Coach from Samui to Phuket
 

Hi, do any of you FTers ever take a bus? :)
During my next visit to Thailand I'll be travelling from Samui to Phuket. I'm considering taking the coach rather than flying as I have the time to spare. Does anybody have any experience of what the coach trip on this route is like? Also, is it possible for me to take a coach direct from Chaweng Beach to Patong Beach, or is the the Nathon-Phuket Town service the only option available? I prefer to take VIP/1st Class coach rather than a minivan as I think the journey will be too long for this.
Thanks, SF.

I can't help you with the coach, but I can say the roads across the peninsula are excellent. We travelled by boat from Samui to the coast and then travelled by car to Krabi. The roads were excellent and mainly traffic free, its an easy enough trip.(obviously Phuket is that bit further)

Well, I've been known to take a bus or (rarely) a minibus in Thailand but haven't done this particular route, so the following comes from secondhand reports. Unless something has changed very recently, the only all-inclusive tickets from Samui-Phuket are from private services that use minibuses for at least part of the journey (regardless of what they promise about big buses) and do a transfer in Surat, though not always in the city proper. Phantip Company is a major provider on this route and you can check out the schedule on this site. They may use a big bus from Nathon to ferry to Surat then change to minibus. I would take the Samui-Phuket journey timetable/arrival time with a grain of salt. You would be wise to separately deal with transport from Phuket town to your final destination, once you get there. Extra prepayments made to agencies in Samui or Surat, to take you from Phuket town to your beach destination, often vaporize once you arrive in Phuket leaving you in the lurch and having to find your own transport anyway.

Additional: I've heard lots of tales of problems and excess waiting around in oddball locations during the transfer at Surat Thani, of theft from luggage in the cargo hold of the big bus while you are on the ferry, of minibuses breaking down by the side of the road, mystery locations for drop-off, and that old favorite--scary reckless driving (I can attest to that which is why minibuses are my transport choice of Last Resort). Also beware of outright scams before you choose a private company...googling "samui to phuket" "bus" and "scam" should bring up some things to watch out for and avoid.

What you might consider doing is avoiding the private companies or any travel agency middleman, and going to the bus station in Nathon and buying a government bus ticket to Surat Thani only. Then in Surat, buy a separate ticket directly at the bus station in Surat bound for Phuket. If there is a single direct GOVERNMENT bus that goes from Nathon to Phuket via Surat that would be a great development, but I'm not aware of one. Note where the Phuket bus stop(s) are and which one is best for your final destination, esp if you are heading for a central or northern island beach (Bangtao or above). Or just get to Phuket town and deal with final leg of transport from there. Make sure you get to correct bus station in Surat for Phuket (Surat has more than one bus station). And get an early start out of Samui so your onward options are maximized once you get to Surat. The step-by-step, 2-separate-ticket approach is what I would do personally if I was travelling alone, didn't want/couldn't fly, or was in an extreme penny-pinching mode and had the loose day in the schedule to accomplish this.

Frankly, the overland journey itself is of marginally scenic value and the time/hassle differential vs. flying is substantial. Bangkok Airways usually has all-in fares of about 2000-2800 baht one-way on this route, so do the math and decide whether it is worth the savings to spend the time going overland. Many decide to spend the additional $50-$80 to fly, and have the extra hours in Phuket. However, overland is useful to know about, in case you need to travel and flights are sold-out (likely to happen in high season without reservations made reasonably in advance).

Koh Samui - Phuket
Mode of Transport Air-conditioned bus
Dep. Time 08.00, 10.00 7.00
Fares 375 Baht
Reservation Office Pantip Tel. 0-7742-1221

Phuket - Koh Samui
Air-conditioned bus
08.00, 10.00 7.00
375 Baht
Pantip Tel.0-7727-2203, 0-7727-2906

*Note

1. Koh Samui - Phuket : The bus departure from Nathon Bus Station and take Seatran Ferry at Nathon Pier.
2. Phuket - Koh Samui : The bus departure from Phuket Bus Terminal (Phang-nga Road).
3. Bus fares excludes ferry fares.

http://www.sawadee.com/transfer/bus-samui.htm

The two posts above say it all.

Private busses (or tourists busses) are rife with theft, maintenance problems, and long waits. They are timed conveniently, sometimes include pickup/dropoff, may be priced cheaper, and sometimes more luxurious. But are associated with the most problems.

Thai Busses ( or government busses) are operated by several private companies, leave and arrive at the bus stations, have regulated maintenance and regulated drivers. You can walk up or prebook, and get a ticket with a seat number. On long journeys (Bangkok-Phuket, for instance), simple meals are provided free at the reststops.

Phuket - Samui bus from the government bus station has several departures. Some connect and change in Surat, at least one each day is a direct. I would assume it's the same on the Samui - Phuket route. Both of these routes are reliable.

The taxi fare to Patong from the Bus Depot in Phuket Town should be about 400-450 THB. Or you can take the 30 THB big busses from the traffic circle (less than 1km from the bus station) from Phuket Town to Patong.

Thanks Sean and all others for helpful comments. Even though the Bangkok Air flight is quite inexpensive and convenient I want to give the coach trip a try as it seems more fun and adventurous (though I hear you, I don't want the adventure the tour agents and minibuses might include in their package!). I have driven Bangkok to far south a few times but this will be my first road trip east-west, albeit a short one. Through a Thai friend I have contacted Pantip this afternoon and established that the direct government Nathon-Phuket Town service now departs at 09:30 so that is what I'll opt for, and just use normal taxis at both ends to avoid any agency involvment. I had a lot of fun on the Phuket Town-Patong buses/trucks before but don't think I'll indulge them this time after a 7 hour coach trip :) Thanks again for your kind advice. I'll report back after the trip if there's anything noteworthy to point out.

I have now completed my southern coach trips which were fun, interesting and aggravating in equal measure. My route was Hat Yai - Samui - Hua Hin -Phuket. Following advice I decided to opt for the government coaches and ticket purchase at Hat Yai was simple with choice of two morning departures at 08:00 and 10:30. At time of purchase I saw a beautiful VIP coach leaving for Samui that day and expected same. Then the fun began. Arrived at station for my departure a few days later to learn there were not enough passengers (there were over 40!) so the two VIP coaches were cancelled and would be replaced by a single service leaving 90 minutes late and arriving Samui two hours late. In practice it was an old second class wreck but did have air conditioning. The real reason for the change in service soon became apparent; this was a truck and not a bus! We stopped every few miles along the road and all manner of farm produce and other goods were loaded onto the bus and money changed hands with the driver and his assistants. I learned from one Thai woman that this is common on this route and if there are only a few passengers then they will cancel service and put them on a minivan. It seems you pay for VIP but should expect anything. All things considered the stops along the route etc kept my interest and the journey wasn't too bad.

From Samui to Hua Hin by accident rather than design I ended up with a private coach from an agent rather than a government coach. The old dear at the agency skillfully extracted a few more baht for the ticket than I'm sure she should but I didn't mind as she was selling me schedule I wanted which I might have missed elsewhere. This coach was going from Samui someplace north of Bangkok and was very clean and comfortable with seats akin to aircraft old-style C. The seats had substantial recline, footrest and massage function. Lavatory on the coach was very clean. Snack and drinks were frequently served. The journey was comfortable, pleasant and uneventful but long. A word of warning; the agent will inform you that some of these buses going north of Bangkok stop in Bangkok too and try to sell you a ticket on them. In practice they stop near Bangkok and you will likely need to arrange your own taxi or minivan transfer into Bangkok by yourself regardless of what ticket agent tells you. So, if going to Bangkok it is probably best to choose a bus where that is the final destination.

The final leg of my journey was from Hua Hin to Phuket on a government VIP bus which was similar to but not as new and nice as the one from Samui to Hua Hin. The bus was only 15 minutes late in departing Hua Hin despite arriving from Bangkok but it made up time and arrived 15 minutes early to Phuket. There were quite a few tourists on this service and the hostess spoke good English. She was happy to play DVDs belonging to passengers at their request provide they were English with Thai subtitles or vice versa. The scenery on the last few hours of this journey into Phuket was very enjoyable.

On the whole I enjoyed my coach trip experience as it was something I always wanted to do. Despite this I will be unlikely to use the coach again unless there are no flights to my destination or for some reason we do not want to drive. When using the coach I'd advise patience and be prepared for the unexpected. It is also a good idea to take plenty of food and drink onboard of your own liking as journeys are long but with usually only one rest stop. Finally, if cost is the main factor in opting for coach travel then I'd advise checking out Air Asia first. For example, they frequently have special offers from Bangkok to Hat Yai, Phuket etc which can be substantially less expensive than a VIP coach.