Mirko Bolognini, 42, and Valentina Parisani, 33, rode a motorbike from Patong to Bang Pae waterfall about 5:30 pm.
They planned to walk from the waterfall over the top of Khao Phra Taew and down to the Ton Sai waterfall, on the other side of the forest reserve.
But about 7:15 pm, with the daylight long gone and after trekking about a kilometre into the forest, the couple realised they had no idea where they were.
Mr Bolognini called a friend on the staff of the hotel where he and Ms Parisani were staying, and asked for his help.
The friend called the Tourist Police. Pol Maj Urumporn Koondejsumrit explained that he contacted a Tourist Police mobile patrol officer. He in turn contacted the Forestry Department, who sent staff to look for the couple.
Meanwhile, the couple were still stumbling around in the dark.
“Yes, we were scared,” Mr Bolognini said today. “But we did not call out for help. The forest here is very different from at home and we were worried that if we shouted we might attract dangerous predators.
“After darkness fell we got lost. So when we spoke to the police by phone they could see out position. My phone battery was nearly dead, so they asked us to stay where we were, and they came and got us.”
When officers found the couple, they were, in fact, almost at their intended destination, Ton Sai waterfall.
“We have been in Phuket about a month,” Mr Bolognini said. “We will return home in two days. Of course, I will share our eventual happy experience with my friends in Italy,” he said with a smile.
This is the second time in five months that officials have rescued lost tourists in Khao Phra Taew Forest Reserve.
At the end of October last year, a search involving 100 officers was launched to find British couple Mohammed Samir and Hanna Zareen Shaid. The couple called to say they were lost, but after that there were no more calls. They were found safe just after midnight.
Related stories: