Phuket News

Phuket news, politics, business, tourism, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s top island destination. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Phuket news source.

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  • Join Phuket’s grumpy men on their rally for a cause

    Join Phuket’s grumpy men on their rally for a cause

    PHUKET: The Phuket GOMS (Grumpy Old Men’s Society) will stage their inaugural Car Rally-Treasure Hunt this Sunday, and there’s still time to get involved. GOMS consists of over 130, presumably grumpy expat and Thai members who get together twice a month to meet, discuss issues which grind their gears and think of ways to raise money for local charities. There…

  • Dead leatherback sea turtle discovered in Phuket

    Dead leatherback sea turtle discovered in Phuket

    PHUKET: Experts believe a 200kg leatherback sea turtle found floating in the shallows of Klong Tha Cheen in Phuket yesterday afternoon died after becoming entangled in a fishing net. The death comes amid what one expert has described as a “crisis” for the endangered species. The body of the turtle, estimated at between 15 and 25 years old, was discovered…

  • Phuket delegates ready for “amazing’ German tour

    Phuket delegates ready for “amazing’ German tour

    PHUKET: The Phuket delegation to next week’s ITB Berlin 2011 travel trade show will comprise 60 members, all on a mission to draw ever more tourists to the island under the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT’s) newest slogan: “Amazing Thailand Always Amazes You”. Among those representing Phuket at the event will be Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and his wife Nalinee,…

  • Russia extends invitation to Phuket

    Russia extends invitation to Phuket

    PHUKET: The first vice mayor of Nakhodka, Phuket’s Russian “twin town”, invited local officials yesterday to visit the far-eastern port city. Mayor Boris Gladkikh extended the invitation to Phuket Vice Governor Nivit Aroonrat during a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall to discuss building closer relations between the two cities. Nakhodka, on the Sea of Japan near Vladivostok, has been Phuket’s…

  • BREAKING NEWS: FC Phuket awarded league points after protest

    BREAKING NEWS: FC Phuket awarded league points after protest

    PHUKET: FC Phuket were today handed all three points from Saturday’s Thai League Division 1 encounter against Rajpracha FC after they successfully lodged a complaint against Rajpracha for using too many foreign players during the game. Although the game ended in a 1-1 draw at Surakul Stadium, FC Phuket later sent documentation to the Thai Premier League providing evidence that…

  • Tourist dies in jet-ski accident off Phuket

    Tourist dies in jet-ski accident off Phuket

    PHUKET: Rescue workers have recovered the body of a young man who died in an apparent jet-ski accident off Phuket over the weekend. Lt Col Jessada Saengsuree identified the victim as 20-year-old Pakpien Nunnoi, a native of Si Sa Ket Province. Mr Pakpien was on an extended family holiday, staying with his elder sister on Koh Rang, off the east…

  • Developing Phuket: Calls for yet another major public hospital

    Developing Phuket: Calls for yet another major public hospital

    PHUKET: Phuket MP Tossaporn Thepabutr last week proposed to Governor Tri Augkaradacha that another government hospital be built in the island resort province. Instead of smaller branches or satellite clinics of major government hospitals being built to serve local people, Mr Tossaporn proposed a wholly-new, high-end facility to attract health practitioners who are specialists in their field. Vachira Phuket Hospital,…

  • Poll: Do Burmese in Phuket enjoy basic human rights?

    Poll: Do Burmese in Phuket enjoy basic human rights?

    PHUKET: A senate committee meeting in Phuket last year was told the number of migrant workers from Burma living in Phuket, both legally and illegally, could be as high as 200,000. The sight of trucks packed with these workers is common in Phuket, as are the proliferation of zinc-roofed shanties of Burmese workers’ camps that can be found at construction…

  • Greater Phuket: Shock TAT report on stinking beach

    Greater Phuket: Shock TAT report on stinking beach

    PHUKET: Despite regulations of the local village government stipulating that garbage not be placed out for collection before 8pm, trash continues to be dumped on Krabi’s Ao Nang Beach in broad daylight. Tourists say they don’t like it. The stink and the unsightly mess are a source of harsh complaints not only from tourists, but also from local residents. The…

  • Phuket lucky license plate auction raises more than Bt23mn

    Phuket lucky license plate auction raises more than Bt23mn

    PHUKET: The sixth annual “Lucky License Plate Auction” held in Phuket Town over the weekend raised 23,504,500 baht, Kanok Siripanichkorn, chief of the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO), has told the Phuket Gazette. “I am very happy with the revenue raised – it’s five million baht more than last year,” he said. All 301 plates up for auction were sold,…

Phuket is a province in the south of Thailand. Phuket's beaches face the Andaman Sea allowing the west coast beaches fantastic sunsets right throughout the year. If you're looking for news in Phuket, go to thethaiger.com/phuket Or follow our instant news in our Facebook pages.

The good news is that Phuket is famous for its foodie scene with an enormously diverse range of local and international foods - Phuket and southern favorites, street food along with international choices catering for the 12 million visitors to the island each year. Thaiger follows Phuket news and information 24 hours a day with regular updates.

Phuket is only 'just' an island with a 300 metre bridge linking it to Thailand's mainland. We're always reporting in the news that the channel beneath is frequently dredged to maintain Phuket's status as an island. On the other side of Sarasin Bridge is the Province of Phang Nga.

Getting to Phuket is easy as the island has land, air and sea connections. Phuket is also used as a take-off point for local island trips as Thailand's largest island is surrounded by over 30 pristine islands. Koh Phi Phi and the famous Maya Bay are always in the news and would be the best known of the island's just off Phuket's shores.

Phuket is an island and a province. It's the largest island in Thailand – 48 km north to south, 21 km east to west.

It's about 20% smaller, in area, than Singapore but much less densely populated. Whilst the island nation of Singapore boasts a population of nearly 6 million, Phuket has a permanent population of around 400-450,000 (but varies a lot with the influx of tourists and a workforce that is always changing). Most of Phuket remains jungle and tropical rainforest despite an acceleration of development over the past 20 years.

Unlike some of Thailand's other popular islands (that are in the Gulf of Thailand), the news is that Phuket is located in the Andaman Sea.

Phuket is 878 km north of the equator.

Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.