Skip to content

9 Museums in Phuket, Thailand 🏛️


Discover the past of Phuket Island


Phuket museums are not very impressive, but in recent years they have kept a record and shared the rich tin mining history and the Chinese roots of this island. Several new museums opened here and there, mostly in Phuket Town, each with value and character. After an intensive renovation, the Old Phuket Town is a walk-in museum and a beautiful display of Phuket’s historical past.

Thalang Museum in Phuket

Here are the seven museums in Phuket: the Thai Hua Museum is well-designed, Baan Chinpracha is unique as its owners still occupy it, and the Thavorn museum is just plain bizarre. Maybe I wouldn’t waste a sunny day visiting a museum, but if it rains a bit too long, museums can be an excellent distraction to spend half a day.


1. Thai Hua Museum

Thai Hua Museum in Phuket Town

Thai Hua Museum on Krabi Road in Phuket Town was just an empty building. Like other museums in Phuket, it was a soulless run-down building for a very long time. They spent a lot of effort to revive what is now a place worth visiting on your Phuket Town exploration.

Location: Phuket Town
Address
: 28 Krabi Road, Phuket Town, Talat Nuea, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000
Open: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm (Daily)
Phone: 076 211 224
Price: 200 Baht

Read More!

2. Chinpracha House Museum

Phuket Old Town

Chinpracha House is a privately owned museum still occupied by the owners. It also ranks high on our list of the 18 most beautiful mansions in Phuket. Many other houses in Phuket are wrecks or abandoned; they renovated some with more or less success. Baan Chinpracha is still in excellent original condition, and you can visit it for 130 baht. At that price, it is worth having a look but expects something halfway between a museum and a collection of items gathered in time.

chinpracha house 8

Location: Phuket Town
Address: 98 Krabi, Talat Nuea, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000
Open: 9 am – 4.30 pm
Phone: 076 211281
Price: 150 Baht

Read More!

3. Baan Ar Jor House Museum

baan ar jor

Baan Ar Jor is more of a private house converted into a hotel and a restaurant, but there is much to explore and discover in each room. It’s more of a living museum with real objects used by the owner of the house, with many photos and original furniture; it gives you a glimpse of what life used to be like in the tin mind era. Read more

Baan Ar Jor Museum Homestay near Mai Khao Beach

Location: Mai Khao Beach
Address: 102 Thep Kasattri Road, Thalang District, Phuket 83110
Open: 10 am – 10 pm
Phone: 062 459 8889
Price: 200 baht

Read More

4. Peranakannitat Museum

The Chartered Bank in Phuket Town

The Peranakannitat Museum opened its doors in the heart of Phuket Town after many years of renovation. The museum is inside the old ‘Standard Chartered Bank’ intersection of Phang Nga Rd and Phuket Rd. It’s a rather modest museum, but the location and the Sino-Portuguese building are worth walking in. It is also known as Baba Museum or Chalermraj Center.

Peranakannitat Museum

Location: Phuket Town
Address
: Intersection of Phang Nga Road and Phuket road
Open: Monday to Saturday
Hours: 10 am – 8 pm

Read More!

5. Thalang National Museum

Thalang National Museum in Phuket

Thalang National Museum has partly reopened after renovation.

Thalang museum is quite a small building built-in 1985. Expect to see a collection of prehistoric artefacts, old potteries and stones followed by sculptures and antiques displayed behind glass. It is still under renovation, but two rooms are now open to visitors, and the display is promising.

thalang museum new 1

Location: 217 Si Sunthon, Thalang District, Phuket 83110
Open: 9 am – 4 pm (Closed on Mondays)
Phone: 076 379 897
Price: Free for now

Read More!

6. Peranakan Phuket Museum

peranakan phuket museum

The Peranakan Phuket Museum is both a shop and a historical display on the way to Phuket Airport opposite Home Pro. The museum is inside a large modern building, so don’t expect an old heritage house. In addition to quite a large exhibit, this new museum also features a restaurant, a cafe and a large jewellery shop. This museum was an initiative of the owners of the shop, all of Peranakan descent, to share the fascinating history that shaped Old Phuket Town.

YaYa Kitchen at Peranakan Phuket Museum

Location: On the way to the airport
Address: 124/1 Moo 1, Sri Soonthorn, Thalang, Phuket 83110
Open: 9 am – 6 pm
Phone: 076 313 556
Price: 200 Baht for Thais, 300 Baht for foreigners

Read More!

7. Phuket Mining Museum

Tin Mine Museum

The Phuket Mining Museum is built with grandeur in a remote and isolated location before Patong. Museums in Phuket are not exactly exciting, but this one gives you a vision of what Phuket was famous for during the tin mining era. Unfortunately, despite its apparent ambition, its location played against its success.

phuket mining museum kathu

Location: Kathu
Address: Moo 5, Khatu-Nakoh Road, Tambon Khatu, Amphoe Khatu, Phuket 83120
Open
: 9 am – 4 pm (closed on Sundays)
Phone: 081 535 3187
Price: 100 Baht per adult, 50 Baht per kid.

Read More!

8. Kathu Museum

kathu museum

The Kathu museum is new in Phuket. The display is modest but nicely executed, mostly made of panels describing Phuket’s typical dishes, fruits, vegetables and spices in English and Thai. It is surprisingly enjoyable if you are curious about everything related to Phuket. This small house, abandoned for a very long time, used to be an office with a warehouse for a beer company. The house is in a large park used for fitness and running and a small local market once a month. There is no entry fee.

kathu museum 2

9. Thavorn Museum

Thavorn Museum

We had to write about this bizarre museum. The Thavorn Museum is the quirkiest in Phuket. I went there maybe twice in the past, which was already odd then. The only visible addition to the collection of discarded junk is some rust and a couple of empty bottles.

Location: Phuket Town
Address: 74 Rassada Rd, Tambon Talat Yai, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000
Tel: 023 056859
Price: 30 Baht

Read More!

More Museum Photos

chinpracha house 2


Map of Phuket Museums

See all Phuket Maps!

You may also like

20 Amazing Sino Portuguese Mansions in Phuket

Phuket Town – A Walking Guide to Old Phuket Town

17 Best Things to Do in Phuket When it RAINS! ☔

4.1/5 - (45 votes)