I moved to Phuket over 20 years ago because the island — and the sea around it — is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever encountered. I’ve spent most of those years taking people out to experience that beauty, which means I’ve also had a front-row seat to what happens when a place becomes very popular very quickly.
The reef at Maya Bay before the 2018 closure was a different thing to what it is now. Boats anchored on coral for years. Thousands of people a day with sunscreen washing off them in the water. The recovery since the closure has been significant and real — but it required three years with the gates shut.
I’m not going to lecture. You’re not the problem — the systems are often the problem, and individual choices within those systems matter but only so much. What I will do is give you the practical, honest guide to travelling in Phuket in a way that doesn’t make things worse, and in some small ways makes things better.
Reef-safe sunscreen is the starting point. Conventional sunscreens contain chemicals — primarily oxybenzone and octinoxate — that are toxic to coral at very low concentrations. When thousands of people swim on a reef wearing conventional sunscreen daily, the accumulation is not trivial. Reef-safe alternatives (mineral sunscreens using zinc oxide or titanium dioxide) are widely available and work perfectly well. Bring them from home or buy them in Phuket — just check the label.
Don’t touch the coral. Not because of a rule, but because coral is a living organism that takes decades to grow. A hand placed carelessly on a coral head can kill growth that took thirty years to produce. Look, don’t touch. Keep your fins away from the reef while snorkelling — the instinct to kick while hovering over something interesting is one of the most common sources of accidental coral damage.
On our boats, we brief guests on all of this before they get in the water. Not as a box-ticking exercise — because the reef is genuinely worth protecting and it takes very little effort to do so correctly.
This one is more complex and more important than it sometimes gets treated.
Elephant riding as a tourist activity in Thailand relies on a training process that is not kind to the animals. This is well-documented and not seriously disputed by anyone who has investigated it. If you encounter an elephant experience that involves riding, it’s worth understanding that the docility required for strangers to sit on an elephant’s back does not occur naturally.
Ethical elephant sanctuaries — and there are good ones in Phuket — operate differently. The elephants have typically been rescued from logging or riding operations, they’re not trained to perform or carry people, and visitors interact with them in ways that prioritise the animal’s wellbeing over the tourist’s convenience. You can feed them, walk alongside them, watch them in their environment. It’s a more interesting experience, not a lesser one.
Our guide to the best ethical elephant sanctuaries near Phuket covers the specific options worth visiting.
Phuket has made genuine progress on single-use plastic in recent years — the island banned single-use plastic bags at major retailers in 2020, and awareness in the hospitality industry is meaningfully higher than it was a decade ago. But plastic in the marine environment remains a serious issue throughout Southeast Asia and the Andaman Sea is not immune.
The practical things: bring a reusable water bottle and refill it (filtered water is available widely and cheaply). Decline plastic straws and bags where offered alternatives exist. If you see plastic on a beach, pick it up. It’s small, it’s not your fault it’s there, and it matters.
On our boats, we have proper disposal of all waste on return to shore. It’s not complicated — it just requires deciding to do it.
One of the more meaningful things a traveller can do is ensure money circulates into the local economy rather than only through international hotel chains and large tour companies. Eat at local restaurants and market stalls rather than only at hotel restaurants. Buy souvenirs from local makers at markets rather than from factory-produced import shops. Use local guides when you’re exploring independently.
This isn’t about self-denial — the local restaurants are better than the tourist ones anyway, as I’ve argued elsewhere. It’s about the shape of where the money goes. A meal at a family-run market stall puts money into a Thai household in a direct and immediate way. The equivalent spend at a hotel restaurant moves through considerably more intermediary layers before reaching local people.
The choice of how you get out on the water matters for responsible travel in ways beyond the obvious.
Large tour boats concentrate hundreds of people at the same popular spots simultaneously, which creates impact on the marine environment and degrades the experience for everyone. Small group trips — ours are capped at 20 guests — reduce that impact and allow operators to go to less-visited spots, take more time in the right places, and move on when an area is busy rather than adding to the congestion.
We also build responsible practice into our operations in specific ways: briefing guests on reef etiquette before snorkelling, avoiding anchoring on coral, limiting time at sensitive spots during peak seasons, and following national park guidelines on Maya Bay access. These aren’t marketing claims — they’re the way we’ve run trips since the beginning, because I’ve watched what happens to places that don’t operate this way.
Phuket will survive tourism, and it will continue to be extraordinary if the people who visit and the operators who take them around treat it with appropriate care. The reef that recovered after Maya Bay’s closure demonstrates that these environments are resilient when given the chance. The question is whether they get that chance.
Travelling responsibly in Phuket isn’t about sacrifice. Reef-safe sunscreen works as well as the alternative. Ethical elephant experiences are more interesting than riding ones. Local food is better than tourist food. The conscious choices mostly happen to be the better experiences too.
Travel well. The Andaman Sea will repay you for it.
➤ Small group boat trips — responsible by design
— Captain Mark
Exceptional, uncrowded island day trips from Phuket. Family-owned and operated since 2004.
© 2026 Phuket Sail Tours. Privacy Policy | Web Design & Digital Marketing
