Surin Beach still has a small village atmosphere, but this is gradually changing as more and more major housing developments and hotel projects get underway. Accommodation is not cheap and the best prices are around 500 baht in the low season.

The beach itself is lined with tall casuarina trees and small Thai style restaurants. There is no nightlife to speak of, but there are many quality restaurants serving a variety of cuisines. Surin beach can become quite dangerous in the monsoon season due to its steeply sloping beach, and many unwary swimmers have lost their lives here; however this has not deterred the local surf enthusiasts and when the waves are right you'll see many Thais on surfboards.

The most significant event in the history of Phuket was the attack by the Burmese in 1785. Captain Francis Light, a British East India Company captain passing by the island, sent word to the local administration that he had observed Burmese forces preparing to attack. Khunying Jan, the wife of the recently deceased governor, and her sister Mook then assembled what forces they could. After a month-long siege, the Burmese were forced to retreat March 13, 1785. The two women became local heroines, receiving the honorary titles Thao Thep Kasatri and Thao Sri Sunthon from King Rama I. During the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), Phuket became the administrative center of the tin-producing southern provinces. In 1933 Monthon Phuket was dissolved and Phuket became a province by itself. Old names of the island include Ko Thalang.^[clarify]