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.
-
Sponsored 9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand
Thailand is a popular destination for expats due to its affordable lifestyle and excellent healthcare system. However, settling in a new country often brings health concerns. To ensure you’re covered for the most common medical needs, understanding what expat health...
-
Public grieves loss of doctor who drowned trying to save tourist in Phuket
Many are grieving the loss of a doctor who drowned while trying to save a tourist from drowning in Phuket. The doctor, 55 year old Surasit Pongaohapan, had rushed to rescue a British tourist from drowning on his honeymoon at Phuket’s Kata Beach. Witnesses say Surasit had been sitting on the beach before he rushed into the water to help.…
-
After drownings, Phuket governor calls to step up safety
In the aftermath of a drowning incident this week, Phuket’s Governor Narong is pushing to increase safety measures. Narong visited Patong Beach for an inspection yesterday (Friday), saying he wished to support the lifeguards working there. Red flags have been posted at the beach, and lifeguards are stationed to closely monitor tourists’ safety, according to the National News Bureau of…
-
Phuket lifeguards save 2 tourists at same beach where another 2 drowned
Lifeguards at Phuket’s Kata Beach saved two foreign tourists from drowning yesterday, the same day that another two people drowned there. The lifeguards rescued a man and a woman around 35 years old. They were choking on water before being taken to the Chalong Hospital in Phuket’s main city district. The tourists have both reportedly recovered in the hospital. They…
-
Honeymooning British man drowns in Phuket, Thailand
A British man on his honeymoon refused to acknowledge a red-flagged no swim zone on the island of Phuket in southern Thailand and it cost him his life. Ali Mohammed Mian drowned only two days into his honeymoon after being swept out to sea when he tried to take a dip in choppy waters at Kata Noi Beach. The 34…
-
Wind plunges trees onto houses in Phuket
Thailand’s stormy season is raging on and causing some inconveniences to the people of Phuket. Earlier this week, strong winds plunged trees and cables onto houses in the island province’s Kamala district. Altogether, 5 different areas of the Kamala district were impacted. One tree fell into the middle of the road, and some trees brought down power poles. A large…
-
Government officials meet with Patong small hotels asking for aid
Many small hotels were crushed by the Covid-19 pandemic, even as things reopened they were forbidden to legally operate. Eighty small hotels in Patong met with the President of the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission to discuss how they had lost their businesses and buildings due to poorly handled Covid regulations. The president, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam,…
-
Dead sea turtle with plastic lodged in its throat washes up on Phuket beach
A dead sea turtle with plastic lodged in its mouth and throat washed up on Mai Khao Beach in Phuket yesterday, July 11. Winai Seh-ew, the village chief of Mai Khao subdistrict in Thalang district, received a call from lifeguards at Mai Khao beach to say a big Hawksbill turtle carcass had washed up on the shore. Upon inspection, the…
-
Four year anniversary of Phuket’s sinking of the ‘Phoenix’ – 46 people drowned
This week commemorated the fourth anniversary of the rescue of the 13 members of the Wild Boar football team from the Tham Luang Caves in Chiang Rai, a story that gripped international audiences. That story had a happy ending. But the ongoing drama in northern Thailand masked a much sadder story, that of the sinking of the tour boat, the…
-
Driver critical after collision involving 5 vehicles in Phuket
A driver is in critical condition after a collision on a road toward Phuket International Airport involving five vehicles. The 26 year old pickup driver now in a critical state, Inyat Kendphet, tried to overtake a taxi on Don Chom Thao Road in Moo 4, Thepkrasattri, but was unable to move back into his own lane in time to avoid…
-
Phuket will have a tsunami drill on July 20 following multiple small tremors offshore
There will be a tsunami evacuation drill in Phuket’s Thalang district on July 20 after a number of underwater earthquakes off the Nicobar Islands, some 500 kilometres away, increased residents’ fears of a possible tsunami. Phuket tsunami 506 kilometres away from Thailand’s Andaman coast, the Andaman and Nicobar islands were continuously hit by 4.0 to 4.9 magnitude underwater earthquakes for three…
-
Army helps repair houses of elderly and disabled in Phuket
The Royal Thai Army has helped repair and renovate the homes of elderly and disabled people in Phuket’s Thalang district. Many elderly and disabled residents in the Mai Khao subdistrict have been hit hard after 2 years of Covid-19 restrictions, and can’t afford to renovate their houses. The subdistrict had received about 20,000 baht per house to support repairs for…
-
Andaman Sea tremors draw attention to the lack of tsunami warning buoys
A series of minor tremors in the regions off Thailand’s Andaman coastline is drawing attention to the lack of operational tsunami buoys in the Andaman Sea. There’s been a number of small earthquakes and tremors near the Nicobar Islands, about 540 kilometres northwest of Phuket in the Andaman Sea. A series of three underwater tremors, between magnitude 4.6 and 5.0…
-
Runway temporarily closed for repair, flights to and from Phuket affected
Last evening Phuket International Airport closed for 2 hours whilst quick repairs were made to the runway. Earlier in the day, small cracks were found on the tarmac causing airport officials to postpone some flights and divert others that were on their way to Phuket. Repairs were made on the runway between 5 – 7pm as repairs were affected by…
-
Look out for Phuket’s Spider-Man ice cream seller
Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can. An ice cream seller in Phuket’s main city district is putting smiles on children’s faces by dressing up as a super hero. But the man, 35 year old Witoon, has a backstory that’s not so cheerful. He once made his living singing at restaurants and venues, but Covid-19 restrictions changed all that. Left…
-
UPDATE: 19 year old Australian falls to his death at a Phuket hotel
UPDATE Phuket Police, Lieutenant Colonel Kokiat Boonplod, today confirmed there was no foul play involved in the death of 19 year old Australian Joshua Cornell. The teenager fell to his death from the 6th floor of a hotel rooftop in Phuket’s Patong Beach. The roof of a restaurant kitchen next door broke his fall. CCTV footage captured Cornell walking on…
-
19 year old Australian falls to his death at a Phuket hotel
A 19 year old Australian, Joshua Connell, died when he fell from the 6th floor of a hotel rooftop in Phuket’s Patong Beach. He landed on the roof of a restaurant kitchen next door and was only wearing shorts.s CCTV video shows that he was balancing on the brick walling and steel railing of the rooftop area before losing his…
-
Phuket welcomes more than 1.7 million travellers so far in 2022
The southern Thai island of Phuket welcomed more than 1.7 million visitors from January to the end of May, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Phuket office. Phuket, the most reliant of Thai provinces for a steady flow of tourists, has suffered over the past 2 years and has relied on the government’s travel stimulus packages to keep some…
-
Thai netizens berate government for wasting public cash on working holidays
Thai netizens have slammed government officials in the central province of Pathum Thani for wasting taxes on a pointless trip to Phang Nga and Phuket. Government officials from the Mueng Tha Khlong District were supposed to be taking part in a working seminar to develop women’s potential in Phang Nga, and Phuket, from June 23 – 26. But the non-profit…
-
Best destinations for a low-season yacht charter in Phuket 2022
Fancy a sailing vacation in Phuket that won’t break the bank? Chartering a yacht in Phuket during the low season is the perfect answer. The low season in Phuket runs from May to October. While it is technically the rainy season, booking a yacht charter in Phuket during these months doesn’t mean compromising your experience. In fact, lots of savvy…
-
Majority of international travel to Phuket is from India
The majority of international visitors to Phuket since the beginning of 2022 came from India, but half of the hotels on the island remain closed as they wait for the high season to begin. Even if the number of arrivals doubled by the end of the year, Phuket’s tourist numbers are still falling well short of pre-Covid levels. Between May…
-
Motorbike engulfed in flames on Patong Hill, driver left uninjured
A motorbike driving down Patong Hill on Phuket’s west coast was engulfed in flames last night, as shown in a photo of the incident. Not only did the driver survive, but he was left without any injuries. The man, 54 year old food seller Niphon Mengeaid, told The Phuket Express about his close call… “I was driving down Patong hill…
-
Phuket officials say local Sunday market rakes in 2 million baht a week
Phuket officials say that a weekly market in the island province’s main city district has raked in at least 2 million baht a week this month. A local leader said the famous “Lard Yai” Phuket Street Sunday Market has seen a jump in tourists visiting it every week, now that Thailand is slowly winding its tourism industry up again. The…
-
Phuket public health office says smoking cannabis is legal, but…
Phuket’s Provincial Public Health Office today made a statement to clear up confusion surrounding new cannabis laws. Smoking cannabis is legal, so long as the smoke does not disturb anyone, according to the chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office Dr. Kusak Kukiatkul. Cannabis smoke is considered a “public nuisance” in Thailand, and smoking the plant in public places is…
-
After noise complaints, Phuket venues accused of breaking Covid-19 rules
What began as noise complaints turned into a conflict over Covid-19 restriction violations in Phuket this week. Phuket police arrested 2 night venue operators earlier this week following complaints of loud noise after the midnight closing time. Both managers allegedly violated the curfew and Covid-19 restrictions, and one allegedly also violated entertainment employment laws for entertainment venues. Their venues are…
-
Upcoming Phuket construction project to be completed next year
A huge construction project starting next month in Phuket is expected to be completed in April 2023. Officials have allocated over 59 million baht to the underground construction project in the island province’s main city district. Photos from The Phuket Express show a blue arrow pointing to spots where underground cables with low voltage will go, while a red arrow…
-
Phuket homeowner checks CCTV to find foreign couple canoodling outside house
A Thai woman away in Germany was lost for words on Tuesday when she checked her Phuket home’s CCTV camera footage to see a foreign couple – a man and woman – having sex in front of her house. Homeowner Waralak Frisch often resides in Germany with her husband, so she installed security cameras to check on the safety of…
-
Missing man rescued after night alone in middle of Phang Nga Bay off Phuket
A man who went missing in the middle of the ocean in Phang Nga Bay off Phuket on Tuesday has been rescued. The man, Panit, had taken off on his jet-ski in the afternoon from a pier in Koh Si Ray, a town near Phuket’s main city district. But the jet-ski ran out of fuel once he neared Phang Nga’s…
-
Patong man talked out of jumping from hotel
A Patong man was talked out of jumping from the 4h floor of a hotel yesterday. The unnamed man had been arguing with his 2 girlfriends, who he was in an open relationship with. The women knew about each other, and the open relationship had previously worked for them. But recently, the relationship had been on the rocks. The man,…
-
Phuket Zoo to close down following Covid-19 economic destruction
Phuket Zoo is the latest casualty of Covid-19 restrictions’ devastation on the island province’s tourism economy. The zoo is closing down, and all its animals have been sent to new homes, according to the owner. The zoo’s owner and operator, 42 year old Suriya Tanthaweewong, told The Phuket News this week that the zoo started to close when the pandemic broke…
-
‘Phuket Durian Fair’ promotes Thailand’s popular fruit for tourism
Hold your nose. Agriculture officials in Phuket have opened the ‘Phuket Durian Fair’ this week, seeking to promote the famous Thai fruit to bring income to local farmers. The Phuket Provincial Agriculture Office held the opening event in front of its offices on Narisorn Road in the island province’s main city district. The late Anthony Bourdain once said of the…
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.