Phuket is the largest island in Thailand at some 576 square kilometres, and although looks may be deceiving, it can take a fair bit of time to get from A to B! This is largely due to heavy traffic and windy, single-lane roads as main thoroughfares.
Several points on your Phuket trip will require you to use local transportation to get around the island, whether it’s a short hop from the beach to your hotel or a more extensive tour and airport transfers.
Here’s everything you need to know about getting around Phuket.
Table of Contents
Public Transport in Phuket
Public transport in Phuket consists of several different types of buses:
- The Phuket Smart Bus follows a singular route up and down the length of the island from the airport to Rawai. It costs 100 THB per journey, per passenger over 7 years old. You can learn more about the Phuket Smart bus here.
- Local Blue Buses or Songthaew operate on numerous routes from Phuket Town to the various beach towns around Phuket. There’s no timetable; there are no official bus stops and no aircon! Just hail a bus as they come, pay the nominal fee and enjoy the ride! Learn more about Phuket Songthaew here.
- EV Buses replacing the ‘Blue Buses’ on several routes, this is a more environmentally friendly option and costs 15-40 THB per journey. Learn more about Phuket’s EV buses here
- Dragon Line EV Buses a free service around key attractions in Phuket Old Town. Learn more about the Dragon line here.
Taxis and Ride Shares in Phuket
For families travelling to Phuket, this is likely to be the most common form of transportation you will catch for short journeys around the island.
- Taxis are available in red and yellow metered taxis or “green plate” taxis, where your price should be agreed upon upfront. We explain the difference between the two here.
- Grab is the most popular ride-sharing app (though there are other licenced apps); Grab drivers must still be licenced (green plate) and have their credentials displayed. You will pay similar prices with Grab as you do negotiate with taxis in a stand.
- Bolt and InDrive are other popular rideshare app that are now legal to use in Phuket and can be cheaper than Grab in most instances.
- We explain more about Grab here, with a good comparison between Grab and Bolt for family users.
- We also explain here what you should expect to pay for a taxi and how not to be scammed on your taxi fare prices here.
Presently, these are all the rideshare apps still operating and authorised by the Land Transport in Phuket;
- Grab (App Store | Google Play)
- Hello Phuket (App Store | Google Play)
- Robinhood (App Store | Google Play)
- AirAsia Super App (App Store | Google Play)
- Bolt (App Store | Google Play)
- InDrive (App Store | Google Play)
- TADA (App Store | Google Play)
- Maxim (App Store | Google Play)
- Line Man (App Store | Google Play)
Private Car Hire in Phuket
Due to the lack of public transport systems, there is a heavy reliance on private vehicles. You have two options: hire a car and a driver or hire your own car and self-drive. The former is the preferred option for tourists unfamiliar with Phuket’s traffic.
This is the best option if you’d like to spend a full day sightseeing around Phuket, as you can arrange an hourly or daily fee.
- Note that if you are going on an island tour or similar day trip, the tour provider most likely has included your transportation —always confirm this inclusion before incurring unnecessary additional costs.
If you decide you’d prefer the freedom of having your own car and driving yourself, our guide to Phuket car hire is coming soon.
Motorcycle Rental in Phuket
It’s not the most practical when you have a family to consider on a short vacation, but for many living here in Phuket, it’s a way of life, and yes, you will see them stacking at least 1 or 2 kids on their motorbike with them.
If you’re interested in hiring a motorbike in Phuket, we explain more here.
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