Both my husband and I were low on funds, so our Phuket (Thailand) trip had to be budget-friendly. The first thing threatening our budget was the ride from Phuket Airport to Phuket Town.
Of course, there are simpler and hassle-free ways of getting a ride from the airport to your hotel if unconcerned about money. Both of which I have listed below.
1. Grab or Bolt
Just download apps like Grab or Bolt and book your ride through it. The first time users even get discount offers. But here is what the prices look like –
The above screenshot is of the Grab app giving today’s estimate price of a ride from Phuket International Airport to Central Festival Mall, located (as you can guess) right in the middle of Phuket.
To be honest, Bolt is slightly cheaper than Grab on this beautiful island city.
2. Prebooked Private Transfers
There is also an option of prebooking private transfers from airport to your destination from services like Klook or MakeMyTrip. But these transports would again cost you somewhere between ฿650 to ฿1000, which is a good price for large families who want to travel with convenience.
Moreover, who doesn’t love someone waiting outside the airport with a placard of your name 🥰
Unfortunately, we didn’t have the luxury for this treatment, so we looked for a cheaper and efficient ride from the airport.
OUR BUDGET CHOICE: PHUKET AIRPORT BUS – 8411
We boarded this godsend bus from right outside the domestic arrival gate at Phuket Airport, just a 5-minute walk from the international arrivals. Walk out of the airport and head left; you’ll likely spot it.
You can check their timetable and boarding/dropoff points from their official website’s schedule given here.
We boarded it after our immigration. The sweet ticket lady gave us tickets for ฿100 baht each. The bus also has free WIFI for which again the ticket person will provide you the password on asking. This way you can track your current location on Google Maps too.
Our stay was just 15 minutes away from Central Phuket, so after being dropped there, we took a Bolt ride and reached our place comfortably.
If you’re okay with such a break journey, check which stop along the Phuket Airport Bus route is closest to your accommodation. You can find the route here http://www.airportbusphuket.com/routes.html.
There’s also the Phuket Smart Bus that departs from the same area as the 8411. It services areas like Surin, Patong, Karon, Kata, and Rawai. For their route and timetable, check https://phuketsmartbus.com/phuket-smart-bus-eng/
Drop me any other queries you have. Bon voyage 🏖️
PS – Banner Photo by Anika Shahjadi on Unsplash