In this blog post, I will be sharing more about our stay at a Phuket villa for 33 people and the activities we did during our 4-day, 3-night trip.
This is our 5th trip together and this time round we choose Phuket!
Phuket is a very popular tourist destination due to its beautiful beaches and cultural attractions. According to the weather forecast, June is a wet and rainy month. Since we weren’t planning to go to the beaches, it’s perfectly alright. However, during our trip, it was sunny throughout, so it was perfect!
Flight to Phuket
We took an SQ flight to Phuket, which is about a 2-hour direct flight. They do not offer group bookings, so we booked online manually. Each time, you can only book for up to 9 people. If you want less hassle, you can, of course, approach an authorized travel agency to book on your behalf, though there will be additional charges.
Food was provided, although some of us chose special meals and kids’ meals beforehand. Those who had the in-flight meal received their food quite late. However, on the return flight, the service was much faster.
The food was surprisingly much better compared to that on long-haul flights.
Toys was given to the kids on the departure flight from Singapore to Phuket but not on returning.
Group photo at the Phuket Airport! All very excited for the holiday!
Day 1 – Phuket Villa – Massage, Chill & Relax
We booked the villa through Inspiring Villas and selected Tropical Palace at Layan Beach, which is located on a hilltop. The villa has 18 rooms, plenty of living room areas, and 2 pools. However, we always stayed in the main living room area for eating, bonding, and playing.
The villa comes with a chef, housekeeping, ground staff, one round-trip airport transfer, and Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi connection is very strong in the main living room but not in the bedroom areas. So, I suggest getting a good eSIM or SIM card.
You can order your groceries with the villa with an additional 15% on top of the grocery amount and get it delivered on your arrival day.
The room configurations are more or less the same; most have double beds, except for one room on the top floor, which has a king bed. Some rooms are connecting rooms, including the ones I took. This is the only configuration that has three single beds connecting to a double bedroom.
In general, all the rooms are clean, come with nice views.
All rooms have attached bathrooms so no need to worry about fighting for toilets. Towels are provided, but not toiletries.
On the first day of our arrival, we had a free and easy schedule. The kids went swimming while the adults took turns having massages. The villa hired massage therapists from outside, and you could choose to have the massage in your room or in the massage room available in the villa. All of us had oil massages for THB 900/per hour/per person.
We arranged for a 10-course dinner for our first night, costing 700 THB per adult and 550 THB per child. They provided a menu for us to choose from, so we selected 10 dishes. The food was very nice, and the portions were very generous.
Breakfast on the first day was complimentary and included eggs, fruits, cereals, toast, and omelettes. I think this is quite good for a villa breakfast.
The rest of the breakfast, we told the chef to use the groceries that we have bought to do our breakfast.
Day 2 – Farm Tour, Cooking Class, Cafe & BBQ
Old Phuket Farm
Recommended time spent: 6 hours.
Address: 246 1, Tambon Thep Krasatti, Thalang District, Phuket 83110, Thailand
Opening hours: 9am to 4pm
Day 2, We had a farm tour and cooking class at Old Phuket Farm. We paid 2990 THB per adult and 950 THB per child. The price includes 2 way transport. You can email or WhatsApp them directly, which is what I did to arrange the tour.
For adults, the program included a farm tour with activities such as rice planting, learning about various Thai herbs, and a cooking class. Children participated in rice planting, rubber making, and dessert making.
Upon arrival, James, our tour guide, provided a brief introduction to the farm and then escorted us to the cooking area. We were divided into two groups: one for adults and the other for children.
Before our cooking class, we had a short farm tour where we learned about the varieties of Thai herbs and saw how they separate the rice from the husk using traditional methods. We even sent our hubby up to try! Watch the video below to have some laughter!
For the rice planting, you could choose whether or not to go down and experience it. Honestly, it is not that bad. Although it does feel weird to have your feet in the mud, the mud is very clean. It looks like the beauty mud mask we use in the beauty salon. They have clean tap water to wash your feet after the experience.
And I’m glad some of the kids also went down to see how rice planting is done! Hopefully they will appreciate their food more.
We went for a cooking lesson after our farm tour. The cooking area and utensils were very clean, and the ingredients were covered with cling wrap. Although there were some flies flying around, which is unavoidable in an outdoor setting, the overall experience was still good!
We sat down to cut and prepare the ingredients, and once done, we walked to the table behind us for cooking. No washing is needed, and their staffs will change our wok each time we cook finish.
We made 5 dishes in total, which are local authentic Thai dishes – Pad Thai, Tom Yam Kung, Panang Curry, Spring roll and Steamed Banana Cake.
After our lunch, the chef gave us a certificate!
Even though the place is technically not a farm but a re-creation of rural Thai life, the overall experience was very good. Some people just go there to have a meal, which is not surprising because the eating area is very nice and comfortable.
Rabbit Hole Cafe
Recommended time spent: 2 hours.
Address: 163 1, Pa Klok, Thalang District, Phuket 83110, Thailand
Opening hours: 10am to 7pm
Rabbit Hole Cafe is about 20-30 minutes away from Old Phuket Farm. Rabbit Hole Cafe is the biggest rabbit cafe in Phuket. The farm entrance is free, but you can buy treats to feed the animals. There are a lot of treats for different animals, so I just bought all the treats for THB 100.
Besides animal feeding, there are also horse riding (THB300) and zipline (THB200) which the kids can do.
While the kids were feeding the animals, some of the adults went inside the cafe to enjoy the air conditioning and drinks. There are also rabbits inside the cafe that you can carry and feed.
Back to Villa – BBQ
After the cafe, we went back to the villa for our BBQ party!
We paid 1800 THB per person for adults and 900 THB per person for children. Initially, we thought it was pretty expensive, but considering the food they provided and the generous portions, I would say it was very worth it.
Day 3 – Treetop Restaurant, Sea Aquarium and Dog Cafe.
Our activities on the third day were all around the Phuket city area. It was about a 45-minute to 1-hour journey from our villa to our first stop.
Three Monkeys Restaurant Phuket
Recommended time spent: 2-3 hours.
Address: 105 M.4 Chaofah Road, Phuket , Thailand
Opening hours: 10am to 11pm
This place is very popular among tourists and locals, and to be honest, it’s really worth visiting. The restaurant is located at the hilltop, so the whole experience feels like you are dining in the jungle or at the treetop.
For group bookings, there is a deposit of THB 5000, which can be used to offset the bill.
Since it’s on a hilltop and our bus couldn’t go up, the restaurant arranged a lorry to pick us up.
They have a wide variety of food, including authentic Thai, Western, and Japanese dishes. Here are some of the dishes we ordered! In general, all the food is really good, though the portions are a little small.
They also have a lot of photo taking spot!
Aquaria Phuket
Recommended time spent: 2-3 hours.
Address: 199 Vichitsongkram Rd, Wichit, Mueang Phuket District
Opening hours: 1030am to 6pm
Aquaria Phuket is considered the best and biggest sea aquarium in Thailand. Compared to our Singapore Sea Aquarium, it’s definitely smaller, but it’s actually very nice and spacious to walk around. There are a lot of fishes swimming around, all very up close.
I bought 33 tickets from Klook (can use code “Qiqi5off” for 5% discount). Initially, I wanted to buy the tickets from their official website, but they do not offer group discounts. Luckily, Klook allows you to buy so many tickets at once.”
The most interesting part of this aquarium is that they have free shows arranged at different times. When we arrived, we were just in time to catch the mermaid show.
Big C Supermarket
Recommended time spent: 1-2 hours
Address: 72 Chalermprakiat Ratchakan Thi 9 Road, Wichit, Mueang Phuket District
Opening hours: 8am to 10pm
It’s just a 5-minute drive away from Aquaria Phuket, and when you go to Thailand, it’s a must to visit Big C! It’s a very large hypermart that sells everything from household items to groceries. If you are staying at an Airbnb or villa, you can come here to get your groceries or their roast chicken. Their roast chicken is really good.
Usually I go Thailand, I will stock up hand cream, body sunblock, crystal salt deodorant and of course buying some local snacks. Dried mango is a must, dried coconut and thailand Pork floss.
Hug Me In Phuket Dog Cafe
Recommended time spent: 1 hour
Address: 100/13, Moo 7, Si Sunthon, Thalang District
Opening hours: 1030am to 730pm
Hug Me In Phuket is a dog cafe in the Phuket city area. It’s a white building on its own. Previously, their old place used to serve food, but currently, the new place only serves drinks.
Entry fee is THB390 for unlimited play time and 1 free drink.
The whole area is very clean and spacious, with no funny smell. There are a lot of staff members to handle the dogs and bring them to you for photo-taking. They will also hold on to the big dogs, maybe for safety reasons since we have a lot of young kids. So far, the dogs are gentle and not aggressive, but we did tell the kids what not to do when they are playing with the dogs.
You can also buy treats for THB100, and I bought five bowls to let the kids share. One bowl of treats is quite a lot, and some of them stopped feeding after one try. Haha, maybe they couldn’t get used to the dog saliva. In the end, I had to keep asking who wanted the last bowl of treats.
Overall, the experience is very nice; the staff is really friendly and helpful. After visiting the dog cafe, you can walk around the area for nice food, especially the popular Phuket pizza and mango sticky rice, which is just beside the cafe. We bought both the pizza and mango sticky rice to take back for dinner.
Day 4 – Home Sweet Home
On the last day, the kids spent their morning swimming while we adults chatted and packed our luggage. Even though there were some hiccups during our stay, which I would say were communication issues that we provided feedback on, hopefully, they can improve for their next guests. Overall, the villa stay experience was quite good. The ground staff, Sunny, was very helpful and attentive. The admin staff who handled the booking also responded quickly.
If you are looking for a relaxing and good bonding holiday, especially if you are going with big families or large groups of friends like us, this whole villa stay, chill, and relax itinerary will be a good choice.
Before we went back, we bought mango sticky rice to take with us. Last time, I bought it from Taste of Thailand, but this time Phuket airline sells only vacuum-packed instant versions. We managed to get ours near Gate 10. It’s a small cafe, and it cost only THB180.
For short video introduction of my Phuket trip highlights, can check out the video below!
