connection from Phi-Phi to Phuket airport..can I make it??

You'll be fine unless disaster strikes or the ferry is cancelled due to bad weather. Count on about (and some are faster) 90 minutes for the ferry, then grab a cab and head for Phuket airport, no more than 1 hour away from the ferry terminal in Phuket Town. Easy. And besides, Air Asia is late half the time anyway :)

I consistently have problems between Phuket and Bangkok with Air Asia. Of six flight - two have been cancelled (I was kicked on to a competitors later flight), one was a problem with their website and I ended up booked on two different flights, and three other flights were all 30 to 105 minutes day.

Now, I know most other people haven't had quite the problems I have had with them - but I personally wouldn't use them to make an important connection.

Thanks Batfish.

Is it safe to assume around 750 THB (one-way) for a private car transfer from the airport to the pier? Would the taxi be significantly cheaper? I'm thinking of booking a private transfer, in the hope of not losing any time finding a cab etc. Makes sense?

Why don't you fly Bangkok Air Phuket to Siem Riep?

nomorethan,

I remember checking, but Bangkok Air apparently flies only the reverse direction (i.e., Siem Reap to Phuket.) Pl point me to the right place if I have overlooked anything. Thanks.

A taxi would probably be around 600 Baht, though you may get one for 500. Booking your transfer in advance is a good idea. A few dollars more to save a few worry lines.

As Ted says, and I joked, Air Asia can be a little unreliable with flight times. If they are late, you have more time to make the flight, but if they cancel...you might miss your connection, though there are so many flights to Bangkok, you should be OK. We have had customers in Malaysia miss their transfer to Sipadan when their Air Asia flight was cancelled or delayed. Last time I went to Phuket airport to pick up some friends, their Air Asia flight was about an hour late.

Thanks Batfish and Ted.

My flight to Siem Reap leaves BKK at 1800. I presume check-in (being an international flight) has to be 2 hrs prior, so I need to be in Bkk by 1600? ETA at BKK for my Air Asia flight is 1405, so that leaves me a 2 hr buffer for delays. Hope that's going to be enough!

If on the other hand they cancel altogether, I hope they'll put me on the Bangkok Air flight that leaves just 20 min later, and if so, I should be fine as well I guess...

Cheers,
SS

One issue in Phuket are delays caused by the security check when entering the airport building. We were in a queue of several hundred people recently, at that exact time (9am ferry, 1pm flight).

If it looks bad, one option is to walk up to the second floor, where there also are x-ray machines at the doors but not so many people. However, there is no staircase outside the building. You have to walk up the car ramp.

Over many years of travelling in Thailand I have come to accept that it is not a good idea to assume you will make any connections like you are planning. Problems range from just being late arriving/leaving, to engine failure and ( luckily not to me ) the boat sinking. The Thais have a very Mai Pen Rai attitude to schedules anyway, as you will know if you ever travelled by train there. To be on the safe side, consider travelling to Phuket the previous day, and staying overnight. There are plenty of cheap hotels around Phuket town, or you could get the local bus to a beach from the market ( 20 bht ). If not, good luck!