Phuket to Koh Yao Noi

Bang Rong is a small pier at the end of a mangrove creek on Phuket's northeast coast, and it's where nearly every public boat to Koh Yao Noi leaves from. Speedboats go at about 08:40, 09:30, 11:00, 13:30, 14:30, 15:00, 16:00 and 17:00 and take 30 to 40 minutes. The fare is ฿400, and children pay about half on most boats. Some of them call at Koh Yao Yai on the way, 15 to 20 minutes out.

Buy a ticket at the pier or ahead online, which is worth doing in the December and January peak. The board does change, so treat the times as a guide and check the day's departures before you set off.

One wooden longtail crosses from Bang Rong to Manoh at 12:30 each day for about ฿300, in about an hour. It's the slow way, noisy and open to the spray, and a good one on a calm day if you're in no hurry. Keep your bag in a dry bag or under a cover, and take the speedboat instead if the sea looks rough.

Boats from Bang Rong land at one of two piers on Koh Yao Noi. Manoh is the main one, on the island's southwest tip, where taxis wait for every boat. Laem Sai is on the southeast tip, about 3 km by road from Pasai Beach, and the 09:30, 11:00, 13:30 and 17:00 speedboats are listed landing there.

It matters only for the ride to your hotel. Laem Sai is closer to Pasai and Klong Jark, Manoh is closer to the west coast, and the island is small enough that neither ride is long. Ask your hotel which pier suits it, and whether it will meet you there.

Bang Rong is 16 km from the airport, 25 to 40 minutes by car, which makes Koh Yao Noi one of the easiest islands to reach off a flight. The airport taxi counter has charged about ฿650 for the ride, and 12Go sells a van-and-boat ticket from arrivals. Allow about 90 minutes from collecting your bag to stepping off on the island.

Watch the clock. The last speedboat leaves at 17:00, so a flight that lands after about 15:30 is a gamble once you've cleared the airport and reached the pier. If yours lands late, book a night near the airport or at Bang Rong and take the first boat in the morning.

From the west-coast beaches the drive is the longer part of the trip, 31 km from Patong and 37 km from Kata. The easy option is a van-and-boat ticket that collects you from your hotel, from about ฿900. Pickups in Patong, Kata and Karon leave at about 07:00 and reach Manoh at about 09:30.

From Phuket Town and the southeast, there are piers closer than Bang Rong. Bundhaya's speedboat leaves Rassada pier, just outside the Old Town, at 09:00 and lands at Manoh an hour later for ฿550, with a second boat at 13:00 from November to April. It runs from late October to mid-May. Andaman Wave Master leaves Ao Po at 10:45, and one speedboat a day leaves Laem Hin, east of the Old Town, at 13:00.

Speedboats leave Koh Yao Noi for Bang Rong at about 06:15, 06:35, 10:00, 10:15, 11:30, 11:40, 13:00, 14:30, 14:45 and 16:00, and the longtail leaves at 08:00. Bundhaya's boats back to Rassada leave Manoh at 10:50 and 14:50 in the high season. Fares are the same as the trip out.

For a flight, work backward. The crossing is 30 to 40 minutes, the drive from Bang Rong to the airport 25 to 40, and the airport wants you there two hours before departure. So the 16:00 boat suits an evening flight, and a morning flight means one of the early boats. Taxis wait at Bang Rong for the boats, or ask the island hotel to book a car to meet you.

Taxis meet the boats at Manoh, and hotels will collect you if you ask. Most of the beach hotels are on the east coast, a short ride from either pier. Many people rent a scooter for the stay, at about ฿250–350 a day, and the island's one main road loops it in about an hour.

Carry cash from Phuket. The island has a few ATMs and a 7-Eleven, but the machines can run dry on busy weekends. My Koh Yao Noi guide covers the beaches, the tides and where to stay.