r/phuket

Hi Everyone! My friend (F27) and I (F28) are travelling to Phuket this December. We’ve visited Thailand multiple times but have never stayed in a hostel before and thought it would be fun to try it out, meet people and make new friends.

We’ve heard that hostels in Phuket have mostly Western, white backpackers, and we’re a little worried about feeling left out or out of place, specifically as Indian girls. 😭

Would love to hear genuine advice from experienced travellers and girlies who’ve stayed in hostels in Phuket/ Thailand or had a similar experience.

I’m travelling solo to Phuket for 5 days on an Indian passport, and I’m a little confused about the proof-of-funds requirement at Thai immigration.

I’ve read that I may need to show ฿20,000 as proof of sufficient funds. However, I’m not comfortable exchanging such a large amount into Thai baht when I’ll be there for only 5 days. I’m considering carrying ฿10,000 in Thai baht and the equivalent of another ฿10,000 in Indian rupees (INR) or USD.

My questions are:
Can I split the required amount between ฿10,000 in Thai baht and the equivalent amount in INR?

Does the entire amount have to be in physical cash, or can I show a debit/credit card and bank statement for the remaining funds?

Has anyone travelling on an Indian passport recently been asked to show proof of funds at Phuket immigration? What did they accept?

[supprimé]

i feel phuket is slowly changing from mainly a tourism destination into more of a residential ecosystem.

international schools, better healthcare, restaurants, communities, sports, new property developments... all these things make long term living much more realistic now.

but im not sure the infrastructure is developing at the same speed.

sometimes it feels like property development is running 5 years ahead of roads, transport and planning 😅

so im curious, for people actually living here...

is phuket genuinely becoming more liveable, or are we just building more?

Considering a boat trip to Phi Phi (and Maya) but also perhaps Similan. If you’ve gone one one of these what was your experience? Who did you book with? Thanks in advance!