From the Airport
The first challenge for visitors to Phang Nga is getting there. Phang Nga does not have its own airport so most people arrive at Phuket Airport (or a bit further away at Krabi Airport). A taxi ride from Phuket Airport to Khao Lak will take around 1-hour and will cost 1,500 to 2,000-baht. However if your flight arrives in the early hours of the morning when there are fewer taxis around you may find they are willing to take advantage of the situation by charging vastly inflated prices.
There may be a shared minibus service to Khao Lak but this option is not always available. It depends on demand and taxi politics at the time. A shared minibus will take longer than a taxi as they wait until they have sold all the seats before they leave and it will then go around the hotels of every passenger. The trip will cost around 350-baht per person.
There are no buses from the airport to Khao Lak. The taxi companies pay for the concessions to run their service from Phuket Airport and they try to keep a tight control on competition. Getting from the airport to a bus service is a major challenge and we do not particularly recommend anyone tries. You will need to somehow make your way to the main Phuket highway some 8km away and flag down a passing bus (which may or may not stop).
There has been a turf battle around the airport taxi concessions for some time even reaching the extreme of shootings between taxi driver groups. The latest compromise is that independent taxi-meters have a stand outside the airport terminal but only three are allowed in at a time. If you make your way out of the terminal and turn right, you should be able to get a taxi-meter. They are a little cheaper than the airport taxis although they tend to want to charge a fixed fare rather than use the meter.
One final annoyance to be aware of with the taxis is they have occasionally been known to try to squeeze more money from their customers by stopping on the way at a local travel agent and pressing them to book accommodation before they continue. Needless to say, the hotels they want to book you into are paying them commission. If you find yourself in this annoying predicament then stick to your guns and insist you already have a hotel booking. So better book your Phuket Airport Transfer online.
If your Phang Nga hotel offers an airport pick up service we recommend you take advantage of that service.
Just across the road from Phuket Airport there are a couple of car rental firms that charge reasonable rates.
There are no buses from the airport to Khao Lak. The taxi companies pay for the concessions to run their service from Phuket Airport and they try to keep a tight control on competition. Getting from the airport to a bus service is a major challenge and we do not particularly recommend anyone tries. You will need to somehow make your way to the main Phuket highway some 8km away and flag down a passing bus (which may or may not stop).
There has been a turf battle around the airport taxi concessions for some time even reaching the extreme of shootings between taxi driver groups. The latest compromise is that independent taxi-meters have a stand outside the airport terminal but only three are allowed in at a time. If you make your way out of the terminal and turn right, you should be able to get a taxi-meter. They are a little cheaper than the airport taxis although they tend to want to charge a fixed fare rather than use the meter.
One final annoyance to be aware of with the taxis is they have occasionally been known to try to squeeze more money from their customers by stopping on the way at a local travel agent and pressing them to book accommodation before they continue. Needless to say, the hotels they want to book you into are paying them commission. If you find yourself in this annoying predicament then stick to your guns and insist you already have a hotel booking. So better book your Phuket Airport Transfer online.
If your Phang Nga hotel offers an airport pick up service we recommend you take advantage of that service.
Just across the road from Phuket Airport there are a couple of car rental firms that charge reasonable rates.