Simon Cabaret

One of the most interesting nights you could have in Phuket involves visiting this world-renowned lady-boys (transvestites) cabaret show, Phuket Simon Cabaret in South Patong Beach on the west side of Phuket Island.

Since 1991, this cabaret show has been one of the top things to do in Phuket for visitors from all over the world. This is a professionally produced song and dance, light and sound show that is appropriate for the entire family – children are welcome. Most of the singing seems to be lip-synced. The costumes are ornate and immaculately maintained. The lady-boys are convincing, and some you would absolutely swear are women, but they are all men. There are more than two-hundred people working on the production and about 120 performers, eighteen to thirty years old in each show.

On Google Maps, Simon Cabaret has over 400 overwhelmingly positive reviews and a rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars. On TripAdvisor, they have 2,433 reviews and a 3.5 out of 5 stars. Nearly twenty-percent of TripAdvisor customers called the show “poor” or “terrible”.

Also, be aware that the “VIP” section does not mean front row. Some customers report feeling taken advantage of because the VIP seats were not what was expected.

The show changes every three months which means that even if you saw it some months ago, you can always go back and see the new production. Shows are every day of the week and rarely close for national holidays. This is a one-hour show that costs about 700 Thai Baht for the show and extra for transportation. Nightly show times: 6 pm., 7:45 pm. and 9:30 pm. Don’t forget to bring your camera because after the show you can take photos with the lady-boys as souvenirs – they will ask for a donation of 100 to 200 THB.

Note – Don’t miss at the 3 minute 34 second mark in the video below. You may have never seen something like it before!

Location is in Kathu, just south of Patong Beach, along Sirirat Road (Hwy 4233).