Shopping & markets in Surat Thani.

Opened in 2012 on Wat Pradu, Central Plaza Surat Thani is the city's leading modern mall - around 61,100 sqm of retail space with Tops Market, B2S, SuperSports, Power Buy, banks, a cinema and well over 100 fashion and service shops. It is the closest thing to a full one-stop mall day out in the province.

The Big C hypermarket at Bang Kung covers groceries, household goods, a food court and everyday basics at hypermarket prices, and is a regular weekly-shop stop for residents across the city.

A smaller local shopping centre popular for everyday fashion, phone accessories and casual dining - a lower-key alternative to Central Plaza for a quick errand run.

Lotus's (formerly Tesco Lotus) runs a large supermarket/hypermarket format in town, useful for groceries, homeware and household basics alongside Big C.

Talat Kaset is more than a market - it sits beside Surat Thani's intercity bus and minivan terminal, so it doubles as the town's transit hub and a working day market for fresh produce, dry goods, snacks and everyday essentials. It is the address most Surat Thani residents give when they mean 'downtown'.

In the evening the area around Talat Kaset fills with food stalls - southern Thai snacks, grilled skewers, desserts and simple sit-down meals - making it one of the easiest, cheapest places in town for a casual dinner.

Set in the old town near the Chinese shrine that gives it its name, San Chao Market comes alive in the evening with street food, snacks and a slower, more local atmosphere among the area's older shophouses - a favourite for a walk-and-eat evening out.

Surat Thani runs its own smaller Walking Street on weekend evenings - street food, local crafts and the odd bit of live music, in the spirit of the famous Chiang Mai version but far less crowded. Days and exact location can shift, so check locally before heading out.

HomePro and Thai Watsadu both run branches in Surat Thani town covering furniture, appliances, kitchenware, bedding and DIY basics, with Global House and Makro serving the wider region for bulk buys, hardware and building materials. There is no Index Living Mall or IKEA in the province - long-stayers wanting that wider selection tend to order online or stock up on trips to Bangkok.

Power Buy inside Central Plaza and the electronics counters at Big C and Lotus's cover fans, air-con, fridges, TVs and small kitchen appliances, while B2S at Central Plaza handles phones, stationery, books and computer accessories.

Surat Thani has no dedicated imported-goods supermarket like Bangkok's Villa Market, but Tops Market inside Central Plaza and the Big C and Lotus's hypermarkets carry a decent range of Western groceries, wine and toiletries, backed up by pharmacies and 7-Eleven / Family Mart branches on almost every street for daily basics.

Central Plaza and the Talat Kaset corridor form the practical shopping spine of Surat Thani town - malls, markets, transit and everyday errands all sit within a short ride of each other. Residents further out in Phun Phin or near Don Sak pier plan trips into this corridor for anything beyond daily convenience-store basics.

Central Plaza Surat Thani (Central Suratthani) is the city's main mall, with Big C and Lotus's covering hypermarket-style shopping and the Talat Kaset corridor covering markets, transit and everyday errands - all within a short ride of each other in Surat Thani town.

Talat Kaset is Surat Thani town's combined market and transit hub, sitting beside the intercity bus and minivan terminal. By day it is a working market for fresh produce and everyday goods, and by evening the surrounding streets fill with food stalls and a busy night market.

The Talat Kaset Night Market and the old-town San Chao Market (Talat San Chao) are the two main evening food markets, joined on weekend evenings by a smaller Walking Street Market with street food, crafts and the occasional live music - check current days and hours locally as they can shift.

HomePro and Thai Watsadu both have branches in Surat Thani town for furniture, appliances and DIY basics, with Global House and Makro nearby for bulk buys and building materials. There is no Index Living Mall or IKEA in the province, so a wider selection means ordering online or a trip to Bangkok.

There is no dedicated imported-goods supermarket in Surat Thani, but Tops Market inside Central Plaza and the Big C and Lotus's hypermarkets stock a reasonable range of Western groceries, wine and toiletries, and 7-Eleven and Family Mart are everywhere for daily basics.