Thailand Visas/Immigration and other Phuket, Thailand General Tips

Favorite Thing: If you come to Thailand and have the remotest opportunity to extend your stay, then be prepared.

Thailand visas are for 30 days if you haven't applied for a longer period with your local Thai Embassy before you left home. The maximum time you can stay in Thailand is 90 days without leaving the country and re-entering.

If you wait until you get to the airport to pay for an excess stay, expect to pay 500 baht per person per day up to a maximum of 20,000 baht (fine was increased recently). If you visit the Thailand Immigration Department you pay 1,900 baht per application whether it's for one day or one month, so if you're only a few days over, just pay at the airport. Bear in mind though, it does take quite a bit of time to process, so be early for your flight. Personally I would recommend going to the Immigration Department and getting the extension to save time.

A notice at the Immigration Office states:
If you wish to stay in Thailand after your visa has expired, contact the nearest immigration unit in person. Do not believe anyone who claims they can assist you to get immigration stamps without actual travel in and out of the kingdom. Such acts are illegal and you are liable to face prosecution under Immigration Law.

The office is located on Phuket Road in Phuket Town. Please take note that they close from 12.00 - 1.00pm for lunch and you need to get there by 4.00pm in the afternoon to allow time for processing. They will not process you if you are going to keep them from closing the doors at 4.30pm.

Telephone: 076 221905 Fax: 076 212708
Email: phuket_imm3@police.go.th
Website: http://www.phuketimmigration.com/imm/eng/information.html
Further information: http://www.mfa.go.th/web/12.php

Passport photos and photocopying are available very cheaply at the rear of the Immigration Office.


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Favorite Thing: Departure Tax rules have changed. The rate is now 700 baht (up from 500 baht) and is now usually included in your airticket price. No longer is it necessary to pay in cash at the airport as you leave.

If you need information about visas please see Thailand Visas/Immigration tip above.


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Favorite Thing: For information about the weather in Phuket at any time of the year, Alex Malcolm, who lives at Patong has created a website which documents the daily weather for the current month so you can see what the conditions have been like running up to your trip. He also has average temperatures, rainfall etc for every month of the year.

There is also a lot of other useful information on his site including exchange rates and motorbike/jeep rentals. Check it before you go.

Weather and Information

For weather forecasts including sunrise, sunset, moon phases, storms and marine reports, check; Weather Forecasts


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Favorite Thing: If you get ill in Phuket, do not worry about the standards of the hospitals. The Bangkok Hospital in Phuket is the best hospital I've ever been to. It leaves Australia's hospitals looking like they belong in a third world country. Services are very cheap and you can pick up your prescriptions when you pay your bill, so it's also very convenient.

The efficiency, professionalism, resources, friendliness and understanding is amazing. Everything happens on the spot. For instance, I was suffering abdominal problems and attended the hospital without an appointment. I was checked in to see a gynaecologist and while I was waiting the 20 minutes to see her, I was seen by a nurse who took my blood pressure, weight and checked allergies etc. Within 1.5 hours I had been admitted, seen the gynaecologist, had an internal ultrasound, pregnancy test (in the gyno's room - by the gyno), had medicine prescribed, had my allergy injection with a nurse, picked up my medications and paid my bill which was under 2,000 baht! You can't get that in Australia! They even drive you back to your car when you have finished. Five star alright!

There are 12 different health centres within the hospital. The dermatology and dental clinics are renown for their services. Check the website for full details.

Upstairs there is a tsunami memorial and some information about the charity they support which is interesting to see, so if you're waiting for someone else, or have time, go and check it out.

24 hour emergency contact number: 076 25 44 25

website: www.phukethospital.com
email: info@phukethospital.com


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Favorite Thing: There is a new service that I noticed at the Phuket Airport. It is a baggage wrapping service. A great idea, but an expensive one. A small suitcase costs 200 baht (AUD$7), medium is 250 baht (AUD$8) and an average suitcase is 300 baht (AUD$10). You may do better to buy a roll of plastic film and some tape yourself. You will have enough for all your baggage at a fraction of the cost.


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Favorite Thing: I thought this might be helpful for anyone who isn't familiar with the island of Phuket and may need a map to see the general layout of the island.

Below is the website address for a map of Phuket. Phuket is only around 50 km long and around 21 km wide, so getting anywhere is quite easy to access, though traffic and road conditions can make travel a little longer than you'd expect.

Phuket Map

Distances around the island can be found here:

Distances around the island


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Favorite Thing: I thought I'd include a picture of a cicada as I wondered what they looked like for ages before I found this one which was dying.

As the sun sets, you will start to see these large insects flying around between trees, and quite often they can startle you as they begin their song unexpectedly when they're not far from your head. They are soooo loud! The cicadas breaking into song also heralds the moment the mosquitos start to come out. It's like a mosquito alarm.

The cicada pictured here would have been about 10-12cm long, so they are way larger than the cicadas we have in Australia. Actually, the size it is in the enlarged picture is about lifesize. When Steve and I were looking for anchorage at night in small bays or at islands as we were cruising around Phuket, we thought the sound was of some kind of electric generator. If there aren't any other sounds to blend with the cicadas, their hum becomes a kind of ringing sound, like something mechanical or electronic. It doesn't go all night, but at the time we didn't know they were cicadas.

So, there you go!


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Favorite Thing: I found this website and think it's a great resource, so thought I'd add it here in case someone needs a translation or wants to learn how to speak a bit of Thai before their visit. You can enter an english word and get not only the Thai translation, but also audio is available on many of the translations - very helpful!

English-Thai Dictionary


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