Island roads: Phuket is crossed, Samui is circled

1 of 10 · Two islands, two plans

Phuket is crossed through the middle; Samui is travelled around the edge

On the left, Phuket: one main road, the 402, runs north to south from the airport to the town, with secondary roads branching off towards the western beaches. On the right, Samui: the 4169 draws a loop right round the island. The two islands do not carry the same market: we track 1,208 developments in Phuket, 284 in Samui.

• In service

2 of 10 · Phuket, the spine

In Phuket, everything starts on the 402

The line leaves the terminal, joins the 402 and runs south to the old town. The trip is 31.6 km, 21.3 of them on the 402, and takes 39 min. The 402 returns in most trips in this guide, to Rawai as to Chalong.

• In service

Driving times computed without traffic.

3 of 10 · Phuket, the west coast

On the west coast, every beach is reached over a hill

From the airport, the route planner picks the coastal road: the 4030 follows the north-western bays and crosses the hill between Kamala and Patong, climbing to 128 m, before dropping into Patong. 37.7 km, 45 min. Further south, from Patong to Kata Noi via Karon, the coast road rides the ridges again, up to 81 m: 15.1 km in 19 min. On this coast, the road follows the terrain rather than cutting through it.

Driving times computed without traffic.

4 of 10 · The Patong pass

Between Patong and the town, a pass, and perhaps soon a tunnel

The camera follows the 4029, Phra Barami Road, which winds its way out of Patong and tops out at 146 m before dropping to Kathu. From the beach to the old town: 15.1 km, 18 min. The Expressway Authority, EXAT, plans to go underneath: a 3.98 km expressway, on viaduct then in twin tunnels beneath Khao Nak Koet. Its revised file must go back before the Transport Ministry and the Cabinet; in June, EXAT's leadership announced an opening in 2031, if works start in 2027.

Driving times computed without traffic.

5 of 10 · The expressway

A second spine, tunnelled under the hills, awaits its decision

Alongside the 402, EXAT draws a 30.62 km second phase: a 24.45 km main line starts in the north of the island, runs south parallel to the 402, crosses the Kamala range in a tunnel and joins the Patong tunnel at Kathu; a 6.17 km spur heads down to Koh Kaew. The project is at the stage of seeking Cabinet approval.

• In service

6 of 10 · Phuket, the south and east

Phuket's south is close to an hour from its airport

From the airport to Rawai, at the southern tip, the line takes the 402 then the 4024 bypass: 46.0 km, 56 min. From one beach to another, Bang Tao to Chalong, it still takes 29.6 km and 38 min, cutting across the middle of the island. To the east, the 4027 follows the coast facing Phang Nga Bay, the side of the island's marinas, opposite the western beaches.

• In service

Driving times computed without traffic.

7 of 10 · Phuket, the airport and the market

In Phuket, one development in two is more than half an hour from the plane

Each development takes the colour of its driving time to the terminal. The median time is 30 min. Only 64 developments, in the north, are a quarter of an hour or less away; their median asking price is 80,110 ฿ per m². 622, or 51.5% of the market, are more than half an hour away, in Rawai, Chalong, Patong, Kamala or Karon, at 79,963 ฿ per m². The two extremes ask the same price; in between, 522 developments ask 86,359 ฿.

• 15 min or less
• 15 min to 30 min
• over 30 min

Driving times without traffic; asking prices, not sales.

8 of 10 · Samui, around the island

A full loop of Samui takes less than an hour

The line leaves Nathon, the western port, and circles the island on the 4169: 50.1 km, 48 min. In the south, the 4170 branches off to follow the coast for 16.3 km. Everyday distances are short: Chaweng to Lamai, 8.9 km and 10 min; Chaweng to Bophut, 6.4 km and 8 min; Nathon to the airport, at the other end of the island, 23.6 km and 25 min.

• In service

Driving times computed without traffic.

9 of 10 · Samui, the heart of the island

At Samui's centre, the mountain; the road goes round it, low down

The terrain rises: Samui's central massif reaches 624 m. The 4169 loop never climbs above 82 m: it goes around the mountain rather than over it. No numbered road on the island comes within 3.4 km of this high point: you drive around the centre, never through it.

• In service

Elevations estimated from the SRTM terrain model, not surveyed on site.

10 of 10 · Samui, the airport and the market

In Samui, nearly one development in two is a quarter of an hour from the plane

On Samui, times shrink: the median time to the terminal is only 16 min. 129 developments, or 45.4% of the market, are a quarter of an hour or less away, in Bo Phut subdistrict, which takes in Chaweng and Choeng Mon; their median asking price is 70,076 ฿ per m². 137 more lie between a quarter and half an hour, at 65,151 ฿. Only 18 developments, in the south-west, are beyond half an hour.

• 15 min or less
• 15 min to 30 min
• over 30 min

Driving times without traffic; asking prices, not sales.