Bus Stations

Phuket Tourist Information Guide

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Getting to the island of Phuket in Thailand is not difficult, and there are a few ways you can do so. Most people choose to come by airplane from Bangkok, because most visitors fly in to Bangkok from outside the country. But if you’re looking to save a little money, and I do mean a little, you can take a bus from Bangkok, or wherever you are in Thailand, to Phuket which will drop you of at one of the two main bus stations in Phuket Town.

Flights from Bangkok, on discount airlines such as Air Asia, can be sometime as cheap as 500 Thai baht each way, if you book it well in advance. Bus trips on a VIP bus will run around 800 THB each way. Knowing the small price differential, does it really make much sense to sit in an uncomfortable bus seat overnight for ten to twelve hours? Of course, there are other considerations, like cost of getting from either the bus station or the airport to where you’re going at your destination – but still. It takes one hour to fly from Phuket to Bangkok!

Without trying to turn you away from travelling by bus, it must be said that long-distance bus trips can be much more dangerous than flights or even taking your own rental car. In particular, the overnight buses crash more often because the drivers fall asleep at the wheel sometimes. Drivers have been overworked and try to drive too many hours. Overnight buses should be avoided if at all possible.

The two main bus stations in Phuket are where you can book bus tickets directly to any major city in Thailand. Direct, in the sense that you can remain with the same bus system for the entire journey. You might need to change buses during the trip in some cases. There are multiple daily and overnight trips to Bangkok each day from Phuket.

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