Phuket, Answered

It depends on your passport, and the rules changed on 15 September 2026. Visitors from around 60 countries — including Australia, the UK, USA, Canada, Germany, France and Japan — can enter visa-free for up to 30 days for tourism. Seychelles and Mauritius get 15 days, and visa-on-arrival now applies only to a handful of nationalities. Everyone else needs a tourist visa in advance through the official Thai eVisa portal.

Planning longer than 30 days? Apply for a 60-day tourist visa before you fly rather than relying on an extension. Rules move, so confirm with the Royal Thai Embassy for your country before booking flights.

Every foreign visitor must complete the free Thailand Digital Arrival Card online before arrival — it replaced the paper TM6 form. Submit it within the three days before you land on the official immigration site (search "TDAC" and use only the government page; third-party sites charge for the same thing). You'll receive a confirmation to show at immigration. Do it for every member of your party, including children.

At least six months beyond your arrival date, with a blank page for the stamp. Airlines enforce this at check-in, so a passport that expires in five months means you don't board. Photograph the photo page and keep a copy separate from the original.

Yes — immigration can ask for proof that you'll leave before your permitted stay ends, and airlines often check it before letting you board. A return flight, or a flight, bus or ferry ticket to another country, both work. Keep it on your phone and in email.

Strongly recommended. Phuket has excellent private hospitals, but they bill at private rates and will ask for a card or insurer before treatment. Make sure your policy covers scooter riding if you plan to rent one (many policies exclude it without a motorcycle licence), and water activities like snorkelling and diving.

There are no mandatory vaccinations for entry from most countries. Doctors usually recommend being up to date on routine vaccines and considering hepatitis A, typhoid and — for longer or rural trips — hepatitis B and rabies. Malaria tablets are not recommended for Phuket. See a travel clinic four to six weeks before you fly for advice specific to you.

No. E-cigarettes and vaping liquids are illegal to import, sell or use in Thailand, and tourists are fined or worse for having them. Leave them at home. Cigarettes are legal but heavily taxed; smoking is banned on many beaches, including the main ones in Phuket.

The Thai baht (THB). Notes come in 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000; coins in 1, 2, 5 and 10. Carry small notes — markets, taxis and street vendors often can't change a 1,000. Cards are accepted in hotels, malls and most restaurants, but cash still rules for markets, small eateries and boats.

Thai ATMs add a fee of around 220 baht per withdrawal on foreign cards, on top of whatever your own bank charges. Withdraw larger amounts less often, always choose to be charged in baht (decline the machine's "conversion"), and tell your bank you're travelling.

Bring enough for the first day, then use ATMs or exchange booths in town. Airport exchange rates are the worst on the island; booths in Patong and Phuket Town are competitive and clearly display rates. Bring clean, undamaged notes if exchanging cash — torn or marked bills are refused.

Tipping isn't expected but is appreciated. Round up taxis and leave 20–50 baht for a good massage; in restaurants 10% is generous if no service charge is included (check the bill — many add 10% already). Tour guides and drivers appreciate 100–300 baht for a good day. Nobody tips street-food vendors.

At markets and street stalls, yes — politely and with a smile. Open below the asking price, meet somewhere in the middle, and be willing to walk away. Don't haggle in shops with price tags, restaurants, or over tour prices with a licensed operator; those are fixed.

As a rough guide: a local beer (Singha, Chang, Leo) is 60–100 baht in a convenience store and 100–180 in a bar; a street-food or local-restaurant meal 60–150 baht; a mid-range restaurant main 250–500; a one-hour Thai massage 300–500 baht at a good shop, more at resort spas. Patong beach clubs and hotel bars sit well above all of these.

A plate of pad thai or a grilled chicken skewer and sticky rice, a fresh coconut, a fruit shake, two bottles of water, a songthaew ride between beaches, or a small souvenir at the night market.

At the airport arrivals hall or any 7-Eleven. The two networks are AIS and True (which absorbed dtac); both sell tourist packages with generous data for 8, 15 or 30 days for a few hundred baht. If your phone supports eSIM, you can buy one online before you fly and land connected. Bring your passport — SIMs must be registered.

220 V, 50 Hz. Sockets take the two flat pins of US-style plugs and the two round pins of European plugs; three-pin UK and Australian plugs need an adapter. Most hotels have universal sockets, but pack one adapter anyway.

No — use bottled or filtered water for drinking and brushing teeth. It's cheap and everywhere, and most hotels provide it daily. Many hotels and cafés now have refill stations, so bring a reusable bottle.

Yes. The cylindrical ice with a hole through it is factory-made from purified water and is what every hotel, restaurant and drink stall uses. Crushed or shaved ice is generally for keeping things cold in cool boxes, not for drinks. If you're unsure, order without.

Generally, yes — and it's some of the best food you'll eat. Pick busy stalls with a queue of locals (high turnover means fresh food), eat things cooked hot in front of you, and be more cautious with raw salads and seafood at quiet places. Ironically, the sleepy restaurant with no customers is the riskier choice.

They're around all year and worst in the rainy season. Dengue exists in Phuket, so use repellent with DEET or picaridin (any 7-Eleven sells it), especially at dawn and dusk, and cover up in the evenings. Malaria tablets are not recommended for Phuket.

Usually — but respect the flags. From May to October the west-coast beaches (Karon, Kata, Surin, Nai Harn) get strong rip currents, and a red flag means do not swim. Drownings happen every monsoon season, almost always in red-flag conditions. Swim near lifeguard stations, and ask your hotel about jellyfish if there's been a recent warning.

Rarely for tourists. Snakes live in the hills, rubber plantations and undergrowth, not on beaches or in resorts. If you hike, wear closed shoes and stay on paths; if you see one, give it space. Phuket's hospitals carry antivenom.

Yes, with normal city sense. Patong's nightlife areas are busy and well-lit; petty theft and bar scams are the main risks, not violence. Keep valuables minimal, watch your drink, agree taxi fares first, and use Grab late at night rather than walking dark side streets alone.

The sun is fierce year-round, including on cloudy days. Bring SPF 50 and reapply after swimming. Note that Thailand's national marine parks — including the Similan Islands and parts of Phi Phi — ban sunscreens containing oxybenzone and certain other chemicals, so pack a reef-safe one for island trips.

Phuket has several excellent international-standard private hospitals with English-speaking staff and 24-hour emergency rooms, plus clinics in every beach town for minor issues. Carry your insurance details. Emergency numbers: 1669 ambulance, 1155 Tourist Police (English-speaking), 191 police. If you're travelling with us, our team is a phone call away 24/7.

Island-hopping by speedboat and longtail, catamaran and yacht charters, sunset cruises, snorkelling and diving, city and temple tours including the Big Buddha, adventure days — zip-lines, ATVs, white-water rafting in Phang Nga — ethical elephant sanctuaries, Thai cooking classes, and dinner shows. Everything on this site is bookable online.

Phi Phi for the postcard cliffs and Maya Bay; Phang Nga Bay and James Bond Island for limestone karsts, sea caves and canoeing; the Similan Islands (open roughly mid-October to mid-May) for the best snorkelling and diving in Thailand; Coral Island for an easy half-day close to Phuket; and the Racha Islands for clear water and white sand without the crowds.

Often, yes. Thailand's marine national parks (Similans, Phi Phi's Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi, Phang Nga Bay) charge foreign visitors an entry fee that many tours list as excluded and collect in cash on the day. Check the tour page's inclusions — we spell it out — and carry some cash for it.

Plenty. A Thai cooking class, a spa afternoon, the museums and shophouse cafés of Phuket Old Town, the aquarium and the big malls, Wat Chalong and the Big Buddha between showers, white-water rafting (better in the wet, in fact), and evening cabaret or dinner shows. Rain here usually comes in bursts, so most days still have dry hours.

Yes — tours, transfers, private boats, dinner shows, drivers, and custom multi-day packages, all with one point of contact and one confirmation. See how to book for the step-by-step, or just message us with your dates.