Getting to Phuket - How do I get to Phuket?

Simple enough question - how do I get to Phuket? Well, first of all, if you are coming from another country you have to get to Thailand. Phuket is an island and also a province of Thailand located in the south of the country about 800km south of Bangkok. Getting here is easy. Hope to see you soon!

Come Fly with Me

Most people will fly to Thailand these days, since a boat from Europe or America would take a very long time. International flights normally arrive in Bangkok, but you can also fly long haul into Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) or Singapore and get connecting flights to Phuket from there. There are a few direct flights from Europe to Phuket, mostly holiday charter flights.

From Bangkok you have plenty of domestic flights with a whole bunch of airlines. Most depart from the new airport (Suvarnabhumi), though some also depart from the old airport (Don Muang). See links below.

• Suvarnabhumi Airport Information
• Thai Airways
• Air Asia
• Nok Air
• Bangkok Airways
• One 2 Go
• Orient Thai
• Thai Domestic Flights - Shows all domestic flight schedules and routes in Thailand

One that many people don't know about is Destination Air - they have seaplane services between Phuket, Phi Phi, Krabi, Koh Lanta and more. Charters can be arranged. It's ideal if your flight connections don't match with ferry times, or if you just want to get there right now with no messing around in taxis and boats. And the view is good.

• Destination Air
• Seaplane to Phi Phi on Jamie's Phuket Blog

Phuket Airport

Phuket International Airport is not very large, has a single runway, single terminal and the queues at immigration can be long in peak season. The airport is in the north of Phuket and it often surprises visitors that the taxi ride to their hotel is so long. It can take an hour to reach the south of Phuket where the main tourist beaches are found. It's also about an hours drive to Khao Lak, but in the other direction. The nearest beaches to the airport are Nai Yang, Mai Khao and Naithon.

• Phuket Airport Information
• Phuket Airport - Live Flight Status

From Phuket Airport, you have a choice of transportation to reach your hotel. Some people complain about taxis being a rip off, but I think 500 - 600 Baht for a 40km ride is pretty reasonable. There are airport limos, metered taxis (which tend to work out a little cheaper), or you can arrange pick up in advance with your hotel, dive center etc... Booking your taxi in advance is a great stress saver. Its nice to walk out of the terminal and see someone holding up your name!

Cheaper options - you can take a shared minibus which departs when full and charges about 160 - 180 Baht per person to the southern beaches. Cheaper, but slower. You might be lucky and be the first to drop off, or you might be the last. Also, you are almost sure to be dropped first at a travel agent who will try to sell you tours or a room if you've not already arranged it. The taxi and minibus drivers get commission. Again, a prearranged private pick up has the advantage - they will take you directly where you want to go.

There is now an airport bus service too, but this runs only into Phuket City and not to the beaches. Very cheap - just 85 Baht from airport to town. If you plan on staying in Phuket Town, great. If you then want to get to the beaches, you have to take a tuk tuk or taxi from the bus station which will cost around 300 Baht.

• Phuket Airport Bus Service


Long Distance Bus Services

Thailand has a very good bus service. I have taken the VIP buses many times, you are well looked after and if it's a night bus you can almost sleep. Buses are the preferred method of travel for budget travelers, though the prices offered by the budget airlines these days are very tempting. Fly from Bangkok in 80 minutes or take a 12 hour overnight bus...? A bus in the day time means you can see some countryside, though the VIP buses tend to be almost non stop so you don't see much local life. If you really want to mingle with the masses, take a cheaper 2nd class bus or even a non aircon bus for shorter trips.

Warning: There are many reports on travel forums about bags going missing or items being stolen on long bus rides, especially those organised by private companies and especially those booked in backpacker areas like Khao San Road, Bangkok. Better to book the bus at the bus station yourself. The government run VIP buses are excellent. The private companies take advantage of the sheep mentality of many backpackers. If you take the buses that the locals take, you should not have any problems. But its common sense when traveling to carry all really valuable stuff on your person and not in checked luggage, right? A good way to put a thief off is to pack your dirty laundry on the top of your backpack. Makes sure it's nice and stinky.

The Phuket Bus terminal is in Phuket City within walking distance of many hotels and guesthouses. There is talk of building a new terminal north of the center which the taxi drivers will love! If arriving by bus and needing onward transfer to the beaches, there are plenty of taxis waiting for you.

• Phuket Bus Time Table (departures)
• Government Bus Website (Home Page)


Ferry Services to Phuket

Phuket is an island. True, but it's only just an island and is connected to the mainland by Sarasin Bridge. Nevertheless, if coming to Phuket from islands such as Phi Phi or Koh Lanta, you'll need a ferry. There's ferries from Krabi too, but you can also take a bus from there. There are 2 ferries per day between Phuket and Phi Phi. From Phi Phi departing 09:00 and 14:30. The ferry takes about 90 minutes. The Rassada ferry terminal is right in the east of Phuket City, not really walkable from the center, but if you buy tickets for the ferry in advance from a travel agent they will normally include onward transfer to your hotel. It can easily take 45 minutes in traffic to get from the terminal to Phuket's main west coast beaches.

• Ferry Services - Timetables and Online Booking


Choo Choo Ch-Boogie

Dear train lovers... Sorry there are no trains to Phuket. The nearest you can get is Surat Thani, which is about 3-4 hours away by bus.

• State Railway of Thailand - Southern Timetable
• Guide to Train Travel in Thailand


If there is any travel information I have missed here or any links that would be useful, please do leave a comment. Enjoy Phuket!

Phuket Hotels - Booking Online

The www is out there. The whole wide world is at our fingertips these days. The traveler no longer has to hope there might be a room free on arrival, no need for phone calls to far away places to make "reservations" that they won't keep anyway. If you are reading this you are online, and that's the best place to look for hotels in Phuket, Thailand, Asia, The World! I've been blogging for about 20 months. The Jamie's Phuket blog started in April 2006, followed by the Phuket Weather blog and this one and a few others too...

During the last year and a half, I have realised there are hundreds of places to book hotels online. I would like to suggest a few websites to check out if you are looking at coming to Thailand in the near future. You can book Phuket hotels or hotels anywhere else in Thailand on these sites. Happy Holidays!

Phuket Hotels - Where to Book Online

• Agoda
• LateStays
• R24
• BookHostels

So... what hotel is the best?... I don't know. Ask 100 people and you'll get 100 answers. Everyone's taste is different. I have selected some recommended hotels, and you are welcome to check them out:

• Phuket Hotels - Recommended by Jamie
• Top 10 Hotels in Phuket
• Phuket Hotel Blog - yes I have started a hotel blog too!

Wherever you stay, whatever you do, enjoy Phuket!

Google Earth - Phuket Images Updated!

Finally! Now the whole of Phuket can be seen in high resolution on Google Earth. The last section was the South West Coast, including Patong, Karon, Kata and Laem Phromthep. The islands of Racha Yai and Racha Noi are also high res now. I guess the images are not 100% up to date, but now you can fly over the west coast and the whole island! A few new images below.


(above) Phuket and (to the east) Koh Yao Yai and Koh Yao Noi


(above) West Coast Beaches - Karon, Kata, Kata Noi


(above)Patong Beach


(above) Phromthep Cape and Naiharn Beach

Phuket on YouTube

I don't want to dwell on the "YouTube was banned in Thailand" issue. But it was banned. The Ministry of Information blocked the entire site because some nonce had posted some videos that were insulting to the King. I quite like browsing You Tube, so going without it for nearly 5 months was rather a drag! Yeh, I know there's more to life... It still seems to be blocked by the TOT internet provider. Anyhow, it's now back and so I am looking through the mountains of vids to find some clips that show various aspects of Phuket... I will add more here as time goes by.

If you know any good YouTube videos, please add a comment with a link to the video...

A Brief History of Phuket:




Phuket Town Street Scenes:




Nightlife - Soi Bangla, Patong Beach:




Phuket Holiday Video




Surfing at Kata Beach:




Gibbon Rehabilitation Center:




Jungle Bungy Jump:




Muay Thai in Phuket:




Chalong Temple:




5 Fun Things to Do in Phuket:




Enough for now! YouTube has loads of videos that give you an idea of the place. You can search for Phuket : YouTube Search results for Phuket. If a picture is worth a thousand words, whats the price of a video?

Cheap Places to stay in Phuket - Hostels and Guesthouses

Phuket does have that reputation of being very expensive - only resorts and tourist restaurants. This is wildly inaccurate. Phuket has it all - OK, so there's not really a "backpacker" scene here any more, but there is plenty of cheap accommodation, food is as cheap as you like - just go where the locals go, there are local buses and you can rent a motorbike for 150-200 Baht per day. I will try and list some less expensive places to stay below - not a complete listing by any means, but hopefully useful. You can find some links to other sources of information below.

Try HostelWorld for low budget places to stay



Phuket Town is often said to be the cheapest place to stay, rather than any of the beaches. The town is quite nice actually, and there are also some nicer places to stay, but it has always been where you are likely to find the odd backpacker passing through. Back in 1999, I arrived in Phuket and the first few nights I stayed at a hotel called "Thai Inter", also a night at the well known On On Hotel, which was used during the filming of "The Beach". After a few nights I realised I could stay in Patong for 300 Baht a night and save all the bus or tuk tuk rides. The buses only run until about 5 - 6pm - after that you are at the mercy of the taxi drivers who'll charge you the same as you pay for your room to take you back there.

Phuket Town is good for exploring and using as a base especially if there's something going on like the Phuket Vegetarian Festival.

• Old Phuket Town
• Vegetarian Festival

Cheap places to stay in Phuket Town

On On Hotel
Phuket Backpacker
Old Town Hostel
Thalang Guesthouse
More - see TravelFish

One day if I have time, I must take another walk and check on these places.

On The Beaches of Phuket...

It's not all expensive, you know. Patong has quite a lot of guesthouses - you can find some in the Bookhostels link on this page. But since I am not a fan of Patong, let's ignore those - Kata and Karon Beaches are slightly more laid back and have a good choice of lower budget places to stay. I have featured the Pineapple Guesthouse on my blog already (Karon Beach). You can book Pineapple Guesthouse online here. The Fantasy Hill Bungalows in the center of Kata are often praised, and the Little Mermaid (2 locations in Karon and Kata) has long been a good lower budget option.

Cheap Places to stay - Kata and Karon Beaches

Pineapple Guesthouse
Divers Inn
Baan Suay Backpackers
Southern Fried Rice
Fantasy Hill Bungalows
Little Mermaid Karon
Little Mermaid Kata
Beshert Guesthouse
Hotel Kata Center Inn
Karon Living Room
Bukit Hostel

Oh, there's more if you wander around - and depends on your definition of "low budget"! In Karon I could also mention Casa Brazil, J&J Inn, Nice Residence, Holiday Village, Robin House, Anan House... all within a few minutes walk of the beach


Phuket Hotel Listings

BookHostels (mostly cheap places)
R24.org (a long list, some cheapies here too)
Agoda.com (tends to be mid-high price hotels)

Oh, and get some insurance when you travel. It's worth the peace of mind.

Wet season in Phuket - Great time to visit!

As May turns to June, people in Europe, North America and more northerly parts of Asia are thinking of the summer, with sunny skies, warm balmy days and BBQ's in the garden. It's summertime and the livin' is easy... Here in Phuket, the weather doesn't have the same 4 seasons as "back home". We don't get cold weather, I have no use for warm clothes save for the occasional early morning ride on the bike, you can wear polo shirts and shorts every day. We don't have a spring with the bluebells flowering in the woods, we don't have an autumn with golden leaves. But - we do have weather!



Now, there are many reasons why people choose to take a vacation in Thailand. Could be for scuba diving, could be for the culture, could be for the great food, for the nightlife, for the beaches, for the chance to sample Asia in small easy to manage pieces or because it's cheap... but the weather is also an important factor. Bob from England wants to go home with a tan, so does the Eriksson family from Sweden. They all want sunshine. So, for the convenience of Mr and Mrs A Tourist, we can divide the year into two parts: HIGH season and LOW season. Read on...

High season is when (on average) you get the best weather - meaning more sun and less rain. This is approximately November to April. It can rain anytime, but the prevailing winds at this time are from the North East, bringing little in the way of storms and rain. Also it means that the west facing beaches in Phuket are sheltered and calm. So, this is when most of the tourists come. It's also when all the hotels are more expensive!

Low season is what we are in now. From May to October we enter the South West monsoon season, meaning prevailing winds are from the South West, coming across the Indian Ocean bringing (on average) more rain than the high season. The winds also mean that the beaches are sometimes too rough for swimming. Many guidebooks and travel agents will tell you the weather is always bad at this time of year and many people believe it. Of course, thats nonsense.



Low season rocks. Low season is a great time to visit Phuket and the rest of Thailand. That is, so long as you don't mind occasional rain and don't want to sit on a beach for 2 weeks. You'll get sun most of the time, most days are hot and you start to wish it WOULD rain just to cool things off! The rain that does fall mostly comes right at the start and end of the season. For example we had a wet start to May this year, but most of the rest of the month was great weather.



The "low season monsoon rains every day" myth is why I started a weather page on the Sunrise Divers website a few years ago. To record the weather and show what it's really like, rather than relying on averages and forecasts that always say "chance of a thunderstorm". My parents have visited from the UK a couple of times in July and I guess we had 80% good weather and the little rain that fell never stopped us doing anything. Last year they came in April and there was more rain than the low season! Ah, Pacha Mama playing tricks on us.

Last year I started my personal Phuket Weather Blog, which now nicely complements the Sunrise Divers Weather page. If you take a look at the archives you'll see what the weather was really like. As for what it will be like - it's anyone's guess, though you can find a whole load of weather related links on my weather blog that may help.



You can do anything in low season that you can in high season. And there are advantages. Main advantage? HOTEL PRICES - a bargain can be had in the summer as hotels compete for limited numbers of guests. Big resorts drop prices dramatically, while cheap guesthouse rooms can be down to a couple of hundred Baht. Another plus - the colour Green - many locals call this time of year the Green season, as the rain that does fall is lapped up by the tropical plants that cover Phuket. Another plus - less crowds. Yep, this is not package tourist season, so you have more space to move, more room on the beach, less crowds at the main sights, less divers in the water, more breathing space in the restaurants.

Sure it rains sometimes, sure you will have wet and windy days now and then, but you get way more sun than rain. Check out my weather pages for the reports and I hope to see you in Phuket this summer! Bring your umbrella and factor 30.

Useful Links:

• Jamie's Phuket Weather Blog
• Sunrise Divers Phuket Weather Pages
• Phuket Hotel Recommendations
• Phuket Hotels - Online Booking