Most Thailand itineraries try to show you everything. This one starts in Phuket, then escapes into rainforest, quiet islands, limestone coves and sea days that feel much further away.

Phuket is beautiful. It is also loud, staged and increasingly hard to escape. I went looking for the parts that still breathe. These are the six places I’d actually stay.

The journey is easy. The annoying part is working out whether your ticket takes you to Khlong Sok, the national park entrance or somewhere useful at all.

Most people chase the lake. I’d start where Khao Sok gets stranger: the village, the rainforest trail, the night sounds, then the floating bungalows once the jungle has already reached you.