Bangkok to Phuket

About 50 flights a day leave Bangkok for Phuket (HKT), from 06:10 until nearly midnight. Thai AirAsia, Nok Air and Thai Lion Air fly from Don Mueang (DMK), the low-cost airport north of the city. Thai Airways, Thai VietJet and Bangkok Airways fly from Suvarnabhumi (BKK), and Thai AirAsia runs some of its Phuket flights from there too. Picking the airport matters more than picking the airline. If you're connecting from an international arrival at Suvarnabhumi, fly from Suvarnabhumi, because moving to Don Mueang takes 60–90 minutes by taxi or the inter-airport shuttle.

Booked two to four weeks out, fares usually run ฿1,000–2,500 ($30–75) before bags; checked bags are cheaper added online than at the airport. December–January and Songkran push fares up, and Friday evenings and Sunday nights are the expensive slots. Door to door from central Bangkok, allow four and a half to five hours with the airport time at both ends, still about a third of the bus. Some booking sites list one-stop itineraries on this route, so check the flight is nonstop.

Buses to Phuket leave from two Bangkok terminals, and which one depends on the operator. The government's Transport Co. starts at Mo Chit, the Northern Terminal near BTS Mo Chit, at 06:45, 16:45, 17:25 and 18:00, and also runs a 16:30 from the Southern Terminal (Sai Tai Mai) on the Thonburi side; express seats are about ฿783. Sombat Tour's VIP coaches leave the Southern Terminal at 18:00 and 18:50 for ฿1,223, Andaman Sea Tour's VIP 24 at 17:50 for ฿1,422, and Lignite Tour runs a string of evening departures plus a daytime Intercity at 08:30. Everything ends at Phuket Bus Terminal 2, north of Phuket Town, after 12–14 hours.

The VIP 24 layout is the one I'd book. Seats are one-plus-two across and recline a long way, with a blanket and water, and the coaches stop for a meal around midnight. The cheap combination tickets sold on Khao San Road (a bus and then a van, 19:00 to about noon) take longer and drop you in a transfer yard, so the terminal operators are the better buy. The bus earns its place when flights surge (late December, Songkran), when you're carrying a surfboard or a bike, or when you'd rather spend the night moving than in a hotel. Book a day or two ahead on 12Go or at the terminal; outside holidays, same-day seats are usually there. The Southern Terminal is 30–45 minutes from central Bangkok by taxi, so leave time to get there.

Thailand has no train line to Phuket. The rail route is the overnight sleeper from Krung Thep Aphiwat to Surat Thani's Phun Phin station, about 9–11 hours, then a bus from the station to Phuket. Ten trains a day make the first leg. Express No. 83 (18:50, arrives 04:58), Express No. 85 (19:50, arrives 06:23) and Rapid No. 173 (20:10, arrives 06:46) are the ones to book, because they arrive in time for the first buses. Nos. 83 and 85 carry first-class two-berth cabins as well as second-class air-con sleepers. A second-class air-con berth is about ฿700–900 at the station, first class ฿1,300–1,500 and third class about ฿250; booking sites add ฿100–200.

The second leg leaves from the station forecourt. Buses run Phun Phin to Phuket Bus Terminal 2 at 06:40, 07:20, 09:20, 10:20 and 13:45 for ฿370 and take about 6 hours, so the 18:50 train puts you in Phuket around 12:40 the next day, 16–18 hours door to door. Vans from Surat Thani town (not the station) also run to Phuket roughly hourly through the day for about ฿330. Book the two legs separately, the train on SRT's D-Ticket site or at the station and the bus on 12Go or at Phun Phin. Seats open 90 days ahead on every train here except the two Sungai Kolok trains, No. 171 and No. 37, which open 30 days ahead. Take this route for the sleeper itself or if Khao Sok is on the way; on time and money, the flight wins.

The return is the mirror image. Fly to the Bangkok airport your next flight leaves from, and allow about 50 minutes from Patong to Phuket airport, an hour from Kata or Rawai. The evening buses leave Phuket Bus Terminal 2 between about 15:00 and 19:30 and reach Bangkok at dawn. The Phuket to Bangkok guide has every northbound bus, the trains from Surat Thani and where each option leaves you in Bangkok.