Phuket Sunday Walking Street 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.
Local Life
Ketho Coffee & Kitchen Dim Sum Restaurant
Ketho Coffee & Kitchen is a dim sum restaurant very popular with locals for their breakfast, mostly for their dim sums but also for their soups and rice porridge.
Wat Kathu – A beautiful Buddhist temple in Phuket
Wat Kathu, or Kathu temple, is a not very well-known landmark among tourists, but local photographers know how beautiful it is. This Buddhist temple is on the way to Phuket Town and not far from Patong, but because it stands away from the main road, most people don’t even consider visiting it.
Jui Tui Shrine (Kew Ong) ⛩️
Jui Tui Shrine (Kew Ong) is one of the oldest and most important on Phuket Island. It plays a significant role during the famous Phuket Vegetarian Festival, usually held in October and November. The festival dates use the Lunar Calendar, and the festival’s exact dates change every year, so if you plan to travel to Phuket to see this event, check the dates before booking.
Bang Pae Seafood
Bang Pae Seafood is a great local restaurant, very hidden on the east coast of Phuket. It’s not so easy to find, and yet, it’s busy on weekends with a mix of Thai, expats and some tourists brought by local friends.
The Pad Thai Shop in Karon
The Pad Thai Shop is a tiny restaurant on the side of the back road of Karon Beach. It’s so small and modest; you would drive past it without paying much attention if it wasn’t for its growing reputation and a large yellow signboard that says ‘The Pad Thai Shop’.
Nai Dam Restaurant in Kathu
Nai Dam Restaurant in Kathu looks just like any restaurant by the roadside of Phuket. It’s not fancy, there are no exterior signs of luxury and even the restaurant signboard is hardly visible.
Banzaan Market in Patong Beach
Banzaan Market in Patong Beach is an excellent experience during your holiday. It’s easier to access than most local markets since it is just behind the gigantic Jungceylon Shopping Mall.
Kalim Rim Lay Restaurant in Kalim Beach
Kalim Rim Lay Restaurant is a little-known restaurant serving good honest Thai food and seafood at a good price. Best of all for some of you, it is located not far from Patong Beach, just past Kalim Beach. Rim Lay is a very relaxing spot to enjoy lunch or dinner with spectacular sunsets if you are lucky to get one as we did.
Kan Eang 2 Seafood Restaurant
Kan Eang 2 is not the most accessible place to find, but it’s one of Phuket’s best local seafood restaurants. Everyone here knows that there are 2 Kan Eang Seafood restaurants on the island.
Baan Mae Taan Restaurant in Phuket Town
Baan Mae Taan is an excellent local Thai restaurant in Phuket Town. It is slightly away from the old streets of historical Phuket, where the tourist crowd always go for their selfies and therefore addresses more to a local clientele, and that is a good sign!
Boon Restaurant near Phuket Town
Boon is one of the most underrated local Thai restaurants in Phuket. It’s not fancy, the menu is not long, and lunch at Boon only costs a few baht, but the taste is unique. The restaurant is tiny, hard to spot, and so modest; we probably wouldn’t bother explaining to anyone how to go there. But after so many years, we realised that this place is very special to us: It’s what local Thai food is all about: simple, cheap, casual, and delicious.
Wat Thepnimit Phuket near Patong Beach
Wat Thepnimit Phuket is a monastic residence with a fantastic panoramic view over Patong beach. You can see its iconic white pagoda from the beach, if you know in which direction to look, of course, it’s pretty tiny.
Super Cheap Market Phuket
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.
Shrine of the Serene Light in Phuket Town ⛩️
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. While most Thais knew all about it, only a few foreigners were aware of its existence, and those who knew would proudly whisper its secret location to newbies like an old secret passage to some mystic temple.
Wat Sri Sunthon – Phuket Reclining Buddha
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”. 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’.
Laem Sai Seafood
Laem Sai Seafood is a local restaurant hidden far away on the east coast of Phuket. The restaurant mostly consists of a vast wooden terrace over the sea or the mud, depending on the tide.
Wat Mongkol Nimit in Phuket Town
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.
Go Benz Phuket
Go Benz Phuket has been one of Phuket’s most popular local restaurants for over 15 years. Go Benz served a relatively small choice of noodle soups and rice porridge, and by keeping it focused, they became very good at preparing them.
Wat Suwan Kuha – Buddha Cave in Phang Nga
Hidden in a vast cave in Phang Nga Province, Wat Suwan Kuha is a surprising religious site sheltering an immense reclining golden Buddha. If you feel like a little drive outside Phuket island, this is your chance to explore another side of Phang Nga! This region is not only famous for incredible limestone cliffs plunging straight down into the sea but also for some unexpected jewels. Renting a car or even a scooter, if you are experienced enough, and driving along the majestic cliffs of Phang Nga is a great way to discover the impressive landscapes and the surprising Wat Suwan Kuha cave.