Staying in Phuket Town: the Old Town, local food and good-value hotels

Who should stay in Phuket Town?

Phuket Town suits travellers interested in culture, architecture and food, budget travellers and backpackers, visitors on business, and anyone who wants to see the everyday life of the island. It is also a practical base for trips to Phang Nga Bay and Phi Phi, as Rassada Pier is close by, and for buses to the mainland.

The trade-off is that there is no beach: the nearest beaches are about 20 to 30 minutes away by car, and Patong about 30 minutes over the hill. In the evening the Old Town is calm, with cafés and bars rather than nightlife.

Hotels, hostels and apartments in Phuket Town

The 235 properties listed in this area are mostly hotels, followed by apartments, hostels, guest houses, aparthotels and a few resorts. Boutique hotels and hostels occupy restored shophouses in the Old Town, mid-range and business hotels stand along the main roads of the modern city, and apartments are spread around the residential districts. Guest ratings are good, with a median of about 8.3 out of 10 on this site.

Phuket Town is the best-value area on the island: according to 2026 market reports, economy and midscale hotels make up much of the accommodation in the Old Town, and upscale hotels in the central-east area averaged about 5,300 baht a night in the first half of 2026, the lowest of the main areas of Phuket. Hostels and guest houses offer the cheapest beds on the island.

What is there to do in Phuket Town?

The Old Town is best explored on foot. Thalang Road, Dibuk Road, Krabi Road and the narrow, colourful Soi Rommanee have the finest shophouses, with cafés, galleries and shops in the old arcades. The Thai Hua Museum, in a former Chinese school on Krabi Road, tells the story of the island's Chinese community and tin mining (200 baht for foreign visitors, 09:00 to 17:00), and Chinese shrines such as Jui Tui Shrine are open to visitors.

On Sunday evenings, from about 16:00 to 22:00, Thalang Road becomes the Sunday Walking Street (Lard Yai), with street food, crafts and music. Rang Hill, a short drive from the centre, has a viewpoint over the town and the bay, and Saphan Hin, a park on the sea, is busy with joggers and families in the evening. Chillva Market and the other night markets of the town are popular with young locals.

In Kathu, inland, the Kathu Waterfall and the Phuket Mining Museum are short drives away, and the beaches of Patong are just over the hill.

How do you get to Phuket Town?

From Phuket International Airport, about 33 km to the north, the ride takes about 45 minutes by car; airport taxis cost about 650 to 790 baht, including the airport surcharge. The orange Airport Bus runs hourly to Phuket Town for 100 baht, from about 08:30 to 20:30 from the airport, and takes 60 to 90 minutes.

Phuket Bus Terminal 2 has buses to Bangkok and the mainland. A bus line connects Phuket Town with Patong, and a small free tourist bus, the Dragon Line, circles the Old Town; songthaews, the open-sided local buses, run from the town to several beaches. Rassada Pier, for ferries to Phi Phi, is a short drive from the centre.

When is Phuket Town at its best?

The dry season, from about November to April, is the most pleasant time for walking around the Old Town; March and April are hot, with daytime highs of about 33 to 34 °C. In the rainy season, from about May to October, showers are frequent but short, and the museums and cafés make Phuket Town a good place for a rainy day.

The town is at its most spectacular during the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, in the ninth lunar month; in 2026 it runs from 9 to 18 October, with processions, firecrackers and vegetarian food stalls around the Chinese shrines. Chinese New Year, in January or February, is also celebrated with lanterns and events in the Old Town.

What is daily life like in Phuket Town?

Phuket Town is where the island lives and works. Mornings start early in the fresh markets and the breakfast shops, which serve dim sum, rice noodles with curry and strong local coffee. During the day, the streets are busy with office workers, students, shoppers and deliveries, and the shophouses mix old family businesses with new cafés and galleries.

In the late afternoon, families and joggers head to Saphan Hin and Rang Hill, and in the evening the night markets, street food stalls and small bars fill up. The town has a large Chinese-Thai community, with shrines and clan houses, as well as Buddhist temples, mosques and churches, and its festivals follow the Chinese calendar as much as the Thai one.

For travellers, Phuket Town is the cultural and culinary heart of the island, a good-value base with a strong local character.

Where to eat in Phuket Town?

Phuket Town is the best place on the island to taste local food, and the reason why Phuket became a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in 2015. Specialities include mee hokkien (yellow noodles with seafood and pork), moo hong (braised pork belly), oh tao (oyster omelette with taro), dim sum for breakfast and khanom jeen, rice noodles served with curries and fresh vegetables.

The Old Town has historic restaurants and noodle shops, modern cafés in restored shophouses and the street food of the Sunday Walking Street, and the fresh markets serve cheap breakfasts from early morning. Prices are lower than in the beach resorts.