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.
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
Read More
Phuket Real Local Restaurants [toc] Beware! This page is not the trendy section of Phuket Restaurants! 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 they sometimes forget to smile, it's all about efficiency and great taste! Some of them might appear
Read More
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
Read More
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
Read More
What is Mookata? [toc] Mookata or Mu Kratha is an extremely popular and cheap buffet found all around Thailand. Here, you pick and cook yourself some raw ingredients displayed on a buffet-style at a very 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 actually quite
Read More
What are the Best Things to Do in Phuket with a Small Budget [toc] What are the Best Things to Do in Phuket with a Small Budget? Of course, it's not easy to travel on the cheap 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
Read More
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
Read More
How to get to the Big Buddha of Phuket? [toc] Big Buddha Phuket is a 45-meter-tall white marble statue visible from anywhere in the southern part of Phuket. It is probably at the top of everyone's 'Must-Do in Phuket', and for a good reason. The views from up there are breathtaking. The statue is built with people's donation and is still under construction. If you feel like doing something to
Read More
What exotic fruits can you find in Phuket? [toc] Exotic 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 displays
Read More
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
Read More
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
Read More
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. Phuket night markets are intense, colourful, surprising, fascinating, puzzling, smelly, messy, confusing and overwhelming. But night markets all have one thing in common, and
Read More
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
Read More
A good budget hotel near the beach in Patong [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 Holiday Inn Express is modern and well designed, a good
Read More
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
Read More
Phuket Best Chicken Rice [toc] If you like delicious Hainanese Chicken Rice and you happen to be in Patong Beach, you need to visit Briley. Briley is one of the two famous chicken rice restaurants in Phuket, and it has been open for more than 20 years now, the other famous one is Kota Khao Mun Khai in Phuket town. Already in 1994, I remember enjoying this Briley restaurant because
Read More
Where is 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 too, but there is a little something more in local restaurants. It's more authentic, more fresh, not to mention often cheaper. We are happy to
Read More
Where is the Shrine of the Serene Light? [toc] The Shrine of the Serene Light (Sang Tham Shrine) used to be 'the little hidden Chinese temple' tucked away right under your nose on Phang Nga road, one of the most famous streets of Phuket Town. While most Thais knew all about it, only a few foreigners would be aware of its existence and proudly whisper its secret location to newbies
Read More
The Art of Driving in Phuket [toc] Renting a car in Phuket seems to be one of the best ways to get around freely at low cost. With so many things to see and do you want to be able to go anywhere anytime. But driving in Phuket comes with few risks and dangers. Following these basic rules might help to avoid unnecessary trouble. It's not as bad as it
Read More
Phuket Reclining Golden Buddha [toc] Wat Sri Sunthon (Wat Srisoonthorn) is known for the immense golden Buddha reclining at the top of a large building in the 'Pang Sai Yat' posture, which corresponds to “Realizing Nirvana” (read more here). The statue seems to be staring endlessly at the frantic traffic on the nearby road to Phuket International Airport. Of course, you already knew that 'Wat' is the Thai word for 'Temple'.
Read More