Phuket money exchange: Patong, Phuket Town and the airport compared
Article updated: 2026-10-15
Best rate USD · Phuket: 33.43 — Lion Currency Exchange — Central Phuket (4th Floor) · Nov 8, 05:52 → Details
Phuket is an island with tourist zones spread far apart, and the exchange scene reflects that: a handful of counters in Patong, one large mall, a few standalone shops, and long drives in between. The site tracks four counters on the island, which is enough to answer the question most visitors actually have: does it matter which one I walk into, and how far behind Bangkok am I?
The main operators
Lion Currency Exchange has three tracked branches: one at Central Phuket (4th floor) and two inside Jungceylon in Patong, one by the Big C entrance and one in unit GC3119. Mamy Exchange at Koh Kaew, on the road north out of Phuket Town towards the airport, is a long-standing local favourite. All four publish their rates online, which is why they appear on the Phuket page.
Neither Superrich chain has a tracked branch on the island. Superrich Thailand’s branches outside Bangkok are in Chonburi and Pattaya, and SuperRich 1965’s are in Bangkok and Pattaya. There are numerous independent booths in Patong along Rat-U-Thit and Bangla Road, but they do not publish rates, so there is nothing to compare them against until you are standing in front of the board.
What the boards said on 15 October 2026
| Currency | Best tracked rate | Where | Bangkok best |
|---|---|---|---|
| US dollar | 33.41 | Mamy Exchange, Koh Kaew | 33.51 |
| Euro | 37.40 | all four counters | 37.50 |
| Pound | 44.30 | all four counters | 44.40 |
| Yen | 0.2120 | Lion, Central Phuket | 0.2115 |
| Swiss franc | 40.25 | Lion, three branches | 40.15 |
On dollars, Mamy Exchange was buying at 33.41 and the lowest of the four, Lion’s Patong 3 desk in Jungceylon, at 33.32. That is a spread of 0.09 baht, or 90 baht on US$1,000, about 0.3%. On euros and pounds all four counters quoted the same number, 37.40 and 44.30, so the choice of counter made no difference at all.
The one currency where it did matter was yen: 0.2120 at Lion’s Central Phuket desk against 0.2085 at Mamy, a gap of 350 baht on 100,000 yen, roughly 1.7%. Swiss francs were quoted at 40.25 by the three Lion branches, which was above the best Bangkok board that day.
Against Bangkok, the island’s best dollar, euro and pound rates each sat exactly 0.10 baht behind the capital’s best, which is 100 baht on US$1,000 and about 0.3%. With the mid-market rate at 33.58, Mamy’s 33.41 was half a per cent below mid, which is a respectable number for an island.
Zone by zone
Patong. Jungceylon has two Lion desks under one roof with air conditioning. The Patong 3 desk was the lowest dollar rate on the island on 15 October, at 33.32, but identical to everyone else on euros and pounds. The independent booths along the main tourist streets are not tracked, so they cannot be checked in advance.
Koh Kaew and Phuket Town. Mamy Exchange sits north of Phuket Town on the route to the airport and had the best dollar rate on the island, 33.41. Phuket Town itself is often said to have the best rates on the island, but no counter there publishes its rates, so that reputation cannot be verified here. Worth a stop if you are already passing Koh Kaew, not worth a special taxi ride for 90 baht per thousand dollars.
Central Phuket (Floresta and Festival). Lion’s 4th-floor desk had the best yen rate on the island and tied on euros, pounds and francs. Convenient, and easy to combine with shopping.
Kata, Karon, Rawai, Nai Harn. Booths exist but none is tracked, so there is no number to give you. Compare the board against the Phuket page on your phone before handing anything over.
Phuket International Airport. The tracked counters are all elsewhere on the island, and no figure is published here for the airport booths. What is known about the terminal is on the Phuket airport page. Change enough for the transfer and a meal, nothing more; the airport-to-Patong transfer guide prices the journey.
Why the spread is narrower than its reputation
The old rule of thumb is that Phuket’s best and worst rates differ by two or three per cent on a given day. Among the tracked counters that was not true on 15 October: 0.3% on dollars, zero on euros and pounds. The wide spreads people remember come from the untracked booths in the beach resorts, where a counter in Kata is not competing with one in Phuket Town in any practical sense, because nobody will make that trip to save 100 baht.
The practical conclusion is the opposite of the one for Bangkok. In Bangkok you walk to the best board. On Phuket you choose a counter that publishes its rate, because that is the thing that keeps it close to the capital, and then you use the nearest one. The island rate penalty explains why the same logic applies, more strongly, on Samui and the smaller islands.
Transport costs change the maths
Taxis on Phuket are expensive relative to the rest of Thailand. If you are staying in Kata and the best rate is at Koh Kaew, the fare will eat the saving unless you are changing a large sum: 90 baht per US$1,000 does not pay for a ride across the island, and on euros and pounds there was nothing to save at all. Compare within your zone first, then decide whether a trip is worth it. For yen, the 1.7% gap between Lion at Central Phuket and Mamy is still worth less than a round trip by taxi on anything under 200,000 yen.
Bring the right notes
Denomination tiers apply on Phuket as everywhere. Mamy Exchange quoted 33.41 for US$50 and US$100 notes, 33.11 for US$5 to US$20, and 32.61 for US$1 and US$2 on 15 October: a US$20 note earned 0.9% less than a hundred, and a single dollar 2.4% less. The full currency-by-currency picture is in which banknotes to bring.
Practical notes
- Bring large, clean notes; the tiers above are the penalty for anything smaller.
- Carry your passport. Licensed shops must record identification, as set out in passport and ID rules.
- None of the four tracked counters publishes its opening hours, so the site cannot show them. Mall desks keep mall hours; for Mamy, ask locally before making the trip. Do not assume a late evening opening the way you can in Pattaya or at the Bangkok airport counters.
- The live boards for all four counters are on the Phuket page, and each has its own page with a map, for example Mamy Exchange at Koh Kaew and Lion at Central Phuket.
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