If your ticket indicates Phuket International Airport as your destination , then you will land at Phuket Airport. This is the only air harbor on the island of the same name, which is the largest in Thailand. The airport in size and capacity is considered the second after the capital. This is not surprising: after all, there is no direct railway connection between Bangkok and Phuket, and the journey by bus will take about 11 hours. It is much easier to cover a distance of 862 km by plane - then the travel time will be only an hour or less. It accepts a hub and international flights, in particular from Moscow. How to get from the airport to the resorts of the island, how to find the right terminal on the way back - read in this article.
Fly to the paradise island
Phuket Airport (Thailand) has international status, and therefore consists of two terminals - for external and internal flights. A passenger plane daily running along the route is Moscow - Phuket. However, in the tourist season, which lasts from October to April, many charter flights connect the island with the cities of our country. To make the flight more affordable, you can use the services of low-cost airlines: Orient Tai, Knock Air or AirAsia. Then the road from Bangkok can cost you only 40-70 dollars. And even expensive airlines, such as Thai Airways, Etiyad and Emirates, offer very interesting offers in their pricing policy. For example, you can order a “single ticket” from Moscow to Phuket with a stop in Bangkok for a few days. Cheap tickets to Phuket are available from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (the journey to this Thai island will take about one and a half to two hours). Alternatively, consider a landing point such as Krabi Airport. Phuket is located just seventy kilometers east. There are regular bus services to the island from there.
Air Harbor Infrastructure
The capacity of this air harbor is about twenty flights per hour. Airplanes here take a landing strip with a length of three kilometers and a width of 45 meters. Therefore, the second most important air gateway of Thailand is Phuket Airport. The flight schedule gives an idea of how the island is connected to countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, South Korea, Japan, Nepal, Australia, Germany, Russia, Finland, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Israel, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark. No less significant and internal terminal. It connects the island of Phuket not only with the capital, but also with the northern part of the country. Each year, about five million passengers use the services of the airport. As with many other air harbors, departure and arrival halls are separate. There are duty-free shops in the neutral zone of the international terminal. You can shorten the time before departure in one of the many cafes. At the services of believers are three chapels (Christian, Islamic and Buddhist).
Distance to the main resorts
Phuket Airport is located on Mai Khao Beach, in the northern part of the island. This location was not chosen by chance. The sea is shallow, not far away is the only road connecting the island with the mainland along the Saracen bridge. It would still not be possible to build a resort here, but here is the airport on the “waste” lands - please. Thus, the main administrative center of the island still needs to be reached. And the city is 35 kilometers from the airport. However, Phuket City is also far from a resort. Most foreign tourists prefer to relax in Patong, Karon, Kata. And this is even further. Taxi to Phuket City costs 400 baht, and to beach resorts - all 600. However, the difference in pricing depends not so much on the mileage, but on the fact that foreign tourists are willing to pay that kind of money.
Phuket: how to get from the airport
If you come to Thailand on a package tour, you don't need to think about how to get from the airport to the hotel. A transfer is included in the price of your tour. But if you travel on your own, you need to think about how to get to your destination. A taxi stop is located immediately at the exit from the arrivals hall of the international terminal. This option is convenient, fast, but expensive. Cross the road. Opposite the exit you will see many minibuses
. They go to different resorts of the island.
The inscriptions on the windshield are duplicated in English - so it is difficult to mix and sit in the wrong place. A ticket for a minivan to Phuket Town costs 80 baht, to resorts - about 120. This option is good because a minibus, like a taxi, will take you to the hotel. The downside is that on the way you will be taken to a tourist center, where they will offer to buy excursions. And this mode of transport is sent as it fills up.
How to get from the resorts of the island to Phuket airport
Unfortunately, the return journey is not so simple. You can take a tuk-tuk to Phuket Town. And from there, the bus runs on schedule. The prices for it are purely symbolic, but tuk-tuk will cost you a tidy sum. You can just catch a taxi. And it’s better to "google" on the Internet in search of local companies that transfer tourists to the airport. Most popular hotels in Phuket resorts provide this service.
How not to get lost on departure
Phuket Airport consists of three floors, and both terminals - international and for domestic flights - are in the same building. It is worth arriving two and a half hours before departure. If you are an advanced tourist, register in advance (online). Then you can reserve comfortable seats on the plane. At the entrance you will find the usual procedure for passing through the framework of metal detectors. Sometimes long lines accumulate there, so the process itself can take about half an hour. In the check-in hall there is a placard showing the flight counter number. Hand over your suitcases, get a boarding pass. Pass passport control. Immediately after the border guards there is a VAT refund point.