Robinson Lifestyle Thalang

This is a mall for people who live on the island, not one for holiday shopping, and that's exactly why it's useful. The crowd is families from Thalang and Si Sunthon doing their weekly errands, so the pace is slow and nobody's charging beach prices. Fashion, accessories, household bits, casual places to eat. If you've arrived and realised you forgot half your packing list, this sorts it out in an hour.

I wouldn't make a special trip across the island for it. There's nothing here you can't find in Phuket Town or at the bigger centres further south, and it isn't the kind of place you browse for pleasure. But if you're staying up north near Nai Yang, Bang Tao or Layan, it's the closest thing to a proper one-stop shop, and the air conditioning at two in the afternoon is worth something on its own. Weekday mornings are the quietest stretch.