Ok, so Phuket is one of the busiest tourist spots in all of Thailand. It has beautiful beaches, lots of entertainment and you can find rooms under any budget ($15 a night gets you a nice guest house). There are soo many beaches to choose from and they all carry different amounts of nightlife and quietness. Phuket town is very low key with not much going on but its right in the middle of everything as long as you can drive a motorbike. Taxis here are very expensive by Thai standards and for the price of one ride you can rent a motorbike. Be careful though, as many people dont know how to drive or have too much to drink so I wouldn't recommend it for a newbie.
If your looking for nightlife then Patong Beach is where you want to be. The whole area is littered with every type of bar you could think. The people on the street are crazy (see pic below) and there are "massage parlors", gogo clubs, and ladyboys
everywhere and they will not leave you alone. Several times I have been walking down the street holding my lady friends hand (I dont need the emails) wearing a shirt that says "No I do not want a F*#King Tuk Tuk, Suit or Massage thank you very much" WRITTEN IN THAI and people are still grabbing my arm asking "Massage mister???"
Although if you are in the area, I recommend "FantaSea" which is a great performance. It is culturally accurate, has many amazing acrobatics, comedy, and lots of wild animals (elephants, buffalo, birds to name a few) running around on stage. The dancing alone is worth the ticket in my opinion. The place is a bit disney redone with people in costume walking around but its a very nice area to walk through.
Next I am off to Ko Phang Nga to see the quieter side of Thailand.
Before I get emails asking about the above mentioned g/f, below is a pic.