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Atlas/asia/Deep field file

Signal verified · updated 2026-09-03

Phuket

Thailand's largest island and its premier beach destination — granite hills, west-coast surf beaches and a Sino-Portuguese old town.

7.880° N98.400° E
site access marine
Phuket International Airport (HKT)
Big Buddha (Ming Mongkol Buddha)
Wat Chalong
Phuket Old Town
Formation
granitic continental island with forested central highlands
Population
430,000
Water
Indian Ocean
Access
easy

Every required movement

The passage
to Phuket.

Fly direct to Phuket International Airport (HKT) from across Asia; road access via Sarasin Bridge; ferries from Rassada Pier to Phi Phi, Krabi and Phang Nga Bay islands.

  1. 01
    Phuket International Airport (HKT)

    Nearest recorded air access

    Schedule or condition may change · verify
  2. 02
    Water crossing

    Rassada Pier ferries (Andaman Wave Master, Phi Phi Cruiser, Tigerline) to Phi Phi, Krabi, Lanta and Langkawi (seasonal).

    Schedule or condition may change · verify
  3. 03
    Entry check

    Thailand visa-exemption for many nationalities (up to 60 days).

    Schedule or condition may change · verify

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What the chart cannot hold

What becomes visible when you follow patong beach beyond the familiar map?

Phuket is Thailand's largest island (543 km2), joined to the mainland by bridge and served by the country's second-busiest international airport. Once a tin-mining centre, it is now Thailand's most visited island, combining resort beaches on the west coast with Phuket Town's Sino-Portuguese shophouses, the 45-m Big Buddha on Nakkerd Hill, and boat access to the Phi Phi islands and Phang Nga Bay.

Tin-trading port coveted by Europeans; repelled a Burmese invasion in 1785 led by heroines Thao Thep Kasattri and Thao Si Sunthon; tin boom in the 19th–20th centuries; tourism took over from the 1980s; devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Field ledger

The useful
details.

Coordinates
7.88° N · 98.40° E
Sovereignty
Thailand · part of country
Nearest mainland
Connected to mainland Phang Nga province by the Sarasin and Thao Thep Kasattri bridges
Best recorded window
November–April (dry, calm seas).
Permits / entry
Thailand visa-exemption for many nationalities (up to 60 days).
Languages
Thai, Southern Thai, English (tourism)

Community intelligence

Notes from
the crossing.

Share firsthand conditions, access changes, respectful observations, or a question for someone who has been.

No traveler has left a public note here yet.

The empty ledger is part of the mystery—and an invitation to be useful.

Travel information changes quickly. This field file was last revised 2026-09-03. Confirm all transport and permit details before booking.

Official source