General Information

Cities

Only a few of Phuket's cities are not on the beach.

Phuket Town - The administrative center of the province, and the island's main population center. Has the cheapest accommodation, but no beaches.

Chalong Bay - On the east coast, home to Phuket's most popular yacht anchorage and the primary gateway to the islands off Phuket

Beaches

The major beaches from north to south are:

Mai Khao (Sai Kaeo) - near the airport, very quiet (aside from the planes!) and far away from it all

Nai Thon and Nai Yang - two quiet beaches in Sirinat National Park

Bang Thao (Laguna Beach) - long, very quiet beach

Surin and Pansea Beach - an up-and-coming upmarket destination

Laem Sing - small bay with stunning views, between Kamala Beach and Surin Beach

Kamala Beach - a quieter beach to the north of Patong

Kalim Beach - a series of small beaches just to the north of Patong

Patong Beach - the largest beach resort, known for its nightlife

Karon and Karon Noi Beaches - the second most-developed beach after Patong

Kata Yai Beach - busy, clean tourist beach with good surf

Kata Noi Beach - quieter sister of Kata Yai

Nai Han and Ao Sen - a quiet beach (probably the best) in the south, near Phromthep Cape view point

Ya Nui Beach

Rawai, Mittraphap and Laem Ka - set off point for lots of local islands, popular with locals for eating on the beach

Cape Panwa - home to Phuket Aquarium

Islands

There are dozens of small islands (ko) between Phuket and Krabi. The following have accommodation:

Ko Bon -- 10 minutes from Rawai, an ideal island for a day of snorkeling and relaxing.

Ko Hae (Coral Island) -- 15 minutes by speedboat from Chalong Bay, accessible all year.

Ko Lon -- quiet, mostly Muslim island with a few bungalows

Ko Mai Thon -- gorgeous little island with only one (expensive) place to stay

Ko Maphrao (Coconut Island)

Ko Racha (Ko Raya) -- consists of two islands (Yai and Noi), popular with scuba divers and a relaxing snorkeling destination.

Ko Sire (Ko Si Le) -- Sea Gypsy colony, connected to the mainland by a causeway

Ko Yao -- two islands halfway to Krabi, with four upmarket resorts

Get in

Buses and songthaews connect Phuket Town to major beaches around the island, and start from Thanon Ranong at the Ranong market. The most popular service is the one to Patong Beach (25 baht, 45 minutes) which leaves every 30 minutes between 07:00 and 18:00. Fares to other beaches range from 15 to 30 baht. If you miss the last bus back a taxi will cost 200-400 depending on your bargaining skills.

Phuket International Airport is 30 km to the north of Phuket Town, about 30 minutes by taxi (1000 baht), 45 minutes by shared minibus (500 baht) or 1 hr by Government Bus from the Bus Terminal (85 baht).

Get around

Phuket Town is just a little too big to be covered comfortably on foot. There's little organised public transport as such, but motorbikes and four wheel tuk-tuks whizz about looking for fares.

Transport

» By plane

The compact Phuket International Airport (IATA : HKT) ( ICAO : VTSP) is in the north of the island, and is Thailand's second largest hub, second only to Bangkok. There are very frequent flights to/from Bangkok as well as direct flights to many other airports in the region, including Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and direct charters to Europe and Australia in the high season.

International flights

Australia - V Australia, and Jetstar have direct flights from/to major cities in Australia.

Malaysia - AirAsia, FireFly and Malaysia Airlines have direct flights from/to Kuala Lumpur.

Singapore - SilkAir has 32 flights a week. Low cost alternatives are Thai AirAsia and Tiger Airways.

Germany - Air Berlin has nonstop flights to Berlin(ends 26 April) and Munich.

Vietnam - Air Asia operates direct daily flights from/to Hochi Minh City (aka Saigon)

Other low cost direct connections include Hong Kong, Jakarta, Macao, Seoul, Medan and Busan

Charter flights

There are some charter flights in high season from European and Asian countries such as Sweden, Taiwan, Japan, etc. The airlines charge a very cheap fare.

Domestic flights

Several domestic discount airlines fly here, including Air Asia. Tickets from Bangkok can cost under 1000 baht one-way if booked well in advance, or around 2000 baht (including taxes) if bought on the day.

Thai Airways flies from Bangkoks Suvarnabhumi airport several times every day, as well as once daily from Chiang Mai (but there are no direct flights in the opposite direction). Additionally, they sell tickets from/to many domestic and international destinations with stopover in Bangkok - which are usually cheaper (especially international) than if you book separate tickets. Cheapest (non-exchangeable and non-refundable - though taxes are refunded even in the unfortunate case of no-show, if you call them later) one-way ticket from Bangkok, as of April 2008, costs 2320 baht - worth checking if you book just a few days before flight, as low-cost airlines may cost only 200-300 baht less in this situation, but you get world-famous Thai Airways service, and free onboard meals too.

Bangkok Airways has a monopoly on direct flights between Phuket and U-Tapao (Pattaya / Sattahip) and Ko Samui. They also have 4 daily flights from Bangkok - fares are around 1700 baht inclusive of taxes when purchased on the airline website.

Destination Air Shuttle offers direct seaplane transfers (some of which operate seasonally) between Phuket and Ko Lanta, Ko Phi Phi, Krabi, Ranong, Trang, the Similan Islands, and other popular Andaman coast destinations.

To get from the airport to your destination, there are several options:

Limousine (blue) taxis from the airport are expensive, costing 500-600 baht to Patong Beach or 400 baht Phuket Town. The airport co-op booth tucked away towards the back is a little cheaper than the competition.

Metered (yellow) taxis (available outside the car park gates) cost 300+ baht. You may stumble upon a freelance taxi driver that will take you from the Airport to Patong for the flat fee of 400 baht. If the driver is pleasant, you may wish to ask for his mobile number for the return trip later. The same driver can take you from Patong to Phuket Town for 350 to 400 baht.

Minibus services (basically door-to-door share taxis) charge 150-250 baht per seat. Any travel agent can arrange a ride for the way back to the airport, but if you want one from the airport, you'll usually need to charter the whole thing for over 1000 baht.

Airport shuttle bus service (6:30-20:30, every 30 minutes) to Phuket Town bus station costs 82 baht local buses run from there to all the major beaches until around 18:00.

Departure tax is now included in the ticket price. The airport is notionally divided into Terminal 1 and 2, with some charter and low-cost operators using the second, but these are only a few hundred meters apart and connected by an air-conditioned walkway.

» By bus

Buses to mainland destinations including Bangkok, Chumphon, Hat Yai, Krabi, Phang Nga, Ranong, Satun, Sungai Kolok and Surat Thani use the BKS terminal off Thanon Phang Nga in Phuket Town.

The most reliable buses from Bangkok are the public BKS buses from the Southern Bus Terminal to Phuket. The journey takes 13 hours. There are also 2 private bus companies, Phuket Travel Tour and Phuket Central Tour. Khao San Road operations have a bad reputation for theft, often turn out to include a "surprise" transfer to a minibus at Surat Thani, and are best avoided.

From Phuket bus terminal to your final destination, you can take a motorcycle taxi, tuk-tuk, meter-taxi, or bus. A motorcycle taxi into Phuket Town will be about 10-20 baht to most beaches 100-200 baht (negotiable).

A local bus to one of the main beaches will cost around 15-30 baht. It's not unusual for the tuk-tuk drivers at the bus terminal to tell arriving travellers that the local bus service has finished, even though it hasn't. If you are of the hiking/backpacking type, the local bus station, which will take you to Patong Beach is about twenty minutes away. When exiting the bus terminal, make a right onto Phang-Nga Rd. Continue down Phang-Nga until it terminates at Yaowarat Rd., then turn left. Within a few steps you will see a roundabout. Once at the roundabout, keep right. By keeping right, you will find Ranong Rd. Within 100 to 200 meters you will find the local bus stop.

Before exiting the Phuket bus terminal, grab a free Phuket map from the information window. While supplies may always not be on hand, the map is a great way to get your bearing before jumping-off.

» By car

Phuket is directly connected to the mainland by the Thao Thepkasattri Bridge. From Bangkok, take Highway 4 through Nakhon Pathom, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, thence through Ranong province’s Kra Buri and Kapoe districts, Phang-nga province’s Takua Pa and Thai Muang districts and onto Phuket island. The total distance is 862km.

» By boat

Ferry services connect from Rassada Port in Phuket Town to Ko Phi Phi and on to Krabi on the mainland twice a day, taking 90 minutes and costing 350/650 baht one-way/return, for each leg. It's usually a pleasant ride, but can be rather bumpy when it's windy.

There are also speedboats to Ko Racha (2 hours), the Similan Islands (about 3 hours) and other islands in the high season only. Boats and yachts can be chartered at Chalong Bay, the Boot Lagoon, the Yacht Haven and Royal Phuket Marina.

It's possible to visit Phuket by cruise ship. For cruises from Singapore, try Star Cruises

Resource: www.wikitravel.org