Phuket Old Town is a beautiful historic town in the middle eastern coast of Phuket. The town is known for its charming historic atmosphere with lots of colorful ancient houses, cultural attractions, and authentic food.
You can visit the Old Town on the day trip from popular beaches from the island’s west coast like Patong, Karon, and Kata. You can consider staying in the old town for a couple of nights to experience its relaxing nightlife with an excellent street food scene.
In this article, I will show you some ways to get to the Old Phuket town from various locations on the island like the airport, Bang Rong Pier, Patong, Kata, and Karon. I will also share with you the best ways to get around the old town.
Be mindful that traffic around Phuket can get pretty bad during rush hours, so make sure to allow extra time if you need to go to the airport or the pier to catch the flight or speed boat. The distance from Patong to Phuket airport is just around 40km but it took me 1.5hours to get there.
The price of taxis from taxi apps (Grab, Bolt, Uber) also fluctuate. Prices rise during peak hours and heavy traffic, so if you use these apps during off-peak times, you can get better deals.
For example, the price from the InDive app when I check at 10am from Patong to Airport is around 600 baht, but when I actually booked it around 12pm, it spiked up to 750 baht.
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4 Popular Ways to get to Old Phuket Town
1. Riding share services: Grab, Bolt, InDrive
Phuket is one of the most popular islands in Thailand, so it has lots of riding share services such as Grab Taxi, Bolt, and InDrive. Grab Bikes are also available for a short distance.
Between three taxi services, I prefer using InDive as it usually offers cheaper prices compared to other services like Grab and and Bolt.
With InDrive, you need to pay the driver directly by cash-only, which is my preferred way of payment. If you don’t have cash, you can use Grab or Bolt. You can put bank card information inside these apps.
I highly recommend downloading and installing one of those apps in Thailand and Phuket for easy to get around. You can get a ride by simply clicking a request in the app without having to bargain over the price with the driver.
I used InDrive a few times in Phuket, including the ride from Bang Rong Pier to Phuket Old Town (around 350 baht), from Phuket Old Town to Patong (around 400 baht), and Parong to Airport (around 750 baht in peak hour).
2. Regular taxi
You can easily hail regular taxis in popular places like Patong, Karon, and Kata. With this method, you need to agree/ bargain the price with the driver first. You can also ask them to use a meter taxi.
I find it easier to order a taxi through the apps (Grab, Bolt, InDrive), which helps me avoid the hassle of bargaining over the price.
3. Buses
Taking a bus to get to Old Town Phuket is not only a good way to experience local life but also a cheap way to get around. You can take buses from Phuket Airport and the beach areas to the old town.
There are several bus stations in Phuket Town, including the Bus Terminal 1 (Old Bus Station) near Phang Nga Road, local bus station on Ranong Road, and the Bus terminal 2 located 5km north of the old town.
You can use the blue buses (long songthaew style pick up truck) traveling between Old Phuket Town and popular beaches like Patong, Karon, Kamala, Nai Harn. You can find the bus station next to Ranong Road Central Market on Ranong Road.
When using local buses, such as the blue and pink ones, you can ask the driver to stop at the closest point to your destination along the route.
Bus Terminal 2 is where long distance buses from other destinations in Thailand like Bangkok, Khao Sok, Krabi/ Ao Nang terminate. From this bus terminal, you can use additional transport like Grab and Bolt taxi to get to the old town.
4. Boats
If you arrive from other islands in the Andaman Sea like Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta, Koh Lipe, Railay/ Ao Nang, you will likely arrive at Rassada Pier. This pier is located 3km away from the old town. When you arrive at the pier you can use additional services such as taxis to get to your destination.
From Phuket Airport
The distance from Phuket Airport and Phuket Old Town is around 31km. The ride between these two places ranges from 40 minutes to 1.5 hours, depending on traffic and the type of transport you’re taking.
You can take Grab taxi, regular taxi, airport limousine, or Airport Bus from Phuket airport to get to your hotel in the Old Town. The price is from 650 baht to 1000 baht.
Taking the big orange Airport Bus is the cheapest way to get from the airport to the old town. It costs only 100 baht. It runs hourly everyday from 5am to 7pm. The bus stops at Bus Terminal 1 in the heart of the old town.
From Bang Rong Pier
Bang Rong Pier is a popular pier on Phuket with boats connecting the island with nearby islands such as Koh Yao Yai and Koh Yao Noi. I arrived at this pier from Koh Yao Yai and took an InDriver taxi to my hostel in Phuket Old Town.
My ride took around 50 minutes to cover 23 km due to heavy traffic, and it cost me 350 baht. There are also taxi stands next to the pier, so you can book the ride directly with the shop.
From Patong
To get from Patong to Phuket Old Town, you can use a taxi or bus. The distance between these two areas are around 15km, and the ride is around 30-60 minutes depending on traffic.
There are local blue buses connecting Patong and the old town. The ride is cheap, only 40 baht. You can find the bus stop on Patong Beach road. Just check the bus schedule with your hotel, wait along the route heading toward the Old Town, and flag the bus down when it approaches.
I used an InDrive taxi to travel between Patong and the Old Town. It took me 40 minutes to ride and 420 baht. I found this way is easier and faster than taking the local bus.
From Kata
Kata is a popular beach town located on the west coast of Phuket, 16km away from the old town. The taxi ride is 25 minutes to 1 hour depending on traffic.
The easiest way to get from Kata to the old town is using a private taxi or riding share services such as Grab, Bolt, or InDrive. The price is around 500-600 baht.
For a cheaper option, you can use the local songthaew bus. The bus stop can be found near Makro on the main road 4028. It cost 40 baht and took around 40 minutes. Taking the local bus is a fun experience but if you are short of time, it is best to use a taxi.
From Karon
Karon is around 16 km from Phuket Old Town. It will take around 25 minutes to 1 hour to travel between these two places by taxi or bus.
Similar to travelling from Kata to the old town, the cost from Karon to the old town is around 500-600 baht on a private taxi, Grab, Bolt, or InDrive.
You can take the Blue Baht Bus ride from around 30baht. You can wait along Karon Beach Road in places like the Karon Circle to catch the bus. Just flag the driver down when you see the bus approaches. The bus ride is around 35 minutes.
From Mai Khao
Mai Khao Beach is located far north of Phuket, 34km away from the old town. The taxi ride is around 40 to 80 minutes. It is quite expensive from 800-1100 baht per ride. You can rent a scooter, which is the most flexible way to get from Mai Khao to Phuket Old town.
From Kamala
Kamala is around 21km from Phuket Old town. The ride between these two places ranges from 35 to 70 minutes. You can take a private taxi, Grab, Bolt, or InDrive for around 600-800 baht.
The local blue songthaew bus also goes from Kamala to Ranong Road in Phuket Old Town. It cost around 50 baht. The bus does not have a fixed schedule, you need to wait for 30 minutes between buses. It runs from 7am to 6pm.
You can find the bus stop near Big C on 4233 road, but it is best to ask locals for the bus stop and updated schedule. Using local buses is cheap and also unreliable.
From Bang Tao
Bang Tao Beach is located on the island’s west coast, around 22km away from Phuket Old Town. It can take 30 minutes to 1 hour to travel from Bang Tao to the old town.
Like many other popular beaches around the island, you can easily catch a private taxi, Grab, Bolt, or InDrive from Bang Tao to get to the old town. The cost is around 600-800 baht.
There are also blue local songthaew buses connecting Bang Tao and Old Town, which offer more local atmosphere, and cheaper price. It is only around 50 baht. You can find the bus stop near McDonald on the main road 4030. You can wait along the main road and flag it down when it approaches.
How to Get Around Old Phuket Town
On foot
Old Phuket Town is a relatively small area with three main streets, Phang Nga, Dibuk, and Thalang Road. The central area is around 1km long and 0.4km wide. You can easily explore most attractions in the old town on Walking.
I rented a scooter but for exploring outside areas of the old town. I didn’t use it in the central areas of the old town, as I prefer walking in the old town. Finding a place to park a scooter can be difficult in the old town.
Rent a scooter
Renting a scooter is a great place to explore attractions outside of the old town. You can drive to Central Phuket Mall, Chillva Night Market, Khao Rang Viewpoint, and Monkey Hill Viewpoint.
Grab, Bolt, InDrive
If you don’t drive, using riding shares services are convenient ways to get around the town. You can use it for the surrounding attractions Central Phuket, Naka/ Chillva Night Markets, and Khao Rang Viewpoint.
So you have it, my travel guide on how to get to Phuket Old Town and how to get around. I hope you found my article helpful and now know how to get to the historic city of Phuket.