Koh Tao to Phuket

Lomprayah's 09:30 catamaran from Mae Haad is the one most people take, and it's the one I'd book. It crosses to Donsak pier on the mainland near Surat Thani, where a coach takes over for the five hours or so across the peninsula, and it ends at Lomprayah's office in Wichit, just west of Phuket Town, at 18:30. The ticket is ฿1,600. From the office you'll need a taxi to your beach, so if you're staying in Patong, Kata or Karon, the van versions below save you that last step.

There's one departure a day, so book a few days ahead from December to March. 12Go's reviews of this route are mostly about the second half, a long wait at the pier or a tired bus, rather than the boat, so expect the 18:30 to slip a little.

Several agencies sell the same 09:30 boat with their own van from Donsak, and these are the tickets to buy if you know where you're sleeping. On a November weekday 12Go had drops at Phuket airport at about 18:00 to 19:00, Phuket Town at 18:30 to 19:15, Bang Tao and Surin at 18:30 to 19:30, Patong and Kamala at 19:30 to 20:00, and Kata and Karon at about 20:00 to 20:30, for about ฿1,600–1,750. The vans drop in order around the island, so the south-coast beaches come last.

Check that your ticket names your beach, not just Phuket. One 12Go reviewer booked a drop at Kata and was left in Phuket Town to find a taxi.

Koh Tao has no airport, so flying means a boat to Samui first. Two boats sell a ticket straight to Samui airport for ฿950, the 07:05 speedboat, arriving at about 09:30, and the 12:30, arriving at about 14:40. Bangkok Airways flies Samui to Phuket nonstop in about an hour, at 08:15, 11:10, 12:30, 15:05, 15:50 and 18:15 on a November weekday, for about ฿3,700, and ฿5,000 or more in December. Allow 90 minutes at Samui airport, which makes the 07:05 boat right for the 12:30 flight, landing at about 13:30, and the 12:30 boat right for the 18:15.

It costs about three times as much as the boat and bus, but you're at Phuket airport by early afternoon. Our Koh Tao to Koh Samui and Koh Samui to Phuket guides have every boat and flight.

The cheapest way is the night boat. It leaves Mae Haad at 21:00 with mattresses on an open deck, reaches Surat Thani early in the morning, and a bus or van takes you on to Phuket Bus Terminal 1 or 2 at about 12:00 to 13:00, for about ฿1,250–1,550 on one ticket. It saves a night's room, and you arrive with the afternoon free, though you'll have slept on a boat.

Overland, only a late one. The earliest drop at Phuket airport is about 18:00, you need to be there two hours before an international flight, and the boat and bus run late often enough that I wouldn't book anything before about 22:00 on the same day. In the rough season from October to December, when boats can be cancelled, don't plan on it at all.

The safer ways are to fly from Samui, where the 07:05 boat and the 12:30 flight have you at Phuket airport by about 13:30, or to cross the day before and spend a night in Phuket. Our where to stay in Phuket guide covers the beaches near the airport.