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.
The Thaiger is your ultimate guide to staying connected with Phuket’s ever-evolving landscape. To keep up with the most reliable news source on the island, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media.
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5 hidden healthcare costs in Thailand and how to avoid them
Thailand's healthcare system is affordable and supported by the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scheme, offering essential services to most citizens. However, hidden healthcare costs can surprise patients and lead to unexpected expenses. These include specialist fees, insurance gaps, emergency services,...
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Phuket boosts water-safety as New Year countdown nears
PHUKET: As the Seven Days of Danger road-safety campaign continues across Phuket, the Marine Police are joining the effort on the water by stepping up safety checks and deploying vessels to conduct 24-hour operations. The moves comes as Phuket struggles to accommodate the huge influx of tourists who have arrived for the island’s “peak season” in tourism, a period that…
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Gov Tri gets Red Cross Fair underway
PHUKET: Scores of people turned out last night the opening night of the Phuket Red Cross Fair in Phuket Town, with many people among the huge crowd hoping to win the top prize in the popular lucky draw: a brand-new Honda City car. The 11-day fair, being held at the Central Stage Area at Saphan Hin, was declared officially underway…
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Phuket New Year road toll battered as three die
PHUKET: The Phuket authorities’ goal to keep the road toll this year under the four deaths of last year suffered a severe setback when three men died in motorcycle accidents on Thursday night – the first night of this year’s ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign. Polish national Pawel Jack Gilman, 37, died after the limited edition Liverpool FC…
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Russian tourist dies in fall at Phuket home
PHUKET: A Russian tourist died in a fall from an interior balcony at a holiday rental home in Kathu, central Phuket, early yesterday morning. Thung Thong Police received a report at 2:45am that Russian tourist Anton Oleynikov, 32, had died in the fall at the private residence at Loch Palm. Police Duty Officer Chana Suttimard said that Mr Oleynikov and…
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Russians in hospital after tour van smash
PHUKET: Four Russian tourists on their way to a Phuket magic show got a painful dose of reality on Thursday night, when the passenger van they were riding in collided with a delivery truck south of Patong. The accident happened at about 7pm on Wiset Road in front of Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort on the first day of the…
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‘Colorful Phuket Countdown 2012’ now underway
PHUKET: The clock is now ticking at Sanamchai in Phuket Town, where the “Colorful Phuket Countdown 2012” got underway at 8pm last night. The opening ceremony was chaired by Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha, who took a stroll though a 20-meter-long “under the sea” tunnel of lights and decorations. He was accompanied by Paiboon Upatising, president of the Phuket Provincial Administration…
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Phuket police nab sacrilegious burglar
PHUKET: Phuket City Police on Wednesday arrested a serial thief caught with stolen religious objects, jewelry and other items. Police Superintendent Chote Chitchai said Wichit resident Eakkat Tipmart, 29, confessed to burglarizing the Phuket Town apartment of Saengduan Chaigma. It was just the latest burglary in a string of similar thefts, Col Chote said. Ms Saengduan, 39, reported to police…
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New Phuket Police chief orders holiday crackdown
PHUKET: Newly-installed Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangku has ordered all officers on the island to strictly enforce the law and ensure public safety over the New Year holiday now underway. Chonasit Wattanavrangkul, whose last assignment was as Songkhla Provincial Police Commander, took over the position from Maj Gen Pekad Tantipong in the latest police reshuffle announced on Christmas Day.…
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Disgraceful strategy
PHUKET: “We have been done in the past – like with Woodgate. We should have surrounded the referee to get him sent off.” Stephen Hunt, Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder, suggests his team mates need to follow the example of other sides by ganging up on officials to encourage correct or even harsher decisions. Hunt was referring to their recent match against…
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Phuket events slated to inject B370mn into local economy
PHUKET: A number of large events being held in Phuket this month are expected to generate as much as 370 million baht in revenue, government officials were told yesterday. The news was announced at a meeting yesterday morning at Phuket Provincial Hall. Phuket Governor Tri Aukaradacha chaired the meeting, which was attended by representatives from various government departments. Buayan Suwanmanee,…
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Snakes in a sack seized on Koh Lanta
PHUKET: A fruit seller has been caught smuggling protected snakes onto Koh Lanta in Krabi province, across Phang Nga Bay from Phuket. Pin Sangduk, 43, was found with eight live snakes stuffed into fertilizer sacks in the back of his pickup truck, which was otherwise loaded with fruit. Mr Pin was caught when Sgt Maj Terdsak Rakdaeng of Koh Lanta…
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Soi Bangla Phuket’s number one attraction: Poll
PHUKET: Soi Bangla is the number one “must see” tourist attraction in Phuket, according to the results of a recent Phuket Gazette online survey. On December 6, the Gazette asked readers: Phuket has so many tourist attractions that most visitors to the island do not have enough time to see them all during their stays. Given this fact, which of…
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Phuket raids land 15mn baht in pirated goods
PHUKET: Two separate raids in Phuket over the past week have netted pirated copyrighted goods with a combined street value of more than 15 million baht. Prayut Maneechote, director of the Customs Bureau regional head office in Haad Yai, on Monday announced that a team of his officers had traced an illegal importing network of pirated goods to a warehouse…
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No short-term solution for Phuket Airport Immigration bottleneck
PHUKET: Tourists waiting up to an hour and a half to clear immigration during peak periods at Phuket Airport are unlikely to receive any reprieve until a separate international terminal is completed. Pol Maj Wannee Songsanguan of Phuket Airport Immigration told the Gazette that her office was well aware of the situation, but could do nothing more to speed up…
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Phuket’s annual ‘Best of Phuket’ Awards to be unveiled tomorrow
PHUKET: The winners of the Phuket Gazette‘s ‘Best of Phuket’ awards for 2011 are announced in a special four-page supplement tucked into the newspaper’s December 31 issue, due out on the streets at noon tomorrow. The awards comprise 33 winners in five major categories: Person of the Year (4); Business (4); Service (6); Environment (2); and Restaurants (17). Our winners…
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Brazilian found dead in Phuket guesthouse
PHUKET: A Brazilian tourist was found dead in his Phuket hotel room on Tuesday after he and a male friend brought two Patong bar hostesses back to their room. The body of the deceased, 30-year-old Daniel Rocha Jordan Brasileiro, is under examination at Patong Hospital. A member of the staff at the guest house where the pair were staying said…
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Phuket parade marks New Year road safety campaign
PHUKET: The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Phuket staged a parade at Saphan Hin in Phuket Town today ahead of the nationwide ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign for the New Year holiday. “Phuket has a lot of tourists, and the roads will be busy during the new year. During this time, the number of accidents on…
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FC Phuket’s ‘Ko Lek’ to step down
PHUKET: FC Phuket manager Narubas “Ko Lek” Aryupong revealed today that he will withdraw from running the team next season due to the current financial crisis.“A lot of money is needed to run a football team in Division 1. Yearly expenses reach over 40 million baht and I cannot afford that anymore. I will run a team in Division 2…
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Club Med Phuket sets up swim zone at Kata Beach
PHUKET: A second swim area has been cordoned off at Kata Beach in Phuket, but lifeguards continue to worry about the safety of swimmers and snorkelers who venture outside the float ropes and into the path of speedboats and jet-skis. Safety issues at the popular west coast beach were highlighted earlier this month when Russian tourist Nikolai Nefedov, was hit…
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Phuket aglow with tsunami memorial ceremony
PHUKET: A dignified silence settled over Patong Beach yesterday evening as hundreds gathered to light candles in remembrance of the people who were killed or went missing in the 2004 tsunami that devastated Thailand’s west coast. The Light Up Phuket memorial service was attended by Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha, Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Paiboon Upatising and Dutch Honorary…
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Phuket’s ‘special case’ officer ready for duty
PHUKET: Detective Nucharee Longkaew, 27, of Phuket City Police Station, recently tasked with the formidable job of interviewing female victims of sex crimes in Phuket Province, is now ready to start her challenging duty. Despite having received no specialized training for dealing with traumatized women, who may have been violently abused or raped, Capt Nucharee is confident that her police…
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Girls saved in Phuket, safely back in France
PHUKET: The two French girls who spent eight months on the streets of Phuket are now back in France, where they are undergoing evaluation by social workers. The girls, 12-year-old Manel and her sister Chaima, 11, have been reunited with their paternal grandmother and are now in the care of French social services. Meanwhile, the Gazette has been informed of…
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Finance Ministry to press for Phuket ICEC
PHUKET: Finance Minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala has pledged to accelerate long-delayed property projects run by the Treasury Department, including the Phuket International Convention and Exhibition Center (Phuket ICEC). The Phuket ICEC, slated to be built on 1.5 rai of Treasury Department land in Mai Khao, has 2.6 billion baht in funding approval from the department. However the project is on hold…
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Phuket PDL Darts: Hemingways A down Starfish, 10-3
PHUKET: In Week 10 of the 2011-2012 Patong Darts League, Shakers hosted the hottest dart team in Phuket at the moment: Hemingways A. Shakers titan and daytime schoolteacher Ryan played Big Ronnie in the first match up to get the evening going. With high scoring from both sides, the epic ended in a 1-1 draw. Veteran of the Swedish professional…
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Phuket Police chief transferred
PHUKET: Phuket Police Chief Pekad Tantipong will transfer out of the province following a nationwide reshuffle of commanders and superintendents released yesterday by Royal Thai Police Headquarters in Bangkok. Maj Gen Tantipong, who took up the Phuket posting in early May 2009, took the Christmas Day surprise in stride. “I have not seen the official order yet, but I heard…
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Phuket “anti-Santa’ behind bars
PHUKET: A Russian man was arrested by Kamala Police yesterday on suspicion of robbing several homes during the festive holidays. The 35-year-old, Pavel Zhuravlev, was arrested at 3am at a house where he was staying on Soi Massayid Naka in Kamala. He was found in possession of 800 milligrams of ya ice (methamphetamine) and drug-taking paraphernalia, as well as many…
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Top Muay Thai kickboxer takes the stage
PHUKET: Renowned Muay Thai kickboxer Buakaw Por Pramuk, the holder of three national-title belts, steps into the ring at the Patong Boxing Stadium, Phuket, tonight (December 26). Buakaw, who won his third national title on December 18, is not scheduled to fight at the stadium competitively. However he will spar with a partner to demonstrate his skills and techniques to…
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Phuket’s turtle nesting sites empty of eggs this year
PHUKET: Phuket’s marine wildlife experts have expressed concern that turtles are not laying eggs on many of the Andaman beaches historically used by the turtle population. “The nesting season for sea turtles along the Andaman coast is usually from November to March. Their preferred nesting sites are Mai Khao Beach in Phuket, Tai Muang Beach in Phang Nga and some…
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FC Phuket 1 – 1 Air Force Utd
PHUKET: FC Phuket conceded a last-minute goal to hand a 1-1 draw to Air Force United in an entertaining yet inconsequential match at Surakul Stadium this evening. The modest crowd that turned up at Surakul Stadium enjoyed a scoreless first half under relatively cool and blustery conditions in Phuket. The Southern Sea Kirin drew first blood at 56 minutes after…
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Phuket FC ready for Air Force Utd tonight
PHUKET: Phuket FC are hoping for a large fan turnout this evening when they kick off against Air Force Utd at Surakul Stadium at 6pm. Phuket FC will go into the match coming off a disappointing home loss to Suphanburi FC on Wednesday, while Air Force Utd greatly improved their chance of avoiding relegation with a 1-0 home win against…
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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