Koh Si-Re

Koh Sirey (also spelled Ko Si-Re) is close enough to Phuket Town that you drive there — a causeway connects the island to the mainland, so there’s no boat involved despite the island setting. Two things bring visitors across: one of Phuket’s few remaining Urak Lawoi communities, an indigenous sea-faring people often called “sea gypsies,” and Wat Koh Sirey, a hilltop temple with a large reclining Buddha and views back across the water to Phuket Town.

The Urak Lawoi village sits along the shoreline in wooden houses raised over the tide line, much as it has for generations — this is a working fishing community, not a recreation of one, and it’s worth remembering that when you visit. Longtail boats line up for repairs and net-mending during the day, and the catch gets sold straight off the boats to small local restaurants rather than through any tourist-facing market. Treat it as you would any residential neighborhood: ask before photographing people directly, buy from stalls and restaurants rather than just wandering through, and keep to public paths rather than private yards.

Wat Koh Sirey occupies high ground on the island’s far side, and the reclining Buddha is the reason most people make the trip — gold-covered, housed under an open pavilion, with the temple’s smaller shrines scattered around the hillside below it. Entry is free, and the temple is open daily from roughly 08:00 to 17:00. From the hill, you get a clear view over the mangroves that fringe much of the island’s interior, where mudskippers work the mud at low tide and kingfishers hunt from the branches.

Insider Tip: Go in late afternoon — the light on the reclining Buddha is better after 3pm, and the fishing village is at its most active as boats return with the day’s catch.

Watch out: This is a living community, not a cultural display — there’s no formal village tour or ticketed entry to the Urak Lawoi area, and treating it as a photo backdrop rather than someone’s home is a fast way to feel unwelcome. A little courtesy goes a long way here.

Koh Sirey pairs naturally with a wander around Phuket Old Town, a short drive back across the causeway, and sits close to Phuket Town for anyone building a half-day loop around the area’s Peranakan and coastal heritage.