Krabi to Phuket

Speedboats are the everyday option from Ao Nang, and they run in low season too. On a mid-October weekday, Green Planet left East Railay at 09:20 and Nopparat Thara at 10:00 for Laem Hin pier near Phuket Town (arriving 11:30), and again at 10:40 and 11:20 for Bang Rong (12:40). Bundhaya left Railay at 11:10 and Nopparat Thara at 11:30 for Rassada (12:20–12:30), Andaman Wave Master at 12:45 and 13:00 for Rassada, and Koh Yao Sun Smile at 13:40 and 14:00 for Bang Rong. Fares are about ฿1,000–1,100, and the crossing takes 1–2 hours depending on the boat and the stop at Railay. High season adds more sailings, including later afternoon boats.

Which pier you land at matters more than which boat. Rassada is on the east coast just outside Phuket Town, the main ferry port, with taxis waiting for the west-coast beaches. Bang Rong is up the northeast coast, closer to the airport and the northern beaches. Laem Hin is a small pier near Phuket Town. Boats leave Ao Nang from Nopparat Thara pier at the west end of the beach (a tuk-tuk from central Ao Nang is about ฿200), and Railay passengers board at the floating pier on East Railay. Speedboats are wet in any swell, so put your bag in a dry bag or a bin liner.

The Ao Nang Princess is the big ferry on this route, slower than the speedboats and much steadier in a swell. From May to October it sails from Nopparat Thara at 15:00 and Railay at 15:15 on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays only, reaching Rassada pier about 17:30, and between July and October operators sometimes run a speedboat instead. From November to April a daily 10:30 sailing is added, arriving at Rassada around 12:30–13:00. The operator charges ฿900 for adults and ฿600 for children; 12Go sells it for ฿850.

If your dates don't line up with a ferry day, the speedboats cover the same crossing every day. And if you've seen a cheap 'Krabi to Phuket ferry' that leaves Krabi Town in the morning, check the route, because some go via Koh Phi Phi with a layover of an hour or two.

Krabi Town has one speedboat to Phuket, from Klong Jilad pier around midday (sources disagree on the time, so check 12Go for your date), and otherwise it's a road trip. Minivans and VIP buses leave Krabi Bus Terminal, a few kilometers north of town, every 40–60 minutes from about 06:00 to 17:00 and take about three hours to Phuket Bus Terminal 2 or Van Terminal 1 for ฿260–320. They run in any weather, which makes them the backup for the boats in the rainy season.

Hotel-pickup vans cost more, ฿530–780, and add time for the collection round, but they drop where you're going. One operator picks up in Krabi Town at 10:00 and Ao Nang at 10:30 and reaches Phuket airport about 13:30 and Patong or Kata about 15:00. That suits anyone heading straight to a beach with luggage.

Phuket airport is at the far north of the island, about 150 km by road from Ao Nang or Krabi airport, 2 hours 20 minutes in normal traffic and closer to three on a busy day. A private car is the reliable way to make a flight. Kiwitaxi's fixed fare from an Ao Nang hotel starts around ฿3,030, and local firms quote ฿2,800–3,900 by vehicle. The airport-drop vans are cheaper (from about ฿530) but the morning pickup reaches the airport around 13:30, so they only suit an afternoon or evening flight.

A speedboat to Bang Rong lands closest to the airport, but a cancelled or late boat in the rainy season leaves no time to recover, so I wouldn't rely on one for a same-day flight. If you're flying out of Krabi instead, you don't need Phuket at all; Krabi airport has its own domestic and regional flights.

The boats run the same crossing west to east from Rassada, Bang Rong and Laem Hin, and the minivans leave Phuket Bus Terminal 2 roughly hourly for Krabi's bus terminal. The Phuket to Krabi guide has the road and sea options from the Phuket side.