Central Festival Phuket

Phuket Shopping Malls

Central Festival Phuket is an air-conditioned, fully equipped one-stop shopping mall lying just outside of Phuket Town. If you are coming from Patong, Central lies on your left, before the main crossroads as you enter Phuket.

Central has free underground parking in case you have wheels but if you arrive by tuk tuk or bus it's simple to alight outside and use the main entrance. Many satellite shops make up the sum of Central but the logical place to start bargain hunting is Central Department store itself.

Central
The Central Store is a multi-level gold mine of products ranging from up-market clothing, fashion accessories, silk goods, bedding, household goods, toys and children’s accessories, travel bags, food, and drinks. There are also watch and jewelry counters here.

B2S
B2S stands for books to stationary and this well-lit and large store has both Thai and English-language books of all descriptions as well as CDs, and DVDs at reasonable prices. Again, watch out for promotions and clearance sales at B2S as you may be able to get that tome you were searching for back home at half the price. Of course, DVDs are more expensive than at pirate stalls at markets and along Soi Bangla in Patong but they’re genuine and still cheaper than back home.

Supersports
Situated on the third floor, Supersports is a branch of Thailand’s number 1 sporting goods store. Here, you can buy a wide range of sports-related goods and accessories at prices lower than in the west. Keep a sharp eye out for promotions as they are sometimes highly advantageous and can reach up to 30% discounts. Most well-known sporting brand names are represented here.

Power Buy
A large store packed with electronic goods, Power Buy is Thailand’s top home appliance store. Everything, from MP4s to microwave ovens, is stocked here in an attractive layout. Staff members are knowledgeable and informative about their products and are able to steer you in the right direction if you’re after quality bargains.

Office Depot
You’re not likely to be looking for office equipment while on holiday but who knows? Office Depot is the last word in office supplies and equipment in the south of Thailand. Situated adjacent to Yamaha Musical Instrument shop and Siamkolkorn music school near the underground car park, it’s a well-lit and attractive store.

Boutiques
You’ll find countless boutiques spread over the four floors of Central. From brand-name outlets to one-off privately owned shops you can browse through handsome parquet-floored shop after shop. Western sizes are catered for and quality is usually top notch.

Good to Know

Tourists should keep their receipts and look for the VAT refund coupons at the ‘tax invoice desk’ to fill out after purchasing items. You should present this coupon along with the receipt and the purchased item at the airport to claim the refund.

When shopping at larger stores in Thailand it is allowed to buy alcohol only between 11:00 – 14:00 and 17:00 – midnight (in Central’s case 17:00 – 22:00 when it closes).