Philipp Meier

Music, sunshine and flowing rosé pretty much define Phuket this weekend, though the island slips into something slower and more atmospheric once Visakha Bucha Day arrives. Adassîya brings organic grooves and tribal rhythms to Café del Mar Phuket, Kata Rocks rolls out another of its famously indulgent pool party brunches, and Carpe Diem turns fifty shades of pink for Rosé a la Plage Saturday. Meanwhile, temples across the island glow under candlelight for the Wian Tian procession, while Baba Loop closes the season at Natai Beach with two days of marathon house and techno sets. Phuket does not really believe in taking weekends lightly. Phuket has carved out a spot of its own on the global surf map, while a gamified scavenger hunt is quietly becoming one of the island’s more unexpected ways to explore. 

Baba Loop closes the season with the sort of two-day beach blowout Phuket’s electronic music crowd waits months for. DJs including Coco Dexter, Giorgio Nola and Tim Roemer headline marathon house and techno sets stretched across day-to-night sessions at Baba Beach Club Natai. Day one pushes harder with Ibiza-style house, funky grooves and underground techno blasting through a Funktion-One system. Day two eases into slower deep-house territory, better suited to horizontal recovery under palm trees. If you are planning on making questionable decisions this weekend, this is probably where they happen. May 29-31. From B1,000 (entry only). Baba Loop closing season, Baba Beach Club Natai, Khok Kloi. 3pm-3am  

Carpe Diem Beach Club knows exactly who this party is for. Rosé à la Plage Saturday leans unapologetically into poolside glamour with afro-house sets, floating pink inflatables and rosé-heavy cocktails landing all afternoon. Phuket DJs Shane Shine and Marcella handle the soundtrack, building things gradually rather than going full festival immediately. The first 50 women through the door get gift bags, though the real draw is the easy sunset energy a few steps from Bang Tao’s shoreline. Men and non-binary guests are very much welcome too, despite the aggressively pink dress code. May 30 (monthly). B1,000. Rosé à la Plage Saturday, Carpe Diem Beach Club. 3pm-9pm

Kata Rocks continues its campaign to dominate Phuket’s luxury brunch scene with another edition of its monthly pool party brunch. You arrive to a glass of bubbly, then spend the afternoon bouncing between seafood, cheese boards, live stations and an infinity pool hanging over the Andaman Sea. This month’s curveball is rösti with tom yum benedict, which sounds slightly chaotic on paper but somehow works. A live saxophonist threads through house beats while Louis Roederer champagne keeps appearing in glasses. By the time the sun starts leaning west, nobody seems particularly interested in leaving. May 30. From B2,950++. Kata Rocks Pool Party Brunch, Kata Rocks. Noon-5.30pm  

Adassîya lands at Café del Mar Phuket with the kind of set designed for dancing barefoot near the sand. The Algerian DJ-producer first started out as a vocalist at just 14 before drifting through hip-hop and eventually into deep and organic house. These days she plays everywhere from Scorpios Mykonos to Ibiza and Tulum, though what makes her stand out is the live vocal element woven through her sets. Expect deep grooves, trancey tribal rhythms and North African textures running through the night rather than a straightforward club soundtrack. May 29. B300. Adassîya, Café del Mar. 10pm-2am  

Into tipples? Experimental libations, say? Then follow your nose and imbibe at Sipping Tiger this Saturday. InterContinental’s hotel bar rolls out Mixology Unleashed | Native and Analogue Initiative, a one-night-only collaboration series that sees shifts by bartenders from trailblazing Singaporean cocktail bars – renowned for the vibes of those illicit watering holes of America’s 1920s Prohibition era. In fact, Singaporean mixology and culture, as seen in sustainably crafted, research-led cocktails packed with Asian flavours, play a massive role. Take Nicholas Leong from Native, the 35th-best bar on Asia’s 50 Best 2024 list. His recipes of fun, wit and superhuman mixing talent are backed by a plant-forward ethos. Visit for bold flavour exploration that pushes the boundaries of modern bar culture – the likes of mezcal, scotch and rum are surely on the drinks list. May 23. Free. Mixology Unleashed | Native and Analogue Initiative, Sipping Tiger Bar, InterContinental Phuket Resort. 8pm-midnight

People love Sunday brunches, but Azzurra Phuket bucks that trend and rolls breakfast and lunch into one on a Saturday, and not without fair reason. Beat the Sunday crowds and get into the weekend mood with morning tipples and a whole day ahead of you. Right, Italy doesn’t traditionally do brunch (sleeping in and hovering above the kitchen is more like it), but it has embraced the brunch format in its own way. Azzurra’s lavish feast leans into all things meat, pasta, pizza and slow living – a sun-kissed table by the sea, a glass of limoncello and a belly-pleasing spread of burrata, cold cuts and slowly roasted porchetta. Recover from your food coma on site after scooping up tiramisu (four-hour room stays B1,800) and turn the weekend ritual into a full-day escape. May 23. From B1,690++ (food only). Saturday Italian Feast, Azzurra Phuket, Angsana Laguna Phuket. 11am-3.30pm

Built around deep grooves, afro-house beats and amapiano affairs, BOA Club Phuket gears up for a high-energy night wrapped in house music, with Sami Galetto and Junior at the forefront. Sami, a Thailand-based house DJ who does crazy pieces of art for vinyl, is the founder of the multi-day, marathon-like Baba Loop events in Natai, Phang-Nga. And Junior Dejchakthip (@junior.nwo)? Locally known simply as JR, the Bangkok-based figure is part of the Monkey Business Creative Crew, a music collective, and frequently works alongside luminary DJs at venues across the Thai Kingdom. The result? An intoxicating dose of feel-good house music. May 22. Free. Sami Galetto and Junior, BOA Club Phuket. 9pm-2am

Fancy a pigeon? We kid you not. The high-end French dining establishment Bisou Phuket boasts pigeon on the menu – imported from France, naturally. Not the city-square pigeon you might be thinking of; we’re talking farm-raised, fat-bodied babies with tender meat, a delicacy in French gastronomy. While people pop into the sister restaurant of the Michelin-recommended restaurant Bisou Bangkok for dinner only, Bisou Thursdays shift the energy beyond dinner service. This week, the Phuket-based DJ Nicha spins melodic deep house to help you ease into the night. Rock up early to get a table, stay late to shake a leg. May 21. Free (entry only). Bisou Phuket. 8pm-1am

Relatively new to tech-house yet flying high already, the DJ-producer Tini Gessler has risen from small-town parties in Spain to the global stage. She’s now part of the ‘elrow team’, a techno brand, rocking the scene from Europe to central and South America with pumping deep tech-house sets alongside international icons like Jamie Jones or Paco Osuna. And the momentum is carrying her. Recently, she’s played at venues such as Space Miami, Tomorrowland, E1 and UNVRS. On the production side, the artist scores with releases on labels like Experts Only. This Thursday, you get the chance to connect with her live at Illuzion, where she reveals her sonic identity with a style from groovy techno to deep tech-house. May 15. B500. Illuzion Phuket. 9pm-2am

‘A fabulous cause for celebration’ is not a marketing tagline per-se, but it works here. PHAB’s annual benefit gala dinner, hosted by the Phuket Hotels Association, raises funds to provide multi-year hospitality and tourism scholarships exclusively for young, underprivileged Phuketians. And this year, the ball is themed on infinity to symbolise the profound impact educational support for the local community comes with. So feel free to splash out. The reward is a five-star culinary affair with 20 top hotels and their rock star chefs, plus signature tipples and magical potions concocted by expert mixologists. Joking aside, Dating Blondes play anything from retro dance to modern chart-toppers to turn dinner into a dance floor. The dress code? Cocktail to formal attire cuts it. Actually, you’re encouraged to interpret the infinity theme creatively. Fab. May 16. From B4,900. PHAB 8 Gala Dinner, Courtyard by Marriott Phuket Town. 6.30pm-11.30pm

Welcome Franc Fala to Café del Mar as he makes his club room debut in Phuket. An emerging force in the international house scene, the artist that’s cool with the afro-house tag but doesn’t want to box himself into one genre hails from Amsterdam, a city that breeds some of the country’s greatest talents in electronic music. Given his masterclasses in global house and cutting-edge grooves, it’s fair to say the skills have rubbed off on him. Anyway, he goes with whatever feels right, whether that’s afro, house, melodic or anything in between. Visit, and you get to enjoy his ‘musical confusion’ and, to put it in his words, that inner conflict that gives his sound its edge. May 15. B500 (no food or drink included). Franc Fala ft. Hebdonis, Café del Mar Phuket. 10pm-3am

Heads up foodies and partiers. Carpe Diem’s dolce vita-themed Sunday brunches get a new twist, with chef Pongcharn ‘Top’ Russell at the forefront. Starting out at 17, the Thai-British chef has sold his soul over to the gods of cooking and is recognised in the fine-dining industry for his talent by Forbes 30 Under 30. The co-owner of the one-Michelin-starred restaurants Mia and SōL works his magic at a live cooking station, making the crowd shriek and swoon with grilled corn-fed pork collars, green curry pasta with 48-hour short ribs and a belly-pleasing spread of Mediterranean favourites. Up for the pool party from 3pm when bottles pop? Rise from your beach bed like a kid in a soda commercial. Guests settle into that unmistakable Carpe Diem glow as resident DJ Shane Shine spins an intoxicating mix of house, disco and soul. May 17. From B3,990 (brunch only). La Dolce Vita Sunday Brunch – Michelin Star Edition, Carpe Diem Beach Club. noon-8pm