Phuket Budget Travel Guide

EarthDocumentary World Budget Travel Guide

Compare Hotel Room Rates from different Booking Sites

Phuket Budget Travel Guide: Patong Beach at sunset (1 October 2005)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

Exploring Phuket

Phuket Budget Travel Guide introduces the biggest island and biggest tourist destination of Thailand. In this guide, I want to share with you all the places of interest in Phuket that you might want to visit.

About Phuket

Phuket is Thailand's largest island, and today, it's biggest beach destination. Phuket is located on the western coast of South Thailand, and dangles like a pendant off the Isthmus of Kra.

Patong Beach, Phuket (1 October 2005)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

Phuket is about the size of Singapore. It faces the Andaman Sea, and is located 867 kilometres south of Bangkok. The island has a colourful past. It used to derive its wealth from tin and rubber - today, many old houses in Phuket town testify to the old money from these commodities. The island was a stopover along the trading routes between India and China and was frequently mentioned in ship logs. In the old days, the island was called Junk Ceylon.

In 1785 a passing sea captain, Francis Light (click here for his biography), sent word that the Burmese were en route to attack. Forces in Phuket assembled to face the Burmese.

The Thai counteroffensive was led by two heroic sisters, Kunying Jan (aka Thao Thepkasattri), wife of Phuket's recently deceased governor, and her sister Mook (aka Thao Sisunthon). As there was not enough men so she ordered 500 women to dress as soldiers with coconut palms daubed in soot to look like weapons. This tactic succeeded in delaying a full-on Burmese attack. After a month's siege the Burmese were forced back on 13 March, 1785. Kunying Jan and her sister were credited with the successful defense.

Central Festival Mall, Phuket (2 Oct 2005)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

The Burmese were to make three more offensives on Phuket between 1809-12 but armed forces from Bangkok arrived in time to push them back. Burmese invasion only stopped when Burma capitulated to the British. The Portuguese, French, Dutch and English all established trades with Phuket. While Phuket was fighting back the Burmese, Captain Francis Light had other intentions. He was looking for a site to be used as a British outpost, and contemplated Phuket. However, Phuket was spared when in 1786 he chose Penang instead.

Phuket is blessed with magnificent coves and bays, and powdery white sand covers its beaches. The west coast faces the Andaman Sea, and hence the waves are rougher. Most of the beach resorts in Phuket are located on the western coast, along beaches such as Patong, Karon, Kata, Kamala and Nai Yang.

Phuket has two distinct seasons: the wet season from May through October, and the dry season from November through April. The best months to visit Phuket are from November through February. Average temperature ranges from 22-34 degrees Celsius. An international airport links Phuket to Bangkok and the rest of the world. By land, Phuket is linked to mainland Thailand by the Sarasin Bridge at the northernmost tip of the island.

Jungceylon, Phuket (15 September 2007)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

Budget Travel to Phuket

Phuket International Airport (HKT) is the second largest hub in Thailand. It has flight connections to the following destinations:

Kuala Lumpur: AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines
Pattaya: Bangkok Airways
Penang: Fireflyz
Singapore: Jetstar Asia, Silk Air, Tiger Airways

Patong Beach at sunset (1 October2005)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

Budget Travel within Phuket

The most common way to get around Phuket is by tuk tuk. The Phuket tuk tuks are minivans or pick-up trucks (also called songthaew), with four wheels rather than three. Agree on the fare before boarding. Short distances cost about 40 baht, while for a journey between Patong Beach and Phuket Town, expect to pay no less than 200 baht.

Places of Interes in and around Phuket

Bangpae Waterfall
One of the major waterfalls in Phuket.
Coral Island (Koh Hae)
Resort island south of Phuket.
Gibbon Rehabilitation Project
Project to return gibbons to the wild.
Hat Nai Thon Beach
Quiet beach on the northwest part of Phuket.
Hat Nai Yang Beach
Another quiet beach on the northwest part of Phuket.
James Bond Island
Island in Phangnga Bay National Park where the movie Man with the Golden Gun was shot.
Khaorang Hill
Hill overlooking Phuket Town.
Koh Hae (Coral Island)
Aforementioned island south of Phuket.
Koh Panyee (Sea Gypsy Island) / Koh Panyi
Limestone island in Phang Nga Bay National Park.
Koh Similan Archipelago
One of the best dive sites in the Andaman Sea to the northwest of Phuket.
Koh Tapu
Iconic limestone outcrop often also called James Bond Island.
Patong Beach
Main resort belt on Phuket.
Phangnga National Park
Coastal national park in Phangnga Province to the northeast of Phuket.
Promthep Cape
Southernmost cape of Phuket with picturesque views of the Andaman Sea.
Similan island
One of the islands in the Koh Similan Archipelago
Wat Chalong
Biggest Thai Buddhist temple in Phuket.

Phuket is served by AirAsia low-cost carrier. Check out other AirAsia Budget Travel Destinations.
Return to Thailand Budget Travel Guide.

Hotel Room Price Checker

Before booking a hotel room, make sure you are getting the lowest price for it. Different hotel booking websites offers the same room at different prices. If you stick with one site all the time, you could be paying more for the same room. Now why pay more?

The form below is a Research Engine. It doesn't take bookings. Instead it lets you find the hotel booking website that offers the room you want at the lowest price. You can see and compare what different sites are offering, and then click to choose the one with the best price. Do this, and you're guaranteed to save a whole lot of money on your room reservations!

Find a hotel

New York City
Bangkok
Amsterdam

Guests:

Rooms:

Great Travel Deals Wego.com

AsiaExplorers Flight Checker

If you're flying somewhere, use our Flight Checker to compare the rates from different airlines. To use it, enter where you will be flying from, where you will be flying to, your departure date and return date. Select the number of passengers, and then click search.

Our engine will return you a list of possible flights that you can take. You can compare the fare of different airlines for your trip. Click on your selected airline, and we transfer you to the airline website.

Return to AsiaExplorers homepage

My message introducing God to all the world: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO TIM

AsiaExplorers is researched and written by Timothy Tye. Reasonable care is taken to check and verify the accuracy of the content. AsiaExplorers disclaims responsibility for any inconvenience, mishap, injury or death resulting from following the tips and advice provided directly or indirectly by this website. All pages may be printed out for your own personal, non-commercial use. You may use the information on this website on your blog or website so long as you place a dofollow link back to the page in AsiaExplorers where it appears. Photographs not credited to a third party belong to Timothy Tye and may not be reused in any form unless you are first given permission. Write in to inquire if interested. Third party photographs are governed by their respective licenses. To contact Tim, write to the following email address: