The best things to do in Phuket this weekend (August 6–9)

Defected nights are known for uplifting, community-minded dancefloors. Founded in 1999, the house-music brand has grown from a record label into a clubbing institution, with major residencies, festivals and appearances at Glastonbury among its credits. Its success stories include Purple Disco Machine. For its Phuket takeover, Illuzion lines up house heavyweight Danny Howard – a BBC Radio 1 dance-music tastemaker, producer and label boss. Rally your mates for a big, glittering night powered by four-on-the-floor beats.

Aug 7. B500 (entry only). Illuzion. 9pm-4am

With Sino-European row houses recalling the town’s tin-baron days, Thalang Road is a destination in its own right. On Sundays, Lard Yai adds another reason to visit. Its name translates as ‘Big Market’, and the lively but manageable stretch brings together local food, handicrafts, clothes, plants and manora dance performances. Follow the scents along the colourfully lit, Barbie-hued street to stalls serving juicy grilled meat skewers, sweet treats, fish cakes, chestnuts and spicy papaya salad. Come hungry.

Aug 10 (weekly). Free. Lard Yai Sunday Night Market, Thalang Road, Phuket Old Town. 4pm-10pm

CLC Phuket rewinds to the Gatsby era with fiery Charleston moves and the rebellious spirit of the roaring ’20s. Part restaurant, part supper club and part luxury entertainment venue, it layers live vocals, glass-rattling jazz and fluid, dramatically timed acrobatics over chef-led Japanese-Italian Itameshi dining. The evening begins gently, with a DJ and saxophonist setting the mood as  performers bring tales of glamour, risk and a bloke named Gatsby right to your table. At 8pm, the party lets loose. Stay for wine after the show or dance 1920s-style into the small hours. Ties are unnecessary, feathers optional and a good mood non-negotiable. 

Aug 7. From B2,000 (reservations required). Gatsby Dinner & Show, CLC Phuket. 6pm-late

Sunshine, good company, house music, food and cocktails: YONA Beach Club is celebrating its third birthday with the full floating-club package. The line-up remains under wraps, but expect a sweep from house and techno to EDM classics, with uplifting rhythms giving way to techno and club beats at dusk. Space is hardly an issue. With four bars, a restaurant and 20-metre infinity pool, this sizeable boat-turned-pool club leaves plenty of room to shake a leg.

Aug 8. B4,000 (ladies’ pass B2,000). YONA Third Anniversary, YONA Beach Club (departure from Royal Phuket Marina). 2pm-10pm

Round-the-clock music videos and stars judged as much by their filming locations, choreography, hair and clothes as by their songs: MTV revolutionised pop music. Why did it have to die? CLC Phuket feels your pain. For one night, the venue rewinds to the early 2000s with pop-culture and music-video nostalgia, plus interactive hosts. A seven-course feast begins at 6pm before a 50 Cent-versus-Eminem tribute battle turns up the volume. Things soften when Backstreet Boys lookalikes hit the stage, recreating the fuzzy glow of chunky old television. Expect pranks, table dancing and hosts playing with the crowd. Anything goes – except commercials.

Aug 8. From B2,500. MTV Dinner & Show Legends, CLC Phuket. 6pm-late

Into spirits? The drinkable kind? Head to The Distillery Phuket for an insider look at how Chalong Bay Rum and other small-batch tipples are made, from raw sugarcane to snifter cup. This is no backstreet operation – this is a proper guided tour through the working distillery, with stops for tasting along the way. Sure, you can sip Chalong Bay at many bars along the beach, but sampling yet-to-be-bottled rums, gins and vodkas while learning the basics behind distilling and cocktail-making adds new ‘depth’ to the glass. Plenty of swirling and sipping happens here, and maybe a few ‘just one more’ moments to be found as well. 

 Daily. B1,290. The Distillery Phuket. 11am-10pm

Ladies, Thursdays in Bang Tao just got a little more glamorous. Dolly’s Night at Maya Beach Club is your weekly excuse to lean into refined beachside energy with a night dedicated to feminine vibes. Start off at sunset, with deep-house rhythms and an ultra-glam dress-code to match Phuket’s beautiful golden hour. By 7pm, things shift to smooth sophistication with DJ Marcella curating a soundtrack and a troupe of pink-cladded acrobats who take you from dinner to dancefloor in one fell swoop. If you’re skipping the food, get there before 9pm to make the most of free-flow Prosecco and catch up with those already a bottle or two deep. 

Every Thursday. Free for women, B1,000 for men. Maya Beach Club. 7pm-late