Phuket Airport - the air gateway of western Thailand

If you have Phuket International Airport on the ticket, 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 is the second largest airport in terms of size and capacity. This is not surprising: there is no direct rail link between Bangkok and Phuket, and the journey by bus takes about 11 hours. It is much easier to overcome the distance of 862 km by plane - then the time on the road will be only one hour or even less. Accepts the 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 this article.

We fly to the paradise island

The airport "Phuket" (Thailand) has the status of international, and therefore consists of two terminals - for external and internal flights. The passenger plane, daily plying the route, is Moscow - Phuket. However, in the tourist season, which lasts from October to April, many charter flights link the island with the cities of our country. To make the flight more budgetary, you can use the services of low-costers: Orient Tai, Nok Air or AirAsia. Then the road from Bangkok can cost you only 40-70 dollars. And even expensive airlines such as "Tai Airways", "Etiyad" and "Emirates" in their pricing policy give very interesting proposals. 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 path to this Thai island will take about one and a half to two hours). Alternatively, you can consider a landing point such as Krabi Airport. Phuket is located only seventy kilometers to the east. On the island there are regular bus services.

Infrastructure of air harbor

The throughput of this air harbor is about twenty flights per hour. The aircraft here takes a runway three kilometers long and 45 meters wide. Therefore, Thailand's second most important air gate is Phuket airport. The flight schedule gives an idea of how the island is connected to such countries 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. Every year, about five million passengers use airport services. As in many other air harbors, departure and arrival halls are separated. Duty free shops operate in the neutral zone of the international terminal. You can skip the time before departure in one of the many cafes. At the service of believers are three chapels (Christian, Islamic and Buddhist).

Remoteness from the main resorts

There is Phuket airport on the beach of Mai Khao, in the northern part of the island. This arrangement was not chosen by chance. The sea here is shallow, not far is the only road linking the island with the mainland along the Saracen Bridge. The resort could not be built here anyway, but the airport on "junk" lands - please. Thus, it is still necessary to get to the main administrative center of the island. And the city is separated from the airport 35 kilometers. However, Phuket City is also far from a resort. Most foreign tourists prefer to relax in Patong, Karon, Kata. And this is even further. Taxis to Phuket City costs 400 baht, and to beach resorts - all 600. However, the difference in pricing depends not so much on mileage as on the fact that foreign tourists are willing to pay such money.

Phuket: directions from the airport

If you come to Thailand on a voucher, you do not need to think how to get from the airport to the hotel. The transfer is included in the price of your tour. But if you travel independently, you need to think about how to get to your destination. The taxi stop is immediately near the exit from the arrival 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's hard to mix up and sit down. Prior to Phuket Town, the minivan ticket costs 80 baht, to the 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 brought to the tourist center, where they will offer to buy excursions. And this type of transport is sent as it is filled.

How to get from the resorts of the island to Phuket airport

Unfortunately, the way back is not so simple. You can take a tuk-tuk to Phuket Town. And from there a bus runs on schedule. The prices for it are purely symbolic, but the tuk-tuk will cost you a tidy sum. You can just catch a taxi. And it is better to "google" on the Internet in search of local companies that transfer tourists to the airport. In most of the promoted hotels in the resorts of Phuket, this service is provided.

How not to get lost on departure

The airport of Phuket consists of three floors, both terminals - international and for domestic flights - are in the same building. It is worth to arrive two and a half hours before departure. If you are an advanced tourist, make a registration in advance (on-line). Then you can reserve comfortable seats on the plane. At the entrance you will find the usual procedure for passing through the metal detectors. Sometimes there are accumulated long queues, so that the process itself can take about half an hour. In the registration hall there is a placard on which the number of the flight counter is shown. You give your suitcases, get a boarding pass. Pass the passport control. Immediately after the border guards there is a VAT refund point.