Phuket City Tour with Night Market: What the Day Actually Includes
Updated September 17, 2026 · 8 min read
The night market is the part of a Phuket city tour that people remember, and the part the listings describe least precisely. Almost every one of them says “the night market”, singular, as though the island had one. It has several, they run on different days, and which one your van pulls up at is decided by the day of the week you booked – not by the tour company’s preference.
That is the single most useful thing to know before you pick a date.
The day, hour by hour
The benchmark is the Full-Day City Tour with Night Market, from €27.76, 9 hours, 4.5 stars from 3,161 reviews in our inventory of GetYourGuide offers for Phuket – one of the most-reviewed land tours on the island. Its own description names the stops: viewpoints, Chalong Temple, the Big Buddha, Phuket Old Town, and the night market.
Nine hours divides roughly like this, and no operator will commit to it in writing because traffic decides:
| Roughly | What happens |
|---|---|
| First 60–90 min | Hotel pick-up, several resorts, back and forth on the west coast |
| Late morning | Wat Chalong – open 07:00 to 17:00, free, shoulders and knees covered |
| Midday | Big Buddha on Nakkerd Hill, and lunch |
| Early afternoon | Viewpoints, often Karon Viewpoint and Promthep Cape in the south |
| Mid afternoon | One or two commercial stops – cashew, pearl or gems |
| Late afternoon | Phuket Old Town, typically 40 minutes to an hour |
| Evening | Night market, then the drive back |
The two things that most often surprise people are how much of the day is transfer – Phuket is about 50 km long and the old town is on the opposite coast from most hotels – and the commercial stops. They are shops with a demonstration attached, and operators generally earn commission on purchases. Several listings name them outright: the half-day version at €20.87 over 6 hours 30 minutes lists a cashew factory and a pearl factory in its description. You are free to buy nothing.
Which market, on which day
This is the table worth screenshotting before you choose a date. Hours are the ones the markets themselves keep; they shift around Thai public holidays and in heavy rain, so treat them as the plan rather than a guarantee.
| Market | Where | Days | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday Walking Street (Lard Yai) | Thalang Road, in the old town | Sunday | 16:00–22:00 |
| Naka Weekend Market | Wirat Hong Yok Road, near Wat Naka | Saturday and Sunday | 16:00–22:00 |
| Indy Market | Limelight Avenue, off Dibuk Road | Wednesday to Friday | 16:00–22:00 |
| Chillva Market | Phuket Town, north of the old town | Evenings, but sources disagree on which nights | from about 17:00 |
Chillva is the one to ask about. Published schedules for it contradict each other – some say daily except Sunday, some say Thursday to Saturday – and it appears by name in listings such as Phuket Highlights Big Buddha, Old Town & Chillva Night Market (from €48.73, 7 hours, 3.9 stars from 13 reviews). If a specific market is the reason you are booking, ask the operator which one they go to on your date and take that answer rather than the listing text.
The Sunday tour is a different day out. On Sunday afternoon Thalang Road closes to traffic from around 15:00, and the old town stop and the night market become the same place. You get one long stretch in the old town instead of a short stop plus a drive. It also means the architecture is behind market stalls – see our old town guide if that is the part you came for.
The sunset question
Some tours put a viewpoint at the end rather than the market, and one listing does both: Sunset, Old Town & Night Market Tour, from €29.77 over 5 hours, 4.2 stars from 53 reviews, which runs from Karon Viewpoint to Promthep Cape and then into the old town with five food tastings.
Both viewpoints are free and neither charges for parking, but they behave differently. Karon Viewpoint faces north over three bays and is at its best in the hour before the sun drops. Promthep Cape faces west over open water and is the classic sunset spot – which is exactly why coach traffic arrives in waves in the late afternoon during the December-to-February high season. A tour that promises both and a market in five hours is moving quickly.
What is not in the price
- Food at the market. Tastings are included on some tours and not on others; the €29.77 sunset tour above specifies five. Bring cash in baht. Stalls are overwhelmingly cash-only and the queues for the nearest ATM at 20:00 are not short.
- Temple donations. Wat Chalong and the Big Buddha are both free to enter. Donation boxes are not obligatory.
- Out-of-zone pick-up. Several operators charge extra to collect from hotels outside their standard area. If you are staying in Mai Khao, Nai Yang or Nai Harn rather than Patong, Karon or Kata, check this line before booking.
One thing to confirm before you book
The Big Buddha appears on nearly every itinerary, and its access has changed twice in 2026. The site was closed after a landslide below it on 23 August 2024 that killed 13 people in Kata. It reopened for three days on 1 January 2026, closed again, and reopened properly on 3 March 2026 under the name Wat Kittisangharam (Big Buddha), operating 09:00 to 18:00 daily under 25 conditions set by the forestry department. Entry is free.
That is the current position, and it is worth one message to the operator to confirm the stop is on for your date rather than trusting an older listing photo.
Is the full day worth it over the half day
| Half day (5–6.5 h) | Full day (9 h) | |
|---|---|---|
| From | €18.62 | €27.76 |
| Landmarks | Big Buddha, Wat Chalong, old town | The same, plus viewpoints |
| Night market | Some, at the end | Yes |
| Shopping stops | Usually one or two | Usually two |
| Suits children | Better | Nine hours in a van is a long day |
Roughly €9 buys you an evening and a market. If your group includes young children, read that bottom row carefully – and our guide to island hopping with children covers the alternative day. For choosing between tour lengths in general, see half day or full day; to build the route yourself, see private tours. The full list sits on the Phuket Old Town tours page.
