Destinations / Phuket & Khao Lak
Phuket & Khao Lak with kids
Phuket packs family resorts with real kids' clubs, a large water park and calm west-coast bays into one island with a busy international airport. Food is easy for fussy eaters, childcare is cheap by European standards, and Khao Lak, about 80 km north, gives a quieter beach base with the Similan Islands offshore.
Phuket & Khao Lak
Which ages it suits
Ages 0–2 · Good
works well in a resort with a cot, kids' pool and shade; the long-haul flight, heat and pavement-free roads are the hard parts, so plan a pool-and-nap holiday.
Ages 3–6 · Great
the sweet spot; kids' clubs mostly start at 4, resort lagoon pools are shallow, and the sea in Kata and Laguna is calm in dry season.
Ages 7–12 · Great
water park, snorkelling off Phi Phi, kayaking in Phang Nga Bay and an ethical elephant visit keep this age busy.
Ages 13–17 · Good
good for snorkelling, surf lessons in monsoon season and Old Town food, but Patong nightlife is not where you want to base older teens.
When to go with children
Weather for kids and school-holiday crowds together. Best: January, February, March.
- January · 28°C
- Dry, calm sea, low humidity; one of the best months, but book early because rates stay high after New Year.
- April · 30°C
- Hottest month, often 34°C+; Songkran water festival mid-April is fun for kids but roads are chaotic.
- July · 28°C
- UK and European school holidays meet the southwest monsoon: showers and sunny spells, but rough seas and red flags close many west-coast beaches to swimming.
- September · 28°C
- Wettest month; some boat trips cancel, Maya Bay is closed to landings (1 August to 30 September each year) and the Similans are shut until mid-October.
- November · 28°C
- Dry season usually settles in mid-month; good value before the Christmas peak and the Similan Islands have reopened (15 October).
- December · 28°C
- Excellent weather, but Christmas and New Year bring the year's highest prices and minimum-stay rules at the big resorts.
Parks and days out, by car
Typical minutes by car from Khao Lak. School-holiday traffic can add a lot.
Clear-water snorkelling and white-sand islands, open only 15 October to 15 May; the speedboat ride is over an hour each way and can be rough, so it suits confident swimmers.
Best for 8+ · Adult day from about $100 · Official site
Smaller, older park near the airport; it closed for upgrades from June to September 2026 and was due to reopen on 1 October, so check it is running before you book.
Best for 4–12 · Adult day from about $30 · Tickets on GetYourGuide · Official site
Phuket's main water park, with a lazy river, wave pool and a separate toddler zone; children under 122 cm pay the child rate and online tickets are cheaper than the gate.
Best for 4–14 · Adult day from about $45 · Tickets on GetYourGuide · Official site
Large air-conditioned aquarium inside a shopping mall, a good rain or heat escape; children under 90 cm go free and online tickets beat the gate price.
Best for 2–10 · Adult day from about $30 · Tickets on GetYourGuide
Retired working elephants watched from walkways and trails, with no riding, bathing or feeding; programmes are listed for all ages, but young children need to cope with quiet observation.
Best for 5+ · Adult day from about $85 · Tickets on GetYourGuide · Official site
Guides paddle you into sea caves among limestone towers; the water is sheltered, so this is one of the few boat trips that also runs in the monsoon months.
Best for 5+ · Adult day from about $70
Painted Sino-Portuguese shophouses, street art and cheap food; go late afternoon or for the Sunday walking-street market to avoid the midday heat.
Best for 6+ · Tickets on GetYourGuide
Snorkelling, Pileh Lagoon and Maya Bay by boat; with small kids pick a big ferry or a calmer early speedboat, and note Maya Bay closes to landings each August and September.
Best for 6+ · Adult day from about $60 · Official site
Where to stay
Laguna Phuket (Bang Tao)
Gated resort complex on a long beach with shuttle boats, quiet roads and the most family infrastructure on the island.
Kata & Karon
Southwest bays with swimmable sea in dry season, walkable restaurants and a less rowdy feel than Patong.
Patong
Cheapest big-resort rooms and lots of food, but busy, noisy at night and not a place to walk with a pushchair.
Khao Lak
Long, quiet beaches on the mainland north of Phuket, close to the Similan Islands and Khao Sok National Park.
Family resorts we checked
One of Phuket's longest resort pools plus a free kids' club, inside the car-light Laguna complex on Bang Tao beach.
Two-bedroom suites with bunk beds that open onto a very long lagoon pool, on a quiet beach.
Meals, drinks and kids' clubs from 4 to 17 are all in the price, on the longest beachfront in Kata.
⚠ Phased renovation finished in December 2025; the Family Oasis with splash park opened in April 2025.
A water park inside the resort on a quiet end of Karon Beach, with standard rooms that already fit 2+2.
KidSuites with bunk beds and kids under 12 eating free make it the cheapest real family resort in Phuket.
A kitchen and two bedrooms inside Laguna for much less than the beachfront resorts, with the free Laguna shuttle to the beach.
A 12-night trip, paced for kids
Land and slow down
Arrive, nap through the jet lag and keep to the resort pool and beach. Swim early and late, rest through the 12–3pm heat.
Water park day
Go to Andamanda when it opens at 10am and leave after lunch before kids melt down. Evening at Boat Avenue or a beachside dinner.
Rest day
Kids' club in the morning, family time at the pool in the afternoon. A massage for the grown-ups is cheap here.
Elephants and Old Town
Morning programme at Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, then a long lunch and late-afternoon walk around Old Phuket Town. Back to the resort for an early night.
Easy beach day
Snorkel from the beach at Kata or Nai Harn in dry season. Keep the afternoon free.
Phi Phi by boat
Early start for the islands with snorkelling stops; bring sea-sickness tablets and sun shirts. Expect everyone to sleep in the van home.
Move to Khao Lak
Drive about 90 minutes north and settle into a quieter beach resort. Spend the first day at the pool.
Similan Islands or Khao Sok
From mid-October to mid-May, a Similan snorkel day for confident swimmers; otherwise a day on Khao Sok's lake. Choose one big day, not both.
Beach, pack and fly
Last lazy beach days. Leave plenty of time for the drive back to HKT and the airport queues.
Good to know
- The catch
- Families book July or August for the school holidays and find red flags on west-coast beaches; in monsoon months plan around the pool and sheltered trips such as Phang Nga Bay.
- Flights
- Usually one stop via Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul, Singapore or Bangkok: around 14–17 hours door to gate from the UK or Germany and 20+ hours from the US East Coast; Khao Lak adds a 75–90 minute drive from HKT.
- Jet lag
- Thailand is UTC+7: 7 hours ahead of the UK (6 in British summer) and 12 ahead of New York (11 in US summer), so kids need 2–3 slow days.
- Health
- No malaria risk in Phuket's resort areas; dengue occurs year-round, more in the rainy season, so use repellent; drink bottled or filtered water; the midday sun is strong.
- Safety
- Phuket and Khao Lak are normal-risk; the UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to the far-south border provinces (Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, parts of Songkhla) and near the Cambodian border, nowhere near Phuket; obey red rip-current flags.
- Getting around
- Use resort or pre-booked transfers and bring your own car seat, since taxis rarely have them; pavements are patchy, so a carrier beats a pushchair outside resorts.
- Budget
- About $180 a night for a mid-range family room for four, $550 for luxury, plus about $150 a day for food, transport and outings.
Pairs well with: Singapore, Bali, Hong Kong
Partner links are marked and may earn us a commission at no cost to you. Kids' club ages, seasons and prices change; check with the provider before booking.