Phuket News

Discover the latest news and updates from Thailand’s most famous and beautiful island, The Thaiger’s hometown, having previously operated as the Phuket Gazette.

Our team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from Phuket, covering everything from local politics and business to lifestyle and tourism. Learn about the island’s stunning beaches, vibrant nightlife, and thriving expat community, as well as keeping updated on events, and attractions.

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  • Patong Police bust Frenchman for hit-and-run that seriously injured woman

    Patong police busted a Frenchman for a hit and run after a Thai pedestrian was seriously injured last week. The culprit, Naji Sami Bouakkz, hit a woman, 54 year old Maliwan Sarnrat, with his motorbike on Friday, February 10. The incident happened on Soi Sai Namyen. Bouakkz did not stop his motorbike after hitting Maliwan. Officers and rescuers rushed Maliwan…

  • Phuket health spa slams travel agency for ripping off foreigners

    A Phuket health spa announced that it will no longer accept reservations from travel agencies after one agency ripped off its foreign customers. The decision was made after the agency in question overcharged foreign customers, causing them to file complaints about the high prices of the spa services. Phumontra Cafe & Massage is one of the most popular spa spots in Phuket…

  • Mosquito bite in Thailand causes Dutchman to lose both legs

    A Dutchman living in Nakhon Rathasima in Thailand is on a mission to spread awareness about “flesh-eating bacteria” (necrotising fasciitis) after a mosquito bite led to the amputation of his left leg and lower right leg. Long-term expat, 62 year old Ed Olieslagers from the Netherlands, went to the hospital in April last year after a mosquito bite became inflamed and…

  • Festival coming up at Sarasin Bridge in Phuket and Phang Nga

    A festival is coming up at Sarasin Bridge, which connects Thailand’s island province of Phuket with Phang Nga province. This will be the 13th time the festival, called the ‘Baan Phi Muang Nong’ project, has been held. The festival will start on Friday, February 17, and last until Sunday, February 19. The festival will dazzle attendees with fireworks shows, live…

  • Canadian placed on ‘watchlist’ over Thai girlfriend’s death in Phuket

    UPDATE Deputy national police chief Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn said the Canadian man whose girlfriend was found hanged in Phuket, southern Thailand, last week has been placed on a “watchlist” and will be investigated. The deceased, 31 year old Wanvisa Riewklang, reported her boyfriend, 51 year old “Landy” to the police for alleged assault just days before her death. Wanvisa’s…

  • Phuket taxi busted gambling online while driving

    In a tough economy, it’s not unusual for people to work two jobs to make ends meet, sometimes even overlapping and working both at the same time. But a van driver in Phuket learned that the two jobs that don’t mix are driving a taxi while gambling online. The Phuket van driver received a 2,000 baht fine and had his…

  • Earthquake hits Phang Nga

    Although Thailand doesn’t experience catastrophic earthquakes like those that have hit Turkey and Syria, there are occasional tremours in the region. Yesterday afternoon, the southern province of Phang Nga was rocked by a 3.7 magnitude earthquake, following two others around the country in the wee hours. The earthquake shook the Thana subdistrict in Kapong district, Phang Nga province. The trembler was…

  • Conflicting reports emerge on Canadian man reportedly mugged in Patong

    UPDATE Conflicting reports are emerging on the Canadian man who was allegedly mugged in Patong on Friday night. Earlier, Phuket Tourist Police said that the man, 28 year old William Lamarche Saint Louis, told them that five men violently mugged him near Patong Beach. Saint Louis said he had been drinking at a bar before going for a walk at…

  • Phuket police can’t catch foreigner stealing tourists’ credit cards for shopping sprees

    A foreign man has made a habit of stealing credit cards from tourists in Phuket, southern Thailand, to go on expensive shopping sprees. He has managed to avoid arrest so far. The same foreign man of unknown nationality is pickpocketing tourists in the Patong area of Phuket and using fake passports to make purchases of expensive items in bulk like…

  • Phuket officials warn tourists to beware of jellyfish

    Phuket officials are warning tourists to beware of potentially dangerous jellyfish while enjoying the island’s beaches. The warning issued today comes after more than 30 visitors reported being stung by jellyfish at Kata Beach last week, with most experiencing mild symptoms. In response to this, signs have been placed at over 20 popular tourist destinations around Phuket, including Patong, Nai…

  • Phuket rescuers bring French tourists lost in forest to safety

    Phuket rescuers brought two French tourists lost in a forest to safety between last night and this morning. The tourists, a man identified only as Victor, and his girlfriend, had arrived in Phuket earlier yesterday and decided to go for a walk on a local beach. The couple followed a trail up the Nai Thon mountain but found themselves lost and…

  • Thai man accuses Canadian man of murdering his sister in Phuket

    A Thai man accuses a Canadian man of murdering his younger sister who was found hanged in a nail salon in Phuket, southern Thailand, last week. He says the Canadian assaulted, held hostage, drugged, and blackmailed his sister just days before her death. She reported him to the police three days prior to being found dead. The Canadian allegedly offered…

  • Blaze severely damages Phuket luxury villa

    A massive blaze severely damaged a luxury villa in the Cherng Talay neighbourhood of Phuket‘s Thalang district on Saturday morning. Four fire trucks were deployed to the scene to find the fire rapidly spreading. It took firefighters around two hours to fully put out the flames at the villa on Soi Pasak 1. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. However, several…

  • PLTO meets with taxis from outside Phuket over crackdown

    The Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) and the Phuket Provincial Police have recently held discussions with a group of taxi drivers and tour operators from outside of Phuket who have been banned from working on the island. The talks were focused on finding a solution to the continual problem of green plate taxi operators facing difficulties, including arrests and bans…

  • Russian arrested acting illegally as tour guide

    In Thailand, many jobs are earmarked as being only for Thai people. Even if a foreigner or expat had a business visa and a work permit, they are barred from certain fields. But in Phuket this week, a Russian man was arrested working as a tour guide which is forbidden for foreigners without any visas or permits. Pavel Maslennikov, a…

  • French Consul meet Patong Police over motorbike incident

    The Head of the French Consulate in Phuket met with Patong Police and Phuket Tourist Police to address the issue of French motorbike racers causing a public nuisance. The meeting on Friday was prompted by the recent arrest of 20 French racers who were caught breaking traffic laws in Patong. This incident and footage of their reckless behaviour caused a…

  • Graffitist spray paints anti-Putin slogan in Phuket

    A graffitist spray painted an anti-Putin slogan on a large rock on a Phuket beach. The Phuket News reported that the slogan criticising Russia’s president on the rock at Nai Thon Beach was first spotted by a foreigner yesterday morning. Lifeguards confirmed that the graffiti had not been on the rock at 7pm the night before it was found. Lifeguard…

  • Phuket gunman with mental health illness commits suicide

    The gunman who shot two passengers on a Phuket-Phattalung minibus this morning left a suicide note before taking his own life inside the vehicle. Reports indicate that the gunman was a former soldier with a mental health issue. The gunman was identified as a 30 year old former conscript soldier Nawin. He was reported to have a mental illness, but…

  • Suspected Jimi Sandhu hitman in Canadian jail wants to face trial in Thailand

    A Canadian man accused of being a hitman in the murder of Indian gangster Jimi Sandhu in Phuket last year said he wants to face trial in Thailand despite having to potentially face the death penalty. Canadian Forces veteran Matthew Dupre is one suspect accused of murdering Sandu in February last year on behalf of a Canadian-based gang. Sandu did not…

  • Police catch Kazakhstani overstayer with fake passport stamps in Phuket

    Immigration police caught a Kazakhstani overstayer with fake passport stamps at Phuket International Airport. The woman was identified as 27 year old Xeniya Kopeikina. An officer stated that authorities are now charging Kopeikina for using counterfeit documents, as well as overstaying her visa in the country for 89 days, The Phuket Express reported. Kopeikina was arrested and will be facing…

  • Cops bust large group of French motorbike racers in Patong

    Motorbike racing tourists are once again causing a public nuisance in Thailand, this time in Patong. Cops busted a large group of French motorbike racers in Patong on Wednesday night. Footage of the racers went viral on local social media platforms, causing outrage among residents. The residents complained that the racers were disturbing them when they were trying to relax,…

  • PLTO focuses on foreigners using rental cars as illegal taxis

    The crackdown on illegal taxis – those operating outside their jurisdiction or without proper licenses or permissions – continues in Phuket. Authorities have turned their attention to a new target: foreigners using personal rental cars as taxis. In response to numerous complaints, Phuket officials launched an investigation into reports of foreign tourists acting as illegal taxi drivers. A joint team…

  • 500k baht stolen from Singaporean family in Phuket villa

    A Singaporean family’s vacation in Phuket was spoiled after their villa was burgled of over 485,000 baht worth of valuables, including two Louis Vuitton crossbody bags. The family of eight were visiting the beach destination from January 22 to 29 and were robbed at the tail end of their holiday. They had moved into a private seven-bedroom villa they booked…

  • PLTO continues crackdown on illegal taxis

    The Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) and Sakhu Police have apprehended four more drivers for illegally operating their vehicles as taxis in Phuket. The joint operation took place at a checkpoint set up at the Sakhu-Nai Yang intersection on Thepkrasattri Rd in Mai Khao and resulted in the stop of two taxis registered in Bangkok with green plates and two…

  • Phuket Police help Russian woman get her pricey diamond earrings back

    Phuket Police helped a Russian woman get her pricey diamond earrings back yesterday after she accidentally left them at a guesthouse at Nai Yang Beach last month. The woman, 42 year old Elena Zholobetskaia, realised that her 70,000 baht earrings were missing while she was travelling in Koh Samui, after she had already checked out of the guesthouse, The Phuket…

  • Phuket fishing crew missing since last month

    Crew members of a fishing boat in Phuket have been missing since last month. The boat, named Soi Sakun Petch, was captained by Roong Luekamwong and had three other crew members on board, including one Thai national and two Myanmar nationals. According to the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command, the boat had set out to fish in the Southwest…

  • Thai woman slashes Chinese tourist in row over Phuket tour package (video)

    An angry Thai tour company owner slashed a Chinese tourist’s arm after a row over a tour package in Phuket. As a result, the woman’s tourism license has been suspended for six months from today and she faces imprisonment and a fine. The Chinese victim revealed the story of her horrific trip to Phuket on TikTok. In the victim’s video…

  • Chinese tour groups begin landing in Thailand again

    The first direct tour group flights from mainland China to Thailand marked a milestone in the recovery of the Thai tourism industry. One flight landed at Don Mueang International Airport yesterday morning with 40 Chinese tour group members and 90 other travellers. The second landed in the afternoon in Phuket. In total, 13 flights with tour groups from China landed…

  • Thailand’s tourism industry struggles to deal with chronic labour shortage

    Thailand is facing a major crisis: the Land of Smiles’ tourism industry is struggling to deal with its chronic labour shortage. With over 11 million foreign tourists visiting Thailand since the country’s reopening in July 2022, the country is facing a major shortage of workers. According to data from the Labour Ministry, popular tourist destinations such as Phuket, Chiang Mai,…

  • Russian plane engine catches fire on Phuket runway

    A Russian tourist plane bound for Moscow faced a terrifying moment when its engine caught fire before takeoff at Phuket International Airport. The 309 passengers and 12 crew on board the 26 year old Boeing 767-306ER, operated by Azur Air, were forced to evacuate the aircraft. Footage from the scene shows flames bursting from the right engine of the Russian…

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.

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