Phuket shopping is a pleasure, there are numerous air-conditioned,
shopping centers as well as many of the bargain hunter of street vendors.
Depending what you are looking for and your budget, you can both go
strolling true all of the street vendors or try your luck strolling through
the air-conditioned shopping centers.
The most popular spots in Phuket are
Patong and Phuket Town. There are good bargains to be found here but the
further away you go from the tourist areas, the bargains will be better. If
you have the time grab a taxi and try some shopping in other areas like
Kata or
Karon.
When you are shopping at the street vendors of course never forget to
bargain, negotiating can be a lot of fun; they seem to make a national sport
out of it here in Thailand. But also don't forget to stay polite and leave
some profit for the people themselves.
Best buys: Batik, Silk and Silk products, Gems and Jewelry, Thai woodcraft, Pearls
Phuket Town Shopping
Robinson Ocean Department Store
is the main department store in Phuket Town, where you can buy
anything you need. Clothes are of good quality with major international
brands available, but prices are lower than in most of the western
countries. All major credit cards are accepted. The shops are open daily
from 10:30 to 22:00.
On the same road there are 2 smaller shopping centers Big C and Tesco Lotus.
They both offer a lot of shops and restaurants but you won't find any offer
the bigger brand names here.
Central Festival Phuket is the newest and largest shopping center that
Phuket has to offer. If you are looking for brand name products, this is the
place where you want to be. If you are getting hungry from all that shopping
you don't have to worry because central has numerous restaurants where you
can dive into delicious international cuisines like Japanese, Italian,
Western, Asian and of course, Thai.
Patong Shopping
Every night Patong beach road transforms into a huge night bazaar, when
almost every road becomes full with stalls selling CDs, DVDs, electronics,
computer games, toys, silk, clothes, handicrafts and luggage.
In the beginning it can be quiet chaotic, but when you get used to the all
the stalls, loud music, and tuk tuk drivers trying to give you a ride you
will soon be imagining yourself shopping here every day trying to get the
best price of whatever you want to buy.
Jungceylon shopping centre
- including Millennium Resort - is a 200,000 mē shopping centre with 75,000 mē of retail space with more than 200 shops including Carrefour, Robinson Department Store and SF Cinema. Enough to keep the whole family busy for a day.
Patong Department Stores - this is where you'll most likely end up if you need to go shopping and
desperately need some air-conditioning. It's located on Bangla Road,
although it won't take you long to look around as it's not a very big place.
Mostly men's & women's fashion, plus a supermarket in the basement and an
attached Boots pharmacy. |