This budget section of Phuket 101 blog combines all the tips and hints we gathered along time to help you reduce the cost of your trip. Best hostels, best street food and where to get the best exchange rates once in Phuket, we try to cover as much as we can and keep adding as we explore. Phuket has become an expensive island, but there are many ways to spend a great holiday without spending a fortune.
To get even more ideas, you can join out Phuket 101 community and ask your questions there.
Phuket Real Local Restaurants The list of local restaurants in Phuket keeps growing, and it is truly amazing how great local food can be here. No tourist places and no trendy venues here; it's all about local food and only local food! Here are some of the most popular (very) local Thai restaurants in Phuket. They are not fancy, and all are cheap: they don't care about the decor, and
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Where to find the best Seafood in Phuket? [toc] The best seafood in Phuket is mostly in local restaurants, sometimes hard to find and often away from tourist places. Of course, the seafood you will find in Patong, Kata, Karon, and other famous beaches are good, but there is a little more in local restaurants. It's more authentic, fresher, not to mention often cheaper. We are happy to share our
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What to Do at Phuket Big Buddha? [toc] The Phuket Big Buddha is a 45-metre-tall white marble statue visible from anywhere in the southern part of Phuket. This impressive landmark is probably at the top of everyone's 'Must-Do in Phuket', and it is indeed a jaw-dropping site, and the panoramic views from up there are breathtaking. Koh Samui always had a very popular Giant Buddha, and it seems that Phuket
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What is Chalong Temple? [toc] Wat Chalong, or Chalong Temple (officially Wat Chai Thararam), is the largest, most revered and most visited Buddhist temple in Phuket. It was built at the beginning of the 19th century, 1837, according to some sources. Chalong Temple is one of the Must-See places in Phuket and the nearby Big Buddha of Phuket, as they are relatively close to each other. Wat Chalong Video
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What exotic fruits can you find in Phuket? [toc] Exotic Thai fruits in Phuket range from the well-known pineapple or even watermelon to the most surprising ones like the weird-looking Dragon Fruit, the huge pungent Durian or the enormous Jackfruit. The choice of fruits in Thailand is endless and visiting a local market in Phuket is a chance to try as many as you can. Some of the best fruits
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Where to Find Phuket Night Markets [toc] Night markets in Phuket are always fun; from the new Chillva Market to the giant Naka Weekend Market or the Sunday Walking Market in Phuket Town, almost everyone loves to browse the incredible array of things you don't need. Night markets in Phuket are intense, colourful, surprising, fascinating, puzzling, smelly, messy, confusing and overwhelming. But night markets all have one thing in common,
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What to Do at Phuket Sunday Walking Street Market? [toc] Phuket Sunday Walking Street Market is called 'Lard Yai Market' by locals and is the most popular attraction in Phuket Town. This 360-metre long street market was an instant success, adding a much-needed event to the historical part of town. Every Sunday from 4 pm to 9 pm (and often beyond), the once quiet Thalang Road turns into a busy
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What to do in Phuket for free? [toc] Are there any interesting free things to do in Phuket? It may sound like a strange question, but Phuket is well-known to be the most expensive destination in Thailand. If the flight ticket and the hotel used most of your budget, there are ways to make the best of your stay without spending much. We wrote a page about ‘Phuket with a
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What street food to try in Phuket? [toc] Phuket street food is fun, cheap, and a great way to experience simple real Thai food. It definitely is more authentic than in tourist restaurants you find in Patong Beach. It’s fast and a lot cleaner than you might think. If you have a sensitive digestive system or allergies, you might want to skip this, but I think it’s as safe as
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What is the Best Way to Go from Phuket Airport to my Hotel? [toc] Phuket Airport Transfers are pretty much hassle-free, and there are many ways to get from the Airport to your hotel, wherever your hotel is. We get daily questions about Phuket Airport Transfers on our Facebook page, and we try to answer them as well as we can. The most popular seems to be the shared mini-bus
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Buddhist Temples of Phuket [toc] Phuket temples are always worth a visit, from the temple hidden inside a cave to the famous Wat Chalong, a visit to Thailand would not be complete without exploring few of these magnificent and beautifully ornamented buildings ('Wat' means 'Temple', you guessed it). Phuket does have many temples and one by one we will probably list them all, but many are difficult to find or have
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How to ride the Phuket Smart Bus? [toc] The Phuket Smart Bus is a very comfortable and affordable way to go from beach to beach for a very reasonable price. It is doing pretty well on the islands and visitors love it. There are several ways to use the many Phuket local bus services. All are cheap, and all are slow, but if you are visiting Phuket with a small
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Where to Get the Best Exchange Rates in Phuket? [toc] Where is the best place to change money in Phuket? This is one of the most frequently asked questions on our Phuket blog. If you are travelling on a budget, exchange rates can make a significant difference for your holiday. We try here to list the different options available on the island, and we try our best to gather useful
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What is Mookata? [toc] Mookata or Mu Kratha is an extremely popular and cheap buffet found in Phuket and all around Thailand. Here, you pick and cook yourself some raw ingredients displayed on a buffet-style at a low fixed price. If you are travelling to Phuket on a budget and want to experience the real Thai daily lifestyle, then you should try it at least once. It’s fun, cheap and
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What are the Cheap Things to Do in Phuket with a Small Budget [toc] What are the best cheap things to do in Phuket with a mall budget? Of course, it's not easy to travel cheaply as in general Phuket is more expensive than anywhere else in Thailand. But if you start with these few suggestions, you will be able to make the best of your holiday without spending a
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Where to find Phuket Markets and what to expect? [toc] Fresh markets in Phuket are always a great way to get close to real, local life with minimal effort. Markets are everywhere around the island, every community and every village has one, small or large, permanent or occasional. Some are daily markets, often open until the end of the afternoon, some are available only certain days of the weeks. Only
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Kopitiam by Wilai Restaurant [toc] Never heard of Kopitiam by Wilai Restaurant before? Not a surprise since Thalang road changed from just an old busy street to a full-scale tourist attraction, bars and restaurants started to appear like flies on honey. And thinking of it, it is a good thing! Well, I do have an opinion on the way those houses are renovated, too often looking like dollhouses, but the
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Travelling to Phuket on Budget [toc] Phuket is not cheap, we all know that, but if you travel on a very tight budget, there are still a few things you can do to save a bit and have a great time. These tips rely on real and personal experience. Just for the short story, I arrived in Thailand 20 years ago with basically no money and no job. My first
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The cheapest market in Phuket! [toc] Super Cheap is quite amazing: you could organize a giant treasure hunt in it. We were writing a 'Phuket Price Check' story, trying to find 10 simple items we had written down on my list, but gave up halfway when we suddenly realized there was no way we could spot half of them, even after an hour of intense exploration! Sure, those items were
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A good budget hotel near the beach [toc] Holiday Inn Express Phuket Patong Beach Central is a good budget hotel in a strategic location in Patong Beach. This modern hotel is just a hundred meters from the beach, but it is also at walking distance from the heart of Patong and its buzzing nightlife and shopping. The Hotel Accommodating the many nationalities visiting Patong on a budget is not a
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