Getting here
The flight takes about an hour and a half; the road and the rail take most of a day or a night. How the options compare, and how to arrive from Chiang Mai, Krabi, Khao Lak and Koh Samui.
From Bangkok, we would fly. The flight to Phuket takes about 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 35, both Bangkok airports have direct flights, and the alternatives are long: about 12 to 14 hours by night bus, and longer by train and bus, because Phuket has no railway.
The rest of this page sets out each option, then the routes from Chiang Mai, Krabi, Khao Lak and Koh Samui. Times and fares are orders of magnitude reported by travel guides and booking sites dated 2025 and 2026, or undated, not timetables: buses, trains and boats change their times with the season, so check yours with the operator before you travel.
You want the quickest, simplest trip
Fly
Check which Bangkok airport your flight leaves from: the airlines are not the same at both.
You would rather travel overland and sleep on the way
The night bus
Pay for a class you can sleep in, and plan the last leg: the bus stops at a terminal north of Phuket Town, not on the beaches.
You want to go by train
Train to Surat Thani, then a bus
Plan on a night and most of a morning: the train stops well short of Phuket, often in the small hours, and a bus does the rest.
| How long | What you pay | |
|---|---|---|
| Flight | About 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 35 in the air, plus getting to and from the airports | Changes by day and airline; compare the final fare, baggage included |
| Night bus | About 12 to 14 hours, sometimes more | From about 715 baht, more for the VIP classes |
| Train and bus | About 9 to 11 hours by train, then about 5 to 6 hours by bus | The train fare by class, plus the bus to Phuket |
Flights between Bangkok and Phuket International Airport (HKT) take about 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 35. One guide counted about 50 departures a day in October 2026, from early morning until close to midnight.
Bangkok has two airports, and the airlines differ: only Thai AirAsia flies from both. If you land in Bangkok on an international flight, check which airport your Phuket flight leaves from: getting from one to the other takes an hour or more. Some booking sites show flights with a stop on this route, so check that yours is direct.
From Don Mueang (DMK). Thai AirAsia, Nok Air and Thai Lion Air.
From Suvarnabhumi (BKK). Thai Airways, Bangkok Airways, Thai VietJet and some Thai AirAsia flights.
Fares change by day and airline. In October 2026, one guide found about 1,000 to 2,500 baht booked two to four weeks ahead, before baggage, with higher prices in December and January and at Songkran.
Phuket airport is at Mai Khao, at the northern tip of the island, about 32 km north of Phuket Town. Plan the last leg to your beach before you land.
Leaving Phuket airport: taxi, Grab or bus
Buses for Phuket leave from Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Mai). The journey takes about 12 to 14 hours, most of it overnight, and one guide allows up to 16. Fares start at about 715 baht and rise with the class; according to one guide, the top fares, up to about 1,400 baht, are for VIP buses with only 24 seats.
Several companies run the route, among them The Transport Co. (BKS), Lignite Tour and Sombat Tour. Most buses arrive at Phuket Bus Terminal 2, north of Phuket Town; from there you finish the trip to your beach by road.
It saves a hotel night, but it is not the way to arrive rested. Buy from the terminal or from a seller that names the bus company: one guide advises against the agencies on Khao San Road (poor service, overcharging); the bus-and-van tickets they sell are not sold at the terminal.
There is no railway on Phuket. The train option is a train from Krung Thep Aphiwat, Bangkok's main station, to Surat Thani, which stops at Phun Phin station, about 15 km from the town: about 9 to 11 hours, with about ten trains a day. A bus then covers the last 5 to 6 hours to Phuket.
The catch is the timing. The evening trains reach Phun Phin between about 1 am and 8 am, and according to one guide the buses to Phuket leave in the morning and early afternoon. With the wait at Phun Phin, one guide puts the whole journey at 16 to 18 hours. Take it if the train is part of the trip for you, not to save time; train times change, so check them with the State Railway of Thailand when you book.
About 835 to 875 km by road, depending on where you start and finish, or 10 to 12 hours of driving. Phuket is joined to the mainland by a bridge, so no ferry is needed on the way. By air, it is the 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 35 flight.
Fly. Bangkok Airways and Thai AirAsia fly direct between Chiang Mai and Phuket, about seven or eight flights a day according to two sources in 2026, and Bangkok Airways gives the flight time as about 2 hours 5 minutes.
Overland it takes more than a day. One guide lists a single daily VIP bus of about 24 hours 40 minutes, from Chiang Mai Bus Terminal 3 to Phuket Bus Terminal 2; the train means changing in Bangkok, then again at Surat Thani for the bus.
From Krabi you can come by road or by sea. There is no direct flight between the two.
By road. About 150 to 170 km. A shared van from Krabi Bus Terminal to Phuket Bus Terminal 2 takes about 3 hours, up to 4, from about 260 to 320 baht, according to two guides.
By boat from Krabi Town. From Klong Jilad pier to Rassada port, near Phuket Town, about 2 hours, leaving around midday.
By speedboat from Ao Nang or Railay. From Nopparat Thara pier or the Railay East pontoon, 1 to 2 hours. Depending on the operator, you land at Rassada, at Bang Rong in the north-east of the island, or, according to one guide, at Laem Hin near Phuket Town.
From May to October, in the south-west monsoon, the boats can be rough or cancelled, while the vans run in any weather: do not plan a boat and a flight on the same day in that season. In the high season, one guide advises booking boat tickets several days ahead.
Phuket's piers, and which is which
Khao Lak has no airport, and no boat runs from Phuket: most visitors fly to Phuket airport, about 75 to 80 km to the south. By car from the airport it takes about 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 40, depending on the beach, and two guides put a taxi at about 1,500 to 2,000 baht. One guide advises leaving Khao Lak 3 hours 30 to 4 hours before a flight.
The public bus is cheaper and slower. According to one guide, it takes about 2 hours from Phuket Bus Terminal 2, in Phuket Town, and does not call at the airport.
Thap Lamu, the pier for the Similan Islands, is about 13 to 15 km south of Khao Lak; from Phuket, a Similan day starts with a long drive north to it.
The Similan Islands from Phuket or Khao Lak
Koh Samui is on the other coast, in the Gulf of Thailand, and no boat sails directly to Phuket. The quick way is the direct flight: Bangkok Airways is the only airline on the route, and gives the flight time as about an hour.
Overland, it is a ferry from Samui to Donsak on the mainland, 60 to 90 minutes, then a bus across the peninsula of about 5 to 6 hours, usually sold as one ticket. One guide counts 7 to 9 hours in all; resellers list shorter times, and their fares disagree, so compare what each ticket includes before you buy.
The Gulf has its own rough season: according to the same guide, Samui's ferries are most often delayed from October to December, not from May to October as on Phuket's side.
If you are entering Thailand, fill in the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) within the three days before you arrive, on tdac.immigration.go.th only. It is free, it has been compulsory since 1 May 2025, and sites that charge for it are not official.
The visa exemption has changed. Since 15 September 2026, travellers from the 60 countries and territories on Thailand's list, France and Belgium among them, get 30 days, not 60. Pages that still say 60 days are out of date.
The boats from Krabi can be cancelled, especially in the south-west monsoon, from May to October. If your plan ends with a flight home, keep a day in hand between the last boat and the plane.
This page comes from desk research done on 4 November 2026, without checking on the ground. Airlines come from at least two sources, and the Chiang Mai and Koh Samui flight times from Bangkok Airways' own pages; other times and fares come from travel guides and booking sites dated 2025 and 2026, or undated, and where they disagree, we say so rather than choose.
We do not publish timetables: buses, trains and boats change them with the season. Check the current times with the operator, and tell us if what you find differs.
Things to do · the beaches
Phuket's beaches line its west coast, from an empty 11 km strand by the airport to small coves reached on foot or by boat. The one thing they share is the sea: calm from December to March, and dangerous on many days from May to October.
Things to do · the islands
From Phuket you can reach many islands in a day: Phi Phi and Maya Bay, the Racha islands to the south, small Coral Island, the Khai islands, the Similan far to the north-west, and the quiet Koh Yao islands in Phang Nga Bay. They are not reached from the same pier, and they are not all open all year.
Things to do · Phang Nga Bay
North-east of Phuket, Phang Nga Bay is a sea of limestone towers, mangroves and hidden lagoons, much of it protected as a national park. A day there usually combines James Bond Island, a stilt village and a canoe ride into the hongs. Sheltered on three sides, the bay can be visited almost all year; James Bond Island is crowded around midday.
Things to do · the Old Town
A grid of painted shophouses built on tin money, a food culture that earned Phuket a UNESCO City of Gastronomy title, and a Sunday market that fills Thalang Road: the Old Town is the part of Phuket that is not about the sea.
Things to do · temples
A white marble Buddha on the hill above Kata, reopened in 2026 after a deadly landslide; the island's best-known Buddhist temple, at Chalong; Chinese shrines in the Old Town; and a golden Buddha half-buried in the ground at Thalang.
Things to do · Patong
Patong is Phuket's busiest resort: a 3 km beach in a bay on the west coast, a town of hotels, malls and markets behind it, and Bangla Road, the island's nightlife street. It is convenient, loud and very easy to enjoy if you know where its rules and its traps are.
Things to do · the south
The south of Phuket ends in a cape where crowds gather every evening for the sunset. Around it are Nai Harn, a bay with a lake behind it, the small cove of Ya Nui, Rawai with its longtail pier and seafood market, and Chalong, whose pier is the island's busiest for boat trips.
Things to do · night markets
Phuket's markets run on a weekly rhythm: the Old Town's Sunday Walking Street, the weekend market at Naka, container stalls at Chillva from Monday to Saturday, and markets every evening in Patong and Kata. The food is the reason to go, and the day you are on the island decides which one you can see.
Where to stay
Kata and Karon for a first trip, Patong for the nights, the Old Town for the food, Mai Khao for the airport: the area you sleep in decides your beach, your evenings and your drives.
Travel info
The practical side of a trip to Phuket: entry rules that changed in September 2026, an airport at the far north of the island, blue buses that run from Phuket Town to one beach and back but never between beaches, scooters that put many riders in hospital, and a few habits that save money.
About 835 to 875 km by road, 10 to 12 hours of driving. By air, the flight takes about 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 35.
About 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 35. Direct flights leave from both Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi, with mostly different airlines at each.
No. Phuket has no railway. You can take a train from Bangkok to Surat Thani (Phun Phin station), about 9 to 11 hours, then a bus of about 5 to 6 hours to Phuket.
About 12 to 14 hours from Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal, mostly overnight, from about 715 baht depending on the class. Most buses arrive at Phuket Bus Terminal 2, north of Phuket Town.
Fly: Bangkok Airways and Thai AirAsia fly direct, about seven or eight flights a day, in about 2 hours. Overland, it takes more than a day.