Villas & homes for rent in Phuket Town

Phuket Town is the provincial capital, on the south-east side of the island, about 32 km south of the airport. Its heart is the Old Town, where Sino-Portuguese shophouses line Thalang Road and the streets around it, now mostly cafés, small shops and restaurants, and the busiest of them have become firmly touristy. The rest is a working provincial town of government offices, hospitals and markets rather than a resort. It draws people who want the island's services on their doorstep and are content to drive to the sea.

There is no beach here. The town's waterfront is Saphan Hin, a park on the east edge of town where a boardwalk runs out through mangroves onto tidal mud, fine for a jog or a picnic but not for swimming. Ferries to Phi Phi, Lanta, Krabi and Ao Nang leave from Rassada Pier, further along the same shore. Swimming means a drive. Patong is about 15 km west through Kathu, Karon and Kata are a similar run to the south-west, and Nai Harn and Rawai sit at the southern tip. In exchange the island's services are close by. Vachira Phuket Hospital, the main hospital of the province, is on Yaowarat Road in the centre, and Central Phuket, the largest shopping complex on the island, is a few kilometres out on Wichitsongkram Road. The international schools are on the edges rather than in the centre, in Ko Kaeo to the north and Chalong to the south. Thalang Road closes to traffic on Sundays from four in the afternoon for the walking street. The old streets are narrow and the town is slow at rush hour. It suits people who want a city more than a shoreline.