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.
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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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
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Cheap but great 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
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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
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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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A good budget hotel near the beach in Patong [toc] Holiday Inn Express Patong 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 choice if you
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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
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Phuket Markets, where to find them 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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How to Catch a Bus from Phuket to Krabi, Samui and Bangkok [toc] If you are exploring Thailand on a small budget, riding a bus from Phuket to Krabi, Samui or even Bangkok makes sense and can see you a lot of money. It’s relatively comfortable and safe; it’s just time-consuming on the long distances such as Bangkok or Pattaya. Where is Phuket Bus Terminal 2 Phuket Bus Terminal 2
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What is Chalong Temple? [toc] Wat Chalong, the largest, most revered and most visited Buddhist temple in Phuket was built at the beginning of the 19th century, 1837 according to some sources. Chalong Temple (officially Wat Chaiyatararam) is one of the Must-See places in Phuket, together with the nearby Big Buddha of Phuket as they are relatively close to each other. The tallest building on the grounds of Wat Chalong is
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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 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
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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. Phuket night markets are intense, colourful, surprising, fascinating, puzzling, smelly, messy, confusing and overwhelming. But night markets all have one thing in common, and
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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 single 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
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What to Do at Phuket Walking Street Market? [toc] Phuket Walking Street weekend market is called 'Lard Yai' by locals and is now the most popular attraction in Phuket Town. This weekend 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 itself into a busy street.
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Phuket Best Street Food [toc] Phuket Street food is fun, cheap but also a great way to experience basic but real Thai food. It is more real 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 if you have allergies you might want to skip this, but I think it’s as safe
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Ko Yoon Restaurant [toc] Ko Yoon Restaurant is a very small and discreet place serving amazing Hokkien Noodles. If you happen to visit Phuket Town, chances are you walked passed it without noticing it, it looks like any other anonymous local hole-in-the-wall restaurant. But Ko Yoon has prepared those delicious big yellow noodles for decades and locals know how good they are. Yes they is much hype about Mee Ton Poh,
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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 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'.
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Thai 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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