Phuket Travel Guide and Blog
This budget section of the Phuket 101 blog combines all the tips and hints we gathered along the 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.
What to do in Old Phuket Town [toc] Our Old Phuket Town and Old Street Walking Guide will save you time and effort! The historical part of Phuket is not huge but is rich and exciting enough to explore in half a day. On this page, we break it down by streets and describe the main points of interest, significant landmarks and, of course, the best places to eat Thai
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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 many things you can do to save a bit and have a great time. These tips rely on real and personal experience. For the short story, I arrived in Thailand with little money and no job, so I had to learn how to make
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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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Phuket most iconic landmark [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 is jaw-dropping. The panoramic views from up there are breathtaking. Koh Samui always had a very popular Giant Buddha, and Phuket wanted a bigger one. In addition, it is free to visit
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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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Phuket real local restaurants [toc] 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 Phuket's most popular (very) local Thai restaurants. They are not fancy, and all are cheap: they don't care about the decor, and they
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Amazing mansions of old Phuket [toc] There is more to Phuket than just the well-known Thalang Road, where everyone goes on a Phuket exploration. If Old Phuket Town's Old Sino Portuguese Mansions fascinate you, you are in for a treat. Yes, it's a nice walk and a must-do, but if you too have a passion for old houses, you might want to explore a bit further where some fabulous mansions
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Where to take the best selfies in Phuket? [toc] Photography has become fully part of holidays, and the young generation of travellers is always searching for the best selfies spots in Phuket. Local restaurants, businesses and beaches are taking full advantage of this trend by adding a lot of 'special features' to the island's natural beauty. Of course, as you can expect, these backgrounds don't always come for free, and
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What to do on Dibuk Road? [toc] Dibuk Road is one of the famous old streets of Phuket town you should add to your list while exploring. It's very colourful and easy to find, with plenty of casual cafes, shops and restaurants to enjoy. Dibuk road is parallel and not far from the famous Thalang road (where you'll find the Sunday Walking Street Market). It stretches for 800 meters, from
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Exploring Thalang Road [toc] Thalang Road is the most famous street in the historic part of Old Phuket Town. The municipality and owners managed to revive most of the old Sino-Portuguese shophouses and bury the ugly cables Thailand is so famous for. Thalang has become selfie heaven. The street is lined with small cafes, traditional or fashionable boutiques and a few restaurants. All have one thing in common: A few
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How to use 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 slow, but if you are visiting Phuket with a small budget and if
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Amazing Buddhist temples of Phuket [toc] Phuket temples, or Wats, 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 a few of these magnificent and beautifully ornamented buildings ('Wat' means 'Temple', you guessed it). Phuket has many temples; we will probably list them one by one, but many are difficult to find or
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Phuket's most important temple [toc] Wat Chalong, or Chalong Temple (officially Wat Chai Thararam), is the largest, most revered and most visited Buddhist temple in Phuket. According to some sources, it was built at the beginning of the 19th century, 1837. Chalong Temple is one of the Must-See places in Phuket, and the nearby Big Buddha of Phuket, as they are relatively close. Wat Chalong Video The central temple
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What are the cheap things to do in Phuket with a small budget [toc] What are the cheapest 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 fortune.
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Where are Phuket fresh 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 week. Only
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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 fruit
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Aek Rawai Seafood Restaurant [toc] Aek Rawai Seafood Restaurant is one of the few local seafood restaurants peppering the roadside of Rawai Beach. This small restaurant doesn’t have any particular sign and it doesn’t attract a mass of hungry tourists, but this is where we love to go for a real seafood lunch or dinner. The setting might be unusual to us, but not unusual to Thai: the kitchen is
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Where are the best viewpoints of Phuket? [toc] Karon Viewpoint, the Big Buddha and Promthep Cape are the best-known viewpoints of Phuket, but there are many more, and all are great photo opportunities. Climbing on top of every hill around the island seems to be an Instagram magnet for many travellers. Here is a list of beautiful places for some fantastic panoramic shots. Some are just hills; others are amazing
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Great cheap hostels in Phuket [toc] What are the best hostels in Phuket for budget travellers? Phuket is known for its luxury hotels, but there's also a great range of hostels around the island, ideal for backpackers travelling with a small budget. Many Phuket hostels are also stylish and thoughtfully designed, usually with WiFi, and air conditioning included. Hostels in Phuket generally offer a mix of dormitories and private rooms
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What to eat 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 eating in
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