Phuket

Phuket: A Place of Many Personalities
Phuket is one of those places where your experience heavily depends on where you stay. Each part of the island has its own distinct personality, making it feel like multiple destinations in one.

Phuket Town, with its Sino-Portuguese architecture, gives off a European vibe, while the island’s west side boasts incredible beaches. If you're after luxury, Bang Tao is the spot. If you want to avoid the tourist chaos of Patong but still have an upscale experience, Surin is a great alternative. For jaw-dropping sunsets, head to Kata—some evenings, the sky turns a surreal shade of pink.

Patong is the island’s wild side—chaotic, packed with nightlife, and home to both "freelancers" and people looking to scam tourists. If you're around Bangla Road, keep your wits about you, especially when approached by strangers. That said, seeing a Muay Thai fight in Bangla is a must.

On the fitness side, Phuket is world-class. I trained near Soi-Tai Ed, which has an amazing Muay Thai and fitness community. If you’re serious about training, few places in the world match Phuket’s dedication to fitness. The lifestyle here makes it incredibly easy to stay in peak shape, and the people you meet—whether fighters or fitness enthusiasts—are next level.

Renting a scooter is cheap (around $7 a day), with the best rates in Phuket Town. But be careful—if you don’t have an international driver’s license, the cops in Patong and other busy areas run checkpoint scams, pulling over tourists for a quick 1,000 Baht fine. Always inspect your scooter for damage before renting and take pictures to avoid rental disputes.

Food-wise, if you explore local spots, you’ll find some of the best Pad Kra Pao of your life. And for massages, even in Bang Tao, you can get a great one for just 300 Baht ($10/hour).

Phuket is the kind of place that can change your lifestyle fast if you immerse yourself in the right communities. Be open to it, and you’ll feel like you’re living in a movie.

It's been a while since I've been more eager to leave somewhere than I have with Phuket. The only reason I didn't leave earlier is that I planned to meet someone else here in advance, otherwise I would have gleefully abandoned my reservation much earlier.

I'm in Bang Tao now. It's good, but I'm only really here because it's one of the better options in Asia during the burning season. If not for pollution, I would rather be in Bangkok over here.

Lived in Phuket for a year now. Amazing place, especially the Bang Tao area. The further you go up north, the more beautiful it gets. Amazing beaches, beach clubs, restaurants and people. Patong is nice for a few days, but if you're not into partying just stay away. A lot of police check on the roads around Patong (and accidents), so always bring your international license.

You can make it as expensive (or cheap) as you want, if you eat local like I do a meal is around 60 - 120 baht. Stay away from hostels and meet like minded people in the gym, more luxurious beach clubs and events. Stay away from hostels and cheap guests only coming to party and use drugs. Use common sense.

Great place for active people, lots of good gyms, muay thai camps and other ways to work on your health.

I stayed here for just a few days visiting with my GF. I came during the peak of the tourist season (winter), and while it was still amazing, some of the post popular spots (Phi Phi Islands) were very very crowded. I managed to find an excellent hotel/dedicated expat accommodation called HOMA; the location wasn't the best in Phuket, but Phuket is a small island, so no location is really bad—and it more than made up for it in all it had to offer.

That said, I saw everything I wanted to see, so I don't see myself coming back for awhile. And maybe this is a nitpick, but there are a lot of sketchy tourists here, and I don't really like the vibe of being associated with that. There other places in Thailand with amazing beaches that don't have these cons. Still, visit Phuket at least once.

I've been in Phuket for about a month now. Most of that time I've spent in Ka Ron and Kata beach area, but also have been to Chalong, Pa Tong, Rawai, and Kathu.

Karon and Kata beaches are my favorite. Beaches are beautiful, especially Karon. Overall most everything is reasonably priced, but not the bargain I was told it is. I eventually found a hotel I like, where I pay 12-13 euro per night (below 500 baht atm) and that is by far the lowest I found for the quality I expect. Considering the location (close to the beach), internet connectivity, room size, quality of amenities, and the staff, it is a very good deal. However, most hotels I have been to were just lacking. It's hard to find one that has a desk suitable for work in the room. Internet is a hit or miss at best. You would think with fiberoptic cables on each pole every place would have amazing internet, but it's not that simple. Hotels being hotels, sometimes you have to go through bullshit complimentary wifi logins, which expire at random times etc. I am not the coffee shop nomad type, but even that seems to not quite work in the areas I visited - I've seen some coffee places, but they are quite empty. It's off season still, I am being told. Come October, we shall see.

Another poster mentioned that the vibe is "not there yet". I think it's fair to say the vibe is "no longer here". Most everything strikes me as old and barely maintained. The vast majority of hotels, restaurants, and coffee places I have either visited or considered reek of late 90s/early 2000s at best. A dangerous combination considering how humid it can get here.

Touts are very annoying and some of them are either desperate or simply stupid. Some of them I pass 3-4 times a day, they definitely remember me and they will still yell at me "TUK TUK!" or "CUSTOM MADE SUIT!". At one point I got so annoyed that I asked the guy if he is going to ask me about the damn suit every single time he sees me and he used that as an opportunity to offer it to me again. It's even more annoying with "massage parlours" (i.e. brothels), especially if you are a man. I guess you just have to learn to treat them like air. I find it hard, because when somebody greets me or waves at me it is natural for me to wave back or respond and that's all they need to feel invited to sell harder.

Another poster mentioned prostitution. Yes, it's here and it's hard to miss. You may want to not notice it, but it sure as hell will notice you. In general, the more party oriented the place, the more "freelancers" are around. Pa Tong was very bad in this regard. I would strongly advise against going there unless you have a particular business to attend to, e.g. extending your visa. Most massage parlours are simply brothels, but not all. I think it's quite easy to tell the difference. For one, workers at a genuine massage parlour will not be overly exposing themselves. Some will add "no sex" on their banners. In general, the more professional the place looks the higher the chance it's not a brothel. Of course, nobody will force you to get a happy ending, you can get just the massage, but if it's at a brothel the quality of service will be low since it's not really what they are there to sell.

But enough of complaining. Let's mention the good bits.

The food is great, easily accessible, and cheap. Not as cheap as street food in the normie-local parts of Bangkok (everything is touristy here), but still very cheap compared to anywhere in Europe or the US. In general, I find that the more crude and local the place looks, the cheaper and better the food is. Even better, a local grill stall that opens up very early and closes shortly after 1PM - clearly there to feed locals going to work in the morning. The worst meals I had were served in "food and live music" places clearly catering to tourists and those were severely overpriced too (still cheap compared to Europe, but apples to apples...)

People are very nice, carefree, smiling, welcoming, and chatty. Of course they don't have the easiest of lives, but they seem not to excessively worry about it. I like Thais, they are very warm and kind (unless they drive tuk tuks or sell custom made suits, though some of the latter seem to be Indians). I smile at them and they always smile back, something that's not so common in some parts of the world. It's quite amazing how much can be discussed with gestures, pointing at things, and smiling. Don't expect English proficiency anywhere on the island, with rare exceptions and those do come with heavy accent too. I mention it because some people, like me, may find the accent very hard to understand.

It's clean. There is no litter on the streets or beaches. I did see some plastic bags/cups/other items in the ocean, but it's been infrequent and it doesn't accumulate on the shore. It is clear there is an effort to keep the place clean. Coming from a very clean country, I appreciate that a lot and it makes me respect the locals even more. I don't think this is specific to Phuket. I had the same impression in Bangkok. Considering the climate and population density, things could have been so much worse and yet they aren't.

Overall, I am glad I came here and I may stay a little longer. Will probably come back. I can see myself visiting regularly, but not sure if I could live here. At the end of the day, English proficiency is way too low and I am not convinced I have enough motivation to learn Thai.

Amazing, large and accessible beaches. But the vibe is not there yet. It still feels like an "old" vacation place: tons of families, retirees, couples and sex tourists. The hip, young crowd you can find in Canggu for example is not there yet. There is only one decent coworking spot, not a lot of specialty cofee places. Most DNs stay in Rawai, which is OK - just a long street in a non-swimming beach. If you live there you will have to drive 15mins to go to the beach (Nai Han, Kata, etc). The infrastructure & setup is not there yet for DNs. It has super nice beaches, it's easy to drive a scooter, not a lot of traffic. It's the perfect place for a vacation, but really lacking the vibe other DN hotspots have.

Amazing Phuket, warm sunny and lots to do! Getting there was a bunch of red tape and covid checks but we’ll worth the short trip!

Living in Bangkok since 2015, I refused to go to Phuket longer than I could. I strongly believed in rumors that Phuket was all about prostitution and dirty beaches... oh, how I was wrong! Phuket is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I’d say you can find the same conveniences you’re used in Bangkok, but with a beach - actually many of them, ofter pristine and desert if you rent a motorbike and explore by yourself. Forget about Patong and go to Karon, Surin, Kattatani, Paradise and Freedom Beach instead... you’ll be amused with such a beautiful places! There’re good and cheap food, markets, malls, cafes and everything that can helps a digital nomad.

Super slimy vibe and good luck trying to meet anyone on a dating app who isn't a bar girl / working for $$$ / trying to scam you out of something. If you like Las Vegas you might like it here, but there are better places imho.

ATM take out is 20,000 baht

If you are looking to retire here:
Life can be cheap once you get past the initial euphoric stage where, you eat in expensive restaurants that cater to foreigners. Watch where the locals eat and you can really eat rice & “gab kao” (any soup, stew or curry you decide to pour over it) for USD 1.50-2. A small bottled water 30 cents.
(To put it into perspective minimum wage here is EUR10/day for locals, 2-3 people usually share a room which cost THEM €135/mo. You can do the math.) Unofficially there is double pricing going on toward foreigners (foreigners pay more).
Beware of Mosquitos, Dengue is serious.
Sweating can bring it’s unexpected problems. We are naturally covered in yeast which can be caused to accelerate growth in hot humid climates and especially during Monsoon season, you may find yourself subject to Yeast infections and skin Eczema’s, especially if you are overweight and insist on maintaining a bread (Yeast) based diet.
Side walks are rare so, if you plan on getting exercise through walking, you will have to drive (transit) to places suitable for safe walking. Jungle walks are nice but with their own natural hazards.
Biking, relatively dangerous, unless you go to a track.
Automobile drivers practice “instinctive driving” and are ignorant of many rules. There is little consideration for pedestrians or bicycle riders.
Properly organized public transportation has begun recently; the oldest form for locals was the Songteaw (an covered open sided, converyed truck with 3 long benches) however, the scheduling is unreliable.
Snakes, lizards, spiders and ants are common.
The common green garden snake is innocuous however, the mildly venomous, gliding Golden Tree Snake and Cobras are often sighted. Red ants with painful bites are ever present
If you intend to build or buy a house, look for as little wood as possible, Termites love a nice wooden door or frame.
Phuket is mainly Buddhist & Muslim so, if you want to attend Christan services you will have to transit to them as there are few places here (only 2 or 3 that I have heard of).
Pets: plenty of strays (cats & dogs) you can take in or adopt but, please don’t have a pet if you plan on moving away and abandoning it.
Tap water cannot be consumed.
Phuket is a great home base if you plan on exploring the “oriental” side of the globe.
Work is hard to find unless you start your own business which, comes with plenty of it’s own hassles - you will ALWAYS need a Thai intermediary, the system is not transparent and ALL the paperwork is in (bureaucratic) Thai.
Please do not try to work locally if you do not have the right visa to do it, the trouble is not pretty. Retired tradesmen often innocently/inadvertently fall into the trap of doing small jobs illegally. If you get paid (money) for your activity, you ARE working. If you are not a repeat offender, you will get off with a salty fine. (Not nice if you are living on a budget).
Finally, just let me say, HAVE A HOBBY, have a plan if you tetire here and stick to it. Create/find your routine and find your spaces, this will take about 2 years.
Don’t get “distracted”! .... or you may find yourself going back to your native country to escape or live off welfare .... or the parents.
Get to know people (locals & expats) well before you share personal details, i.e. be guarded.

Good luck!🍀

If you are looking to retire here:
Life can cheap once you get past the initial euphoric stage where, you eat in expensive restaurants that cater to foreigners. Watch where the locals eat and you can really eat rice & “gab kao” (any soup, stew or curry you decide to pour over it) for USD 1.50-2. A small bottled water 30 cents.
Beware of Mosquitos, Dengue is serious. Sweating can bring it’s unexpected problems. We are naturally covered in yeast which can be caused to accelerate growth in hot humid climates and especially during Monsoon season, you may find yourself subject to Yeast infections and skin Eczema’s, especially if you are overweight and insist on maintaining a bread (Yeast) based diet.
Side walks are rare so, if you plan on getting exercise through walking, you will have to drive to places suitable for safe walking. Jungle walks are nice but with their own natural hazards.
Biking, relatively dangerous, unless you go to a track.
Automobile drivers practice “instinctive driving” and are ignorant of many rules. There is little consideration for pedestrians or bicycle riders.
Snakes, lizards, spiders and ants are common. The common green garden snake is innocuous however, the mildly venomous, gliding Golden Tree Snake and Cobras are often sighted. Red ants with painful bites are ever present.
If you Intend to build or buy a house, look for as little wood as possible, Termites are ever present.
Phuket is mainly Buddhist & Muslim so, if you want to attend Christan services you will have to transit to them as there are few places here.
Pets: plenty of strays (cats & dogs) you can take in or adopt but, please don’t have a pet if you plan on moving away and abandoning it.
Tap water cannot be consumed.
Phuket is a breat home base if you plan on exploring the “oriental” side of the globe.
Work is hard to find unless you start your own business which, comes with plenty of it’s own hassles - you will ALWAYS need a Thai intermediary, the system is not transparent and ALL the paperwork is in Thai.
Please do not try to work locally if you do not have the right visa to do it, the trouble is not pretty. Retired tradesmen often innocently/inadvertently fall into the trap of doing small jobs illegally. If you get paid (money) for your activity, you ARE working. If you are not a repeat offender, you will get off with a salty fine. (Not nice if you are living on a budget).
Finally, just let me say, HAVE A HOBBY, have a plan if you tetire here and stick to it. Create/find your routine and find your spaces, this will take about 2 years.
Don’t get “distracted”! .... or you may find yourself going back to your native country to escape or live off welfare .... or the parents.
Get to know people (locals & expats) well before you share personal details, i.e. be guarded.

Good luck!🍀

Some of the costs are accurate and some seem a little high to me as an expat. I live on the interior of the island, Kathu. We are 5 miles from beaches on either side of the island. Weather is amazing all year - between 75-85 degrees. So far monsoon season is not as bad as I expected. Traffic is really bad. I have not had an accident but the hazards are there. That may be the biggest downside. Your money speaks loudly here. I have a nice route I do on my bicycle for exercise which is shady and hilly with wide shoulders. There is a nice reservoir where people socialize and exercise.

With beaches easily accessible from anywhere on the island and the most notorious Muay Thai training camps in Thailand, Phuket is the ideal place for the digital nomad who is serious about exercise or beach life. Learn to dive, work out, windsurf, run up Big Buddha’s hill and work at co-working spaces that boast fast internet, Phuket has it all for a very affordable cost of living.