.
Great For Kids Of: Any age
Location: Phuket Town, Phuket
Type Of Activity: Indoor
The Phuket Aquarium in Cape Panwa is modest compared to its counterpart at Central Florista but it does offer a more reasonable ticket price. You can add an element of education to a fun visit as it also serves as a Phuket Marine Biological Centre (PMBC). With all of the best aquariums, it has a clear tunnel which never fails to keep the little ones entertained, it’s not very long but still good fun. There’s a shop, of course, and, away from the main building along the beach is the turtle hatchery. The animals here change all the time as the main purpose is to get the turtles well enough to be released back into the wild, some of them can be quite big and a great chance for your young ones to see them up close.
Great For Kids Of: Any age
Location: Phang Nga Province
Type Of Activity: Outdoor
Turtle Heaven also goes under the slightly more long winded name of Phang-nga Coastal Fisheries Research and Development Centre. Built almost 40 years ago, its original purpose was as a research station for mollusks but now it’s one of Thailand’s leading turtle sanctuaries. A great chance for you to be able to show your children the turtles and other creatures they have here. Opening times are 8.30 – 16.30 daily, and at only 20 THB per person it’s not going to break the bank.
Great For Kids Of: Any age
Location: Mai Khao Beach, Phuket
Type Of Activity: Outdoor
If your little ones loved their plane journey to get here, they’ll love watching them take off and land on Mai Khao beach. The beach itself is lovely, the longest beach on Phuket, part of which is in the Sirinath National Park and, as you’ll know if you landed there, the Phuket International Airport’s runway is very close to the beach. Depending on the time of year and the wind direction, the planes will either land or take off over the beach, in the dry, high season, they’ll be coming in to land directly overhead and taking off the rest of the year. Great fun to watch!
Great For Kids Of: Any age
Location: Phang Nga
Type Of Activity: Outdoor
Bamboo Rafting at Mae Phae Homestay in Phang Nga is a half day out. You’ll get to float through the jungle on a bamboo raft along a beautiful river while enjoying a delicious local lunch on the raft. Your day will include seeing how pineapples are grown and how rubber is tapped from trees. There’s a fantastic waterfall to swim under and a very tasty lunch of traditional Thai cuisine; it’s a long but fun day out.
Great For Kids Of: Any age
Location: Cherngtalay, Phuket
Type Of Activity: Outdoor
Blue Water Park is a must if you’re visiting Phuket with children, it’s a great day out for the whole family. The 17,000m2 lagoon is impressive enough, let alone the zip lines, waterslides, paddleboards and jumps. If your children are a bit small for the 30m slides, they’ll probably still love to watch especially when the professionals put on a show. The Kids Planet team is on hand to keep them entertained with loads of activities but rest assured, their safety is the most important thing and the team are well-trained. When you’ve all worked up an appetite, there are five restaurants and bars to suit all tastes as well as some additional fun food trucks for that authentic street food flavour.
Great For Kids Of: All ages
Location: Phang Nga Bay
Type Of Activity: Outdoor
A day trip around Phang Nga bay by boat, canoeing through sea caves and hidden lagoons is a memory you’ll treasure. The scenery is spectacular, you may recognise James Bond Island from its cameo role in The Man with the Golden Gun but there are other places to explore too. Kho Panyi, the village on stilts, hidden lagoons and beaches are amazing to find as you cruise around the vertical karst-delete cliff islands, you may even see monkeys, monitor lizards, eagles, bats too.
Great For Kids Of: 3 – 12 years of age
Location: Phuket Town, Phuket
Type Of Activity: Indoor
Guess what the upside down house is, yes! It’s a house that’s been built upside down! It’s great fun and there are some brilliant photo opportunities to be found in the three story house. There’s a living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and of course the toilet. There’s even a Tuk Tuk parked above your head to confuse you. When you’re done inside, it’s time to get lost in the maze, which has a vantage spot so you can watch other people getting lost too. Great fun for the whole family.
Great For Kids Of: 6 and under
Location: Central, Phuket Town, Phuket
Type Of Activity: Indoor
The weather here on Phuket is usually great but sometimes you need something to do on a rainy day, or if you just need a break from the sun. Kidzoona can be found on the 3rd floor of Central Shopping Mall in Phuket Town and it’s a fantastic playground stuffed full of play equipment, there’s even a mini village complete with play bakers, ice-cream makers, firefighters, and so much more. There’s a ball pit, inflatable slide, and soft play area as well as kinetic sand and building blocks. Prices vary from 200 baht for smaller children during the week to 400 baht for older ones at weekends and at least one adult must stay with their children and there’s a 100 baht fee for them. There’s tons to do so it’s pretty good value.
Great For Kids Of: All ages
Location: Pakhlok , Phuket
Type Of Activity: Outdoor
Phuket Elephant Sanctuary in Pakhlok featuring the longest canopy walk over an elephant sanctuary in Thailand. Their canopy allows the elephants the natural freedom to roam forage, bathe, and socialize in the jungle below, as they would in the jungle. At Phuket Elehant Sanctuary visitors can observe their elephants from a safe and respectful distance whilst hiking through their 30- acre sanctuary as part of their guided tours. They are one of the rare tuelt ethical elephant sanctuary in Thailand.
As you can see, there are lots to do here on Phuket’s tropical paradise island with a young family. If you fancy wandering a little further afield to explore the other island close by, be sure to check out another of our blogs looking at family friendly day trips to Phi Phi, Phang Nga Bay, Koh Hong, Koh Phanak and more. Here are a couple of our other recommendations for your next family vacation in Thailand that you may find handy:
We hope you will find this useful and remember if you need any recommendations or need any assistance drop us a line anytime through Facebook, Instagram or Whatsapp and we’ll do all we can to answer your questions.
