Phuket to Bangkok

Phuket to Bangkok is one of the busiest domestic routes in the country, with about 50 departures a day from about 06:30 until after 23:00. Thai AirAsia, Nok Air and Thai Lion Air fly to Don Mueang, the low-cost hub north of the city. Thai Airways, Bangkok Airways and Thai VietJet fly to Suvarnabhumi, the main international airport, and Thai AirAsia flies some of its Phuket departures there as well. The flight takes 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 35. Booked two to four weeks out, fares usually run ฿1,000–2,500 ($30–75) before bags; the December–January peak, Songkran and last-minute seats go higher.

Going this way, the airport matters more than the airline. If you're connecting to an international flight home, land at the airport it leaves from, because moving between Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi takes 60–90 minutes by taxi or the inter-airport shuttle. Leave at least three to four hours between landing and an international departure on separate tickets, and more if you do have to change airports. If you're staying in Bangkok, either airport works. Don Mueang is closer to Chatuchak and the north of the city and Suvarnabhumi to Sukhumvit, and the Airport Rail Link makes Suvarnabhumi the easier one without a taxi.

Phuket's airport sits at the far north of the island, which makes the trip there part of the trip home. In normal traffic it's about 50 minutes from Patong (about 41 km), 50 from Karon, 55–60 from Kata and 65–75 from Rawai and Nai Harn, and 15–20 from Mai Khao and Nai Yang. Add 20–30 minutes on peak-season evenings. A metered taxi or Grab from Patong runs about ฿700–900, and your hotel can usually book a car at a fixed price.

The Smart Bus runs the west-coast beaches to the airport for a flat ฿100, but it stops all the way, so from Patong it takes 1h20–1h30. It's a good deal with time to spare and light bags, and a risky one for an early flight. Aim to reach the airport 90 minutes to two hours before a domestic departure in high season.

Every bus to Bangkok leaves from Phuket Bus Terminal 2, north of Phuket Town, and most depart between 15:00 and 19:30 so they arrive at dawn. The government's Transport Co. runs five a day (07:30, 15:00, 16:30, 17:00 and 18:00), express at ฿780 and VIP at ฿1,200, and stops at Bangkok's Southern Terminal (Sai Tai Mai) after 12–13 hours before continuing to Mo Chit 30–60 minutes later. Phuket Travel's VIP 24 leaves at 17:40 and reaches Mo Chit at about 05:30, and Lignite Tour runs Intercity double-deckers in the afternoon and evening. Across the operators, fares run about ฿715–1,200.

The VIP 24 layout is the one to book. Seats are one-plus-two across, recline a long way and come with a blanket and water, and the coaches stop for a meal in the night. Expect a police passport check or two on the highway in the south, so keep your passport on you rather than in the hold. A VIP 24 ride filmed in October 2025 left Terminal 2 on time at 17:00, stopped for a free meal around 01:00 and pulled into Mo Chit at 05:34.

Which Bangkok terminal you get off at matters. The Southern Terminal is on the Thonburi side with no rail link, 20–30 minutes by taxi to Khao San or the riverside. Mo Chit (the Northern Terminal) is a ฿60–100 taxi from BTS Mo Chit and MRT Chatuchak Park, which is the easier landing for Sukhumvit or Silom. Book a day or two ahead on 12Go or at the terminal; outside holidays, same-day seats are usually available.

Phuket has no railway, so 'Phuket to Bangkok by train' means two legs. First a bus or van to Surat Thani's Phun Phin station, about four hours. Buses to the station cost ฿370 and leave Terminal 2 at 06:00, 07:30, 08:30, 11:00 and 13:40, and vans run roughly hourly from 07:00 to 15:00 for ฿330–400, some with hotel pickup. Then one of ten northbound trains to Krung Thep Aphiwat, the overnight sleepers from the deep south that pass through between 18:25 and 23:28. Book the two legs separately, the van on 12Go or at the terminal and the train on SRT's D-Ticket site or at Phun Phin's window.

Leave Phuket by about 13:00 for the early sleepers and by 15:00 at the latest for the late ones, because the van can take five hours in traffic. Express No. 86 (19:31, arrives 06:10) and No. 84 (20:23, arrives 07:05) carry first-class two-berth cabins as well as second-class air-con sleepers and arrive at a sensible hour; Special Express No. 32 (22:24, arrives 08:10) has the newest carriages. A second-class air-con berth is about ฿700–900 at the station and first class ฿1,300–1,500. Door to door it's 16–19 hours, against 12–13 on the bus, so the train is for the berth and the experience. Seats open 90 days ahead on every train here except the two from Sungai Kolok (No. 172 and No. 38), which open 30 days ahead.

Suvarnabhumi has the Airport Rail Link in the basement, ฿45 and 26 minutes to Phaya Thai, where it meets the BTS. Don Mueang is linked to Krung Thep Aphiwat by the SRT Dark Red Line, has the A1 and A2 buses to BTS Mo Chit for ฿30, and is ฿250–400 by taxi to most of the city. The Southern Terminal has no rail link, so plan on a taxi. Mo Chit is a short taxi from BTS Mo Chit and MRT Chatuchak Park. The trains end at Krung Thep Aphiwat, with the MRT Blue Line directly underneath.

Flying down is the mirror image, from either Bangkok airport, and the overnight buses leave Bangkok's Southern Terminal in the early evening and reach Phuket around dawn. The Bangkok to Phuket guide has the fares, which airport to fly from, and every way from Phuket airport to your beach.