A car, and book it from the airport rather than from your hotel: Phuket airport is at the north end of the island, which is the Khao Lak end, and starting there saves an hour of the island's traffic.
About 90 km by road
Private car or minivan
Time
1h 15m to 1h 30m from the airport
How often
On demand
From
From about 1,400 THB for a car, about 1,700 THB for a van seating eight
Quoted per vehicle rather than per seat, so it is the cheapest option outright for three people or more.
These times and fares come from booking agents and route aggregators, not from operator timetables. Most Thai ferry and minivan operators publish no English schedule. Treat every figure as a planning range and confirm it before you build a day around it. Last read on 20 August 2026, from Khao Lak Airport Transfer and GO Khao Lak Taxi.