ium Outlet Phuket has been open for more than ten years, but despite a very strategic location at the intersection of the busy By-Pass road and Thepkasattri Road (you probably will drive by when coming from the airport), it never really took off.
Khao Rang Breeze is one of the three popular restaurants sitting at the top of the very scenic Rang Hill in Phuket Town.
The Museum Phuket sits at a bustling intersection in Old Phuket Town, where two historic buildings face each other across Phang Nga Road and Phuket Roads. One is the former Chartered Bank, and the other is the old police station, easily recognised by its yellow clock tower.
Phuket street art is a collection of superb murals paintings by local and Thai artists all around Phuket Town. Some are easy to spot and others are well hidden. Walk around town and spot them, there are more than we share on this page but we will keep adding them as we discover them.
Kanom Jeen is a traditional Thai breakfast dish that’s particularly popular in Phuket and southern Thailand. It consists of fresh, thin white rice noodles served cold or at room temperature with a curry of your choice. Common options include fish curry (Nam Ya Pa), beef curry (Kang Nua), chicken curry (Kang Kai), or sweet prawn curry (Kang Nam Prik).
Little Nyonya is a small hotel located on the outskirts of Phuket Town. While it is modest and a little basic, it combines old Phuket heritage style and affordable price.
Chillva Market is one of the most popular night markets in Phuket, easy to spot with its colourful shipping containers and lively, youthful crowd. The market is full of local food stalls, small bars, handmade crafts, and trendy fashion shops.
Kopi de Phuket, a very small restaurant, has made its name in Phuket Town for a while. It looks strangely familiar and serves some really typical Phuket dishes in an eclectic decor, but what Kopi de Phuket does best is coffee in Phuket style.
In case you are coming to Phuket in October, here is a Phuket Vegetarian Festival Schedule and Calendar of each day’s event, in which temple each event will occur, and when and where the famous processions will happen. Remember to bring a mask for the smoke and ear protection as the firecrackers sound will leave you deaf for a day.
Raya Restaurant is a unique restaurant combining all the right ingredients to make it a perfect local experience. They serve great food in a superb setting in an old Thai house kept just the way it has always been, with no excessive renovation but well maintained.
If you stay in Phuket for a while or if, like us, you happen to live here, there comes a time when you feel like something different for dinner, something good and fun. This is usually the day we choose to go to a ‘Mookata’ or a ‘Yakiniku’ in Phuket Town.
Chaiyo Seafood is a simple little restaurant close to Phuket town if you feel like a nice seafood lunch by the mangrove, without getting far from the city. Nicely built in a comfortable setting, Chaiyo Seafood keeps its livestock directly in the mangrove stream.
The Shrine of the Serene Light is a beautifully decorated Chinese Temple on Phang Nga Road, one of the most famous streets of Phuket Town. It used to be ‘the little hidden Chinese temple’ tucked away at the end of a small path, right under your nose.
Blue Elephant Phuket is a high-end Thai restaurant built in a renovated Thai house set in an immense garden in Old Phuket Town. Pracha Phra Pitak Chinpracha Mansion is a fantastic old mansion that used to be a governor’s house, but was abandoned for a long time.
Wat Khao Rang (Kao Rang Temple) is a modest temple in Phuket town that would be somewhat anonymous if it was not for its large and majestic golden sitting Buddha. But is the giant Buddha not supposed to be much bigger and made of white marble?
Tunk Ka Cafe is one of our favourite restaurants in Phuket Town, a long-established hillside place beautifully built on top of Khao Rang Hill, with striking panoramic views of Phuket city. Tunk Ka Cafe is a romantic place, with three separate terraces framed with large trees, and a nice breeze flowing through always keeps the place cool.
Natural Restaurant Phuket looks at first a bit confusing. Locally known as ‘Tamachart Restaurant’ it has been a long-time favourite for many Thai and expats.
What Phuket Phuket Specialities should you try, and where to find them? We already shared our Best Local Restaurants and Best Classic Thai Dishes, so here are 10 really local specialities dishes, or their popular Phuket variation.
Phuket Uptown Restaurant is not exactly what we would call a ‘local restaurant’, it’s just a little too clean and too westernized to be considered so and a good third of the customers are usually farangs (foreigners). But the food is good, the prices are right and the staff is always friendly.
Phuket Monkey Hill is the best-known monkey playground on the island, a hill covered with immense red and white antennas in the back of Phuket Town. That hill may be easy to see but not as easy to reach: the road climbing to it is opposite the provincial hall
Had enough tourist food and want to try real Phuket specialities? When visiting Phuket Town, if you have a bit of time and are curious about Phuket’s real local food, you have to stop by Lor Rong Market.
Kopitiam by Wilai is a recently renovated restaurant serves classic Thai food in an old-style Chinese shop on the most popular street in Phuket Town. Thalang Road changed from just an old busy street to a full-scale tourist attraction, bars and restaurants have started to appear like flies on honey.
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.
Saphan Hin in Phuket Town doesn’t look like much during the day: a dull-looking rectangular lake, a waterfront with not much to enjoy except for a sunken boat, a vast empty parking lot, a massive abandoned shopping mall once called ‘Lucky Plaza’ and a Chinese shrine.
Phuket Amulet Market might not be the most exciting attraction in Phuket, but if you happen to be exploring the town, it might be worth a look.
One Chun Restaurant is one of the best Thai restaurants in Phuket Town. Serving southern Thai and uniquely Phuket cuisine without compromise: great food, reasonable price and good location.
Wat Mongkol Nimit or Wat Putta Mongkon might not be the most impressive temple in Phuket but this one means a lot to people living around Phuket Town. All temples are of course worth visiting but since Wat Mongkol Nimit is close to Thalang Road, the historical streets of Phuket Town it would complete your visit perfectly.
Central Phuket is one of the biggest malls on the island, split into two massive wings on either side of a wide road: Festival and Floresta. If you’re just exploring, it can feel like two different malls, but it’s actually one big complex.
Soi Romanee, in the historical centre of old Phuket town, is a short street with a long and colourful history. Today it is home to souvenir shops, fancy ice cream parlours and small but posh guesthouses.
Rang Hill (Khao Rang), located in the middle of Phuket, is famous for its scenic restaurants, temple, monkeys, and a new viewpoint bridge.
The Upside Down House Museum is one of the most surprising attractions in Phuket. Once you see it with your own eyes, there will be no need for any explanation as this pink house is standing upside down on its roof in a garden, as if some giant kid had casually dropped it after playing with it.
Koh Sirey is an island connected to Phuket town by a very short bridge, this small piece of land doesn’t have any particular signs, but this is where you will find the beautiful Westin Siray Bay Resort.
The Thai Hua Museum on Krabi Road in Phuket Town is a pleasant surprise. We visited it a few years ago when it reopened, and despite being in a beautiful mansion, it was just an empty building.
Phuket Naka Weekend Market (previously called Chaofa Variety Weekend Market) stands as one of Phuket’s largest night bazaars near Central Festival on the outskirts of Phuket Town. Locals call it ‘Talad Tairod’, meaning ‘Car Boot Sale’, while some refer to it as ‘Phuket Chatuchak’ after Bangkok’s famous weekend market.
Phuket Sunday Walking Street Market 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.
Phuket Indy Night Market is a fun, young, creative little night market in Phuket Town, located on Limelight Avenue, a small lane off Dibuk Road, not far from the well-known Raya Restaurant.
Chinpracha House (Baan Chinpracha) is one of the most beautiful mansions in Phuket, and it is spread all around Phuket Town. Chinpracha House is somehow unique and in its original condition.
If old Sino-Portuguese Mansions in Old Phuket Town fascinate you, you are in for a treat. There is more to Phuket than just the well-known Thalang Road, where everyone goes on a Phuket exploration.
How to get a driving license in Phuket… If you plan to stay in Phuket for a while, you will probably consider renting or buying a motorbike, which means you will need a driving license.
La Gaetana is one of the best and longest-established Italian restaurants in Phuket. It’s well known and recommended by longtime residents and Thais and is in our Top romantic restaurants in Phuket. It’s all about La Gaetana’s excellent cuisine and very cosy atmosphere.
Nam Yoi Restaurant is a discreet local place tucked away on a remote street in Phuket Town. While it’s challenging to find, the effort is worth it for their excellent local and southern Thai cuisine. The setting is simple, prices are very affordable, and the food is exceptional.
Built in 1960, the Thavorn Hotel has a long story in Old Phuket Town. The museum originally opened decades ago as a small quirky hotel attraction that was more an anecdotal storage of all the old stuff and equipment used in the many years of the hotel’s operation
Phuket View is another restaurant you must add to your list of ‘Dining with a View while in Phuket’. This dining venue sits for almost twenty years on top of Khao Rang Hill, one of the highest hills in Phuket Town.
Like most of the great restaurants serving excellent good old-fashioned Thai food in Phuket, Jun Phen didn’t bother much with the design.
Phuket Brasserie is one of the best French dining venues in Phuket town, owned and operated by Belgium chef Alain Tabruyng.
China Inn is a lovely little restaurant in the middle of Thalang Road, the historical street of Phuket Town. Everyone who walked down that street admired it, and most even took photos.
Complete guide to Phuket museums: Thai Hua, Thavorn, Mining Museum & more. Entry prices, opening hours, and which ones are worth visiting.
