By Kylian Dev
How far is Phuket airport from the beaches?
Road distances and driving times to the three most common first stops.
| From Phuket airport to | Distance by road | Driving time (no stops) |
|---|---|---|
| Phuket Town | 31.5 km | 46 min |
| Patong | 37.4 km | 51 min |
| Kata | 46.1 km | 59 min |
These figures are an OSRM road estimate, 28/09/2026, with no stops: a light vehicle on a clear road, not a taxi timetable. The further south your hotel, the longer the ride, so count on close to an hour for the southern beaches. To choose a beach before you book, see our Phuket beaches guide and the Phuket destination guide.
Phuket airport at a glance
The codes on your ticket, and where you will land.
Codes
CodeHKT (IATA), VTSP (ICAO)
Location
Where32 km north of Phuket Town, Mai Khao sub-district, Thalang district
Opening
HoursOpen 24 hours a day
Phuket is Thailand's third airport by passenger traffic. It has a single runway, eight taxiways and five aircraft stands. It sits at 8.1133 N, 98.3169 E, in the north of the island, which is why the airport is close to the northern beaches and far from the busy south.
Is there a train to Phuket airport?
No: the island has no rail link to the airport.
A rail link to the airport was discussed in 2012, but it was never built. You therefore leave the airport by road, whatever your beach. The transfer options (taxi, minivan, bus, ride-hailing app) are compared in our Bangkok to Phuket guide, in the section on getting from the airport to your beach.
- Staying in Patong or Kata: plan a road transfer of close to an hour.
- Landing late: the airport stays open, but arrange your transfer or hotel pick-up in advance.
- Flying on the same day: leave generous margin between a hotel in the south and your departure.
Coming from Bangkok or going on to Krabi
Phuket is often one stop in a longer trip.
Most travellers reach Phuket from Bangkok: check which Bangkok airport your flight leaves from in our Suvarnabhumi airport guide, and compare flight, bus and train in Bangkok to Phuket. For Ao Nang or Railay, flying into Krabi airport is usually closer. For boat trips from the island, see Phuket to Koh Phi Phi, and for the whole country, getting around Thailand.
Where these figures come from
Every number on this page is checked.
- Codes and coordinates: Wikidata.
- Location, national ranking and the 2012 rail project: Wikipedia (English).
- 24-hour opening, runway, taxiways and stands: Wikipedia (German).
- Distances and driving times: OSRM (the OpenStreetMap routing engine), calculated on 28/09/2026 for a light vehicle, without stops or detours.