Khao Sok to Phuket: bus and minivan options (2026)

3 ways to make this trip, from ฿280 one way, and 3h06–4h on the quickest, direct. Below: what each costs, who runs it, how often it goes and the pier or station it actually leaves from.

Fares checked 7 September 2026 and quoted as one-way bands per adult. They move with season, fuel and demand — the flight bands move fastest of all.

Our pick for time

Minivan

3h06–4h · ฿280–฿900 · Phuket Bus and Van Travel, Kanokwan Travel, Andaman Taxi

Our pick for budget

Minivan

฿280–฿900 · 3h06–4h · Phuket Bus and Van Travel, Kanokwan Travel, Andaman Taxi

Same option twice: on this pair the quickest way is also the cheapest, which is rarer than it sounds — it usually means one operator has the route to itself.

All options

Khao Sok to Phuket: every option with mode, time, fare, operators and frequency
Option	Time	Fare	Operators	How often	Change
Minivan	3h06–4h	฿280–฿900	Phuket Bus and Van Travel, Kanokwan Travel, Andaman Taxi	Several shared departures a day, plus private transfers	Direct
Minivan + Minivan	3h45–6h50	฿550–฿1,200	Shared minivan operators, Shared minivan and airport transfer operators	One or two morning departures · Through the day, most timed to Phuket airport arrivals	via Khao Lak
Bus + ferry (one ticket) + Flight	6h40–10h20	฿3,200–฿6,600	Phantip Travel, Local minivan and ferry combinations, Bangkok Airways	Usually one morning departure · One or two direct flights a day, seasonal	via Koh Samui

Booking notes

Minivan · 3h06–4h · ฿280–฿900

The bottom of the band is a shared van, the top a private car. Most Khao Sok bookings include the transfer to the lake pier as a separate morning leg — that isn't in this fare.

Minivan + Minivan · 3h45–6h50 · ฿550–฿1,200

Khao Sok → Khao Lak: The short way in if you're already on the northern Andaman coast. Afternoon departures are scarce — this is a morning leg.

Khao Lak → Phuket: Khao Lak sits north of Phuket airport, so arriving passengers pass it on the way into Phuket. Book the transfer from the airport rather than from Patong and the leg gets an hour shorter.

Bus + ferry (one ticket) + Flight · 6h40–10h20 · ฿3,200–฿6,600

Khao Sok → Koh Samui: Minivan to Donsak, then the Samui ferry. Booked as one ticket in Khao Sok village; there is no walk-up alternative if it's missed.

Koh Samui → Phuket: The only quick way to swap coasts. Everything else — coach across the peninsula, or a flight via Bangkok — costs a day or a connection.

Both ends of the trip

Khao Sok

Rainforest national park and the floating raft houses on Cheow Lan lake.

Khao Sok has no weather station of ours; the nearest one we track is driest Nov–Apr and wettest May–Oct.

Phuket

Connected to the mainland by bridge, so it works as an airport hub as much as a beach.

Airport HKT: The Andaman's main gateway, with the widest low-cost domestic and regional network in the south.

Phuket is driest Nov–Apr and wettest May–Oct on its own monthly rain-day normals.

Phuket weather Phuket guide

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get from Khao Sok to Phuket?

3h06–4h on the quickest option we hold — minivan with Phuket Bus and Van Travel. The slowest of the 3 options here takes 6h40–10h20, so the spread between them is about 4h57. Times are for the scheduled leg and exclude the transfer at either end.

How much is Khao Sok to Phuket?

From ฿280–฿900 one way by minivan, checked 7 September 2026 — and on this pair that is also the quickest way, so there is nothing to trade off. The dearest of the 3 options here runs to ฿3,200–฿6,600. That band comes from a dated route listing rather than a published tariff, so treat it as indicative.

What else runs between Khao Sok and Phuket?

2 other options. The next one after minivan with Phuket Bus and Van Travel is minivan + minivan with Shared minivan operators at ฿550–฿1,200 and 3h45–6h50, changing at Khao Lak — dearer and slower. All of them are in the table above with their operators and frequency.

Where does the Khao Sok to Phuket service leave from, and how often does it run?

The bottom of the band is a shared van, the top a private car. Most Khao Sok bookings include the transfer to the lake pier as a separate morning leg — that isn't in this fare. Several shared departures a day, plus private transfers.

Going the other way, or further

The return trip is on the Phuket to Khao Sok page — fares are the same in both directions on almost every leg here, but the timetables are not. To string this hop into a longer trip with a pace check, use the route planner, and see the island comparison for which coast is dry in the month you are travelling.

Sources

Bookaway Phuket–Khao Sok route listings — aggregator listings, not a published tariff.
12go.asia route listings (band from what was on sale, not a tariff) — aggregator listings, not a published tariff.

Checked 7 September 2026. Every figure on this page is a range, because every one of them moves.

All guides and tools