Phuket Flights. Information on Flights to and from Phuket.

Updated 4th Sep 2026

Getting from Bangkok to Phuket comes down to three practical choices: fly, take a coach, or take a train south and finish the journey by road. This page compares them on time and hassle, covers which Bangkok airport a Phuket flight leaves from, and sets out the ways of reaching Phuket that do not involve flying into it.

Terminals, arrival formalities and getting from the airport to your accommodation are a separate subject, covered on the page for Phuket International Airport (HKT).

Flying, the coach or the train from Bangkok

The three differ in how long they take, how many separate legs you have to book, and whether you have to get yourself out to a Bangkok airport first.

Way of getting there	Roughly how long	What it asks of you
Direct flight	About an hour and a half in the air	Getting out to a Bangkok airport, and check-in before you fly
Coach	About half a day on the road	One long sit, and no airport at either end
Train, then road	An overnight train to Surat Thani, then a road leg of several hours	Two legs, usually booked separately

The flight

You can fly nonstop from Bangkok to Phuket, and both of Bangkok's airports carry the route. It is about an hour and a half in the air.

The route pages carry the typical schedule in each direction: Bangkok to Phuket and Phuket to Bangkok.

The coach

A coach runs the whole way from Bangkok, and it is about half a day on the road. Its advantage over flying is that there is no transfer out to an airport at either end, and no check-in.

Bangkok has more than one long-distance coach terminal, so confirm with the operator which one your service leaves from when you book.

The train, and the road leg after it

There is no direct train, because there is no railway station in Phuket. The State Railway of Thailand's own station list for the 2026 timetable carries no station on the island, and the southern stations it does carry include Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung and Trang.

The overland version is an overnight train to Surat Thani and then a road transfer, which travel sites put at around four and a half hours from the station. No operator publishes its own figure, so allow for a long leg. The two legs are usually booked separately.

A rail link to Phuket has been studied, not built, and no track has been laid.

Which Bangkok airport a Phuket flight leaves from, and why it changed

Which airline sits at which of the two Bangkok airports is not fixed. It has already changed once in 2026, and it is due to change again on 1 October.

Thai AirAsia suspended all nine of its Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) domestic routes from 15 July 2026, Phuket among them, and moved them to Don Mueang Airport (DMK), its main base. The reason given was aviation fuel costs and softer demand. It is due to resume Suvarnabhumi flying on 1 October 2026, but only to Chiang Mai and Phuket among the nine, plus Krabi, which was not one of them.

So read the airport code on the booking; where an airline flew from last time is no longer a safe guide. The wider question of which Bangkok airport to use for a domestic flight is answered on the Bangkok flights guide.

Connecting from an international arrival

If the Phuket leg connects from an international flight, check which Bangkok airport that flight lands at. Moving between Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang is a journey in itself, and a booking split across both needs time allowed for it.

Flights to Phuket that do not start in Bangkok

This site carries route pages pairing Phuket with Chiang Mai, Koh Samui, Hat Yai and Pattaya. The Pattaya pair leaves from U-Tapao, so it does not start in Bangkok, which matters if you are planning a connection.

EZY Airlines has announced a Hua Hin to Phuket route more than once and the start date has moved each time, so treat it as announced rather than running.

Reaching Phuket without flying into Phuket

The road crossing from Phang Nga

Phuket is an island, but it is reached by road. Highway 402 crosses from Ban Tha Chatchai, in Thalang district on the Phuket side, to Ban Tha Nun in Takua Thung district, Phang Nga.

That means any journey reaching the Phang Nga side of the crossing reaches Phuket by road.

Flying to Krabi instead

Krabi International Airport is about 160 kilometres from Phuket, which route planners put at roughly two and a half hours by road. Thai AirAsia is due to add Krabi when it resumes Suvarnabhumi flying on 1 October 2026, alongside Chiang Mai and Phuket.

A Krabi arrival with a road leg after it is worth considering when the Phuket flight is full or badly timed.

Boats onward from Phuket, and which pier

Boats run from Phuket to Koh Phi Phi, Krabi, Ao Nang, Railay and Koh Lanta. They mostly matter as an onward leg once you are on the island, and Phuket has more than one ferry pier.

Andaman Wave Master runs Rassada Pier to Koh Phi Phi and puts the ferry crossing at two to three hours.

Tiger Line uses both Rassada and Bang Rong, on a chain running south through Koh Yao, Koh Lanta, Koh Ngai, Koh Mook and Koh Lipe, with Krabi and Railay served too. Because more than one pier is in use, the pier printed on the ticket is worth reading before you arrange transport to it.

What the monsoon changes about the journey

Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi are all on the Andaman coast, and the southwest monsoon sits over the Andaman Sea for months at a time. The Thai Meteorological Department's monthly summary for May 2025 put the start of that year's rainy season on 15 May, and its summary for that October still had the southwest monsoon over the Andaman in the first half of the month. Roughly mid-May to about mid-October is the working shape of it, and the department does not publish a fixed calendar.

The leg it moves is the boat: sailings are fewer and can be cancelled at short notice, and Tiger Line says plainly that its schedules are adjusted for route, season and weather. So a same-day onward connection built on a ferry carries a risk that a flight into Phuket does not.

Ferry sources also advise booking the Koh Phi Phi crossing well ahead between November and April, so book an onward boat if the day is tight. The change to Bangkok and Phuket flying this year was a fuel-cost and airport-base decision, not a seasonal one.

Before you book

The schedules on this site's route pages are historical. They show what has typically operated on a pair rather than live availability, so treat them as a guide to the shape of the day and confirm the detail when you book.

Read the airport code on the booking, because the Bangkok airport a carrier uses has already changed once this year and is due to change again on 1 October. If a boat is part of the plan, check which pier it leaves from and allow for it being cancelled. If you are connecting from an international arrival, allow time for the transfer between the two Bangkok airports.

When to come to Phuket, and what to do once you are there, are covered in the Phuket destination guide.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a train to Phuket?

There is no railway station in Phuket, and the State Railway of Thailand's station list for the 2026 timetable carries none on the island. The overland rail option is a train south to Surat Thani and then a road transfer of several hours.

Do I have to fly into Phuket to get there?

Phuket is joined to the mainland by a road bridge at Ban Tha Nun in Phang Nga, so any journey that reaches that side of the crossing reaches the island. Flying into Krabi and driving the rest of the way is one way of doing it.

Which pier do boats leave Phuket from?

Phuket has more than one ferry pier. Andaman Wave Master runs from Rassada Pier and Tiger Line uses both Rassada and Bang Rong, so read the pier on your ticket before booking a car out to it.