Samui Island is located in the Gulf of Thailand, just 80 km from Surat Thani on the eastern coast of mainland. Phuket Island lies off the west coast of Thailand in the Andaman Sea. The largest island of the country is connected to the mainland by Thao Thepkasattri Bridge or Sarasin Bridge.

As both Samui and Phuket appear frequently together in tourist itineraries, this is a common query raised by tourists visiting Thailand in many travel blogs. Here we have tried to furnish the various options available.

Samui is an island on the east coast of Thailand, whereas Phuket, in spite of being an island lying on its west coast, is connected to mainland by a bridge. The only way to go directly from Samui to Phuket is to fly.

Bangkok Airways is the only airline flying directly from Samui to Phuket. The time taken for the flight is approximately one hour. At present, there are daily flights leaving Samui at 17.05 and reaching Phuket at 18.05. For more information, contact Bangkok Airways at +66 2265 5678 or +66 2265 5555 or browse their website www.bangkokair.com.

Alternately, you can fly from Samui to Phuket via Bangkok. Bangkok Airways fly hourly from Samui to Bangkok. Once you reach Bangkok, you have numerous options to fly to Phuket. The time taken will be longer and the arrangement will be more expensive. However, during high season, when you fail to book your tickets in advance, this may be the only one left to fly.

Samui, being an island, necessitates crossing the sea to reach mainland. Taking regular or chartered ferry is the only option.

Ferry: Regular ferries run frequently throughout the day between Samui and Surat Thani in mainland from 05.00 to 22.00. In Surat Thani, ferries from Samui dock at Chumporn or Don Sak piers. Don Sak pier is closer to Phuket. It takes just 6 hours by road to travel from Don Sak to Phuket.

Once you reach Surat Thani, you have the choice to fly, take regular bus services or hire a taxi to reach Phuket. Mini vans are also popular in the Surat Thani-Phuket route.

Flight: A few domestic airlines, including Thai Airways International, fly from Surat Thani to Phuket. For more information, contact Thai Airways Bangkok office at 02 628 2000 or browse www.thaiairways.com

Bus: If you are traveling by bus, take care to avoid the air-conditioned ones and opt for the more comfortable ‘VIP’ buses. Buses leave every few hours until 15.30. The duration of the journey is 5-6 hours.

Car: Self-drive cars and taxis are available in Surat Thani to travel to Phuket. The route via Phang Nga province and Sarasin Bridge takes about four hours.

You can book your tickets for the entire journey with Samui travel agents. This includes ferry transfer and further journey to Phuket by bus or mini van. In Samui, most travel agents are located at Chaweng Beach area. They even organize pickup and drop from your hotel.