Phuket shopping guide
While Phuket lacks the variety and sheer volume of handicrafts and other local goods seen in Northern Thailand and Bangkok, there are still some great buys to be had here. Shopping in Phuket offers silks and cottons, ready-to-wear and custom made clothing, batiks, leather goods, jewellery; ceramics and antiques are among the more popular items. And due to the boom of upscale property developments on the island, there's also a fabulous range of home décor products and furniture.
Several markets in Phuket exist at various locations, adding to the charm of shopping in Phuket; some are permanent, others are open only one or two days a week and then there are markets specifically catering to tourists, sporting mainly souvenirs and handicrafts; these can be found in most the tourist centres.
Phuket City
Phuket City and vicinity is host to a wide range of shops, from handicraft and antique stores, to the Central Festival mall, and the Big C and Tesco-Lotus on the bypass road, to department stores selling brand name clothing, to furniture and homeware stores selling everything from knick-knacks to custom-made rattan living room sets. In recent times the roadside between Big C and Central has filled up with large stores selling a huge variety of furniture and home decoration products. Shopping in Phuket city is surprisingly good and worth the trip away from the beach areas.
The downtown historical district known as ‘Old Phuket’ is worth exploring for shopping, not only for its unique boutiques and great deals, but also to see some fine examples of Sino-Portuguese architecture. Thalang, Dibuk, Phang Nga, Yaowarat and Krabi roads are particularly charming, as life here among the locals seems to go on much as it did generations ago. There are some great little restaurants – Thai cuisine, noodle shops, roti stands and more - in the area, too.
A market called Chatuchak Phuket, named after the gigantic bazaar in Bangkok but on a much smaller scale, is open every weekend along Phang Nga Rd. Shopping here offers a wide range of cheap clothing, shoes, handicrafts, jewellery, and local food.
Then there is the Central Festival Mall, which has a variety of brand-name shops, restaurants and cinemas, which is about the best of the few that serve locals. It also has a section with bank branches that stay open until 8pm. In town there is the Robinson department store which has everything you’d expect in a department store back home, plus a good supermarket and, like central, a couple of bank branches that stay open till 8pm. Shopping in Thailand is great value and adds to your holiday experience (the savings you make can cover the cost of your flight!). Although Bangkok is best for this, when you feel you need a break from the beach, you can enjoy an afternoon strolling through a plush mall with some great merchandise at attractive prices.
Patong
Shopping in Patong Beach got a big boost with the opening of Jung Ceylon, by far the biggest shopping centre on Phuket. The complex has a large underground car park, cinemas, bowling alleys and hundreds of shops and restaurants. Apart from this, shopping in Patong is a frenzied experience, as the bulk of it is done through the bewildering number of street vendors that line all the main roads.
By day things are quiet, but by nightfall the sidewalks are full of shoppers browsing the displays of clothes, souvenirs, accessories, paintings, luggage, leather items, and all sorts of little gadgets that dazzle the senses with flashing laser lights or bleeping noises. Fake brand name goods and pirated CDs and software are usually on offer, except when there's a periodic place crackdown.
The night market in Patong runs along the beach road and into the small soi (lanes) running back from the beach, providing more convenient shopping. There are two Ocean department stores – one on the beach road and another on Bangla Rd – and plenty of small grocery stores, 7-Elevens and pharmacies.
Karon and Kata
These two popular beach area are full of tourist shoppers and plenty of places for them to spend their vacation dollar, including the usual souvenir vendors all over the pavements, boutiques, Thai handicrafts, locally-made home décor items (shipped home), clothing and more. Even handy travellers items like iPods and luggage are on sale at surprising prices.
Bang Tao, Surin
Other notable Phuket areas for shopping are Bang Tao and Surin beaches. Both of these areas cater to the villa property market, and as such have a surprisingly good range of upscale boutiques and furniture stores.
Several antique and home furnishing shops are located just outside the Laguna Phuket resort complex, while within Laguna is a shopping centre called Canal Village, which has high-end giftware, silks, spa products and home décor shops including Jim Thompson. At Surin, on the main road just north of the beach is the Surin Plaza, with boutiques and fine dining options.
An open-air market in Bang Tao, opposite the Cherng Talay police station, is a lively and very local shopping area, with all sorts of cheap items for sale including t-shirts and other clothing.
A note on bargaining: The big shops and malls have fixed prices for goods but everywhere else it pays to bargain. Some people hate this, but if you don’t try it you will kick yourself when your friends tell you they got the same thing for a fifth of the price. Don’t forget – bargaining is not an argument; at its best it’s a contest of wit, which shopkeepers thoroughly enjoy. Do it for the sheer fun of it and, if you don’t get the price you want, smile, say goodbye and walk away. The price will probably drop another 20 per cent. Inevitably you’re arguing over a couple of dollars so don’t be mean.
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