Which means of transportation should we take in Phuket?

Phuket Island is a resort that everyone will choose without hesitation. Come here to bask in the sun, enjoy the sea breeze, taste seafood, isn’t that the perfect vacation! However, the local public transportation system in Phuket is relatively backward, and it is really incomparable with Bangkok. Faced with the high transportation costs in Phuket, how should tourists choose to travel?

TAXI

Many people don’t know that there are actually two types of taxis in Phuket. One is a local taxi, which is a team formed by local people spontaneously; the other is a taxi charged by mileage, which is the regular army of Phuket taxis, with uniform colors, models, etc.

1) Local Taxi

Local taxis are expensive and difficult to hail at the airport and many beaches. Local taxis are priced according to regulations. For example, it is usually 800 baht for a small car from the airport to Bangtao Beach, 1,200 baht to Patong, and so on. To save money, it depends on the ability of passengers to bargain with the driver.

This kind of car is still expensive even if it is bargained for a one-way trip, but it is quite cost-effective to charter a car for a day trip. Usually a 10-seater luxury business car is included, and the driver acts as a tour guide. It costs 3,000 baht for the whole day. Usually, the play time is 8-10 hours, and there is an extra charge for overtime.

Ps: In Thailand, foreigners are not allowed to be tour guides. Therefore, please pay attention to the driver’s qualifications when chartering a car. Not only must you have a driver’s license, but you must also have a tour guide certificate. Especially for large vehicles with more than ten seats, if the traffic police find that the driver only has a driver’s license and no tour guide card, he will be fined heavily.

2) Taxi Meter (Taxi calculated by mileage)

As a regular army of Phuket taxis, this red and yellow taxi is really conspicuous. It’s a pity that there are very few cars, and the supply is far less than the demand. Except at the airport, it should be easier to find them only when using Grab. Because it is priced by mileage, regular soldiers charge much less than local taxis. For example, from the airport to Padang, this kind of car is about half the price of local taxis.

Ps: When getting on the bus, you must emphasize that it is By Meter! Otherwise, some drivers are likely to charge according to the price of a local taxi.

* Grab / Uber software

I just talked about Grab, so let’s talk a little more here. Currently, GRAB is very popular in Southeast Asia because it is doing subsidy and preferential activities. The price of a taxi on this is about half of the local taxi, because the red and yellow taxis can often be called. Coupled with the current promotional activities, it is almost free to take a taxi.

Another cheap and easy-to-use taxi-hailing software is Uber, the ancestor of the taxi-sharing industry, but in Phuket, people still use grab more.

TUK TUK

As a feature of Thailand, tuk-tuk has always been favored by tourists from all over the world. However, due to the mountainous terrain and narrow roads in Phuket, many steep roads cannot be reached by tuk-tuks. Mountain climbing is not easy, and the price is similar to that of local taxis, and there is no air-conditioning. As a special experience, it is not bad, as a travel tool. , travel within the same beach can be considered, long-distance travel is not recommended.

Ps: Phuket is different from cities such as Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and tuk-tuks cannot be found anywhere. Several high-end beaches such as the airport, Phuket Town, Bangtao and Mai Khao Beach basically have no shadow of tuk-tuks. The tuk-tuks in Phuket Island are basically concentrated in Patong Beach, Kamala Beach and Karon Beach.

SELF-DRIVING

The traffic habit in Phuket is driving on the left and the driver on the right seat. There are a lot of accidents on the island every year due to car rental, mainly because the locals drive too fast.

1) Car rental:

In fact, after all, renting a car in Phuket is definitely the most cost-effective mode of transportation. A Toyota is only 1000-1500THB per day. Usually, if you rent a car, you need to deposit your passport, or a copy of your passport and a deposit. The return time of the daily rental car is usually before 7 pm (the return time of each store is different).

Of course, there are also car rental companies that count 24 hours based on the starting time of the rental. For example, if I pick up the car at 12:00 today and return it at 12:00 tomorrow, the car rental company will charge today and tomorrow a total of two days. But this kind of car rental company only charges one day’s fee, and only one day’s fee will be charged if the car is returned for more than 24 hours. This is very cost-effective, after all, many planes to Phuket are night flights.

However, only one such car rental company, Cecilia, has been seen so far. It is open 24 hours a day, and the car is delivered and returned for free. The service in Phuket is definitely first-class. Once I came back from the airport at about 23:00, and I ran out of gas (the gas stations in Phuket are basically closed at 22:00, and they close at 23:00 at the latest), so I also called them to send gas immediately for emergency treatment. Another time, at around 21:00, my own car broke down on the highway, but there is no 24-hour car repair place in Phuket…I called this car rental company and they immediately drove over and rented it to me urgently, and solved the problem within 20 minutes. So I am very impressed with them, and I will recommend them to my own guests when they want to rent a car.

***PS:

Now you must have an international driver’s license or translation of notarized documents of the your national driver’s license to rent a car in Phuket. The drivers who only hold your national driving license will be fined if they drive on the road.

2) Rent a motorcycle:

The price of renting a motorcycle in Phuket is generally 200-300 baht per day, and the price varies according to the model and displacement. Of course, some car rental companies, and motorcycles cost 350 baht/day. But firstly, all of his cars are brand new and good cars with large displacement, secondly, they provide free door-to-door delivery and return of the car, thirdly, they bought the most expensive insurance for motorcycles, and the company also provides 24-hour service, something went wrong Someone will take care of it right away. I remember one time when a customer in i had a flat tire on his motorcycle on the road after two o’clock in the middle of the night. He called the car rental company and they immediately sent a new one to replace it.

***PS:

Many small shops that rent motorcycles will not insure the motorcycles, and in the event of an accident, the vehicle must be borne by itself. For the sake of your own safety, don’t take chances and rent those cheap-looking cars or motorcycles just to save tens of dollars. After all, your life is far more than this price. You are not afraid of 10,000 in life, but most afraid of what happens.

Remember to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle, otherwise you will be fined!

BUS

The buses in Phuket mainly serve local people, because the number of buses is fixed and regular, and the frequency is very small, the station is difficult to find, and there are many other alternative modes of transportation. Generally speaking, it is not recommended to take it. Therefore, I will not write in detail here. Interested friends can chat with me privately

Intercity Traffic

After talking about the traffic on Phuket Island, finally briefly summarize the traffic between cities.

1) Bangkok

Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, is more than 1,000 kilometers away from Phuket. It takes about 1 hour by plane and 10-12 hours by car.

There are a lot of planes coming and going every day, so the price is quite affordable, 400-1000 RMB round trip can usually be done. It is the fastest and most affordable way to check in at the airport with a passport one hour in advance of a domestic flight.

It takes at least 10 hours to drive or take a bus from Bangkok to Phuket. In order to save time, most people will choose to drive at night. It is worth noting that there are almost no street lights in the middle section of this road at night, which is very dangerous. However, the ticket price is indeed much cheaper, so please consider carefully. The bus station in Phuket is in Phuket Town, and its full name is Bus Terminal 2.

2) Chiang Mai & Koh Samui

I believe that Chiang Mai, which has been very popular in recent years, is also a destination for many tourists, and it is more than 1,000 kilometers away from Phuket. The way of travel is basically similar to that of Bangkok, and it is recommended that you take a plane.

The airport in Koh Samui is a private airport, so all landing flights have to pay a very high fee, so this is the main reason why the price of air tickets remains high. But Koh Samui is an outlying island. In addition to the plane, you need to drive to the pier and then transfer to the island. It is really troublesome. I really don’t recommend this way of travel.

3) Krabi

As an emerging tourist destination in Thailand, Krabi not only has its own airport, but also travels by car and boat from Phuket. However, due to the short distance from Phuket, there are no flights between the two cities. It usually takes between 3.5 and 5 hours to drive. Xixi tried to drive there by herself, and it took two and a half hours, um… However, don’t learn dangerous moves. You can also take a boat to Krabi, but it is quite complicated. It takes a few trips, and it takes almost a whole day to get down.

Now you have a certain understanding of the traffic situation in Phuket, right?

It is time to see what to do on the island! Let’s go, check it here: How do we enjoy Phuket in 4 days when we first come?