Traffic Jams in Phuket: Where and When

Where the island actually stands still

First place goes to the pass between Kathu and Patong. There is one road over the hill, few lanes, and any slow lorry collects a tail behind it for the whole climb. In the morning the tail runs towards Patong and in the evening back again, and after a collision on a bend the road stops entirely, because there is nowhere to go round.

The roundabouts on the 402

Second are the highway roundabouts. The one by the Heroines monument gathers traffic from the north, the west and the town simultaneously, and at peak hour joining it takes several attempts. The same thing happens, more gently, at the junctions closer to Phuket Town.

Third is the Chalong circle. Everything heading south passes through it: people going to Rawai and Nai Harn, people climbing to the Big Buddha, and people returning to the town. In the evening it is reliably dense.

The fourth place is not quite a jam: the approaches to the west coast beaches in the middle of the day. The road moves, but there is nowhere to park, so cars start circling in search of a space, and that is what blocks the narrow seafront.

What it means for the car

Standing in traffic loads the cooling system rather than the engine. At low speed the airflow through the radiator is weak while the air conditioning runs at full, and a marginal cooling system that behaved well on the highway shows itself in a queue. Test it at collection: let the car idle with the air conditioning on for a few minutes and you will feel the difference.

Automatic against manual

In dense stop start traffic an automatic wins noticeably, especially on the gradient of the pass. A manual in the same conditions demands constant clutch work, and half an hour in a queue on a long climb is tiring.

The second effect of a jam is bikes. They filter between the rows from both sides, and the blind spot becomes a genuine problem. Change lanes slowly in a queue, indicate early, and always check the mirror and over your shoulder.

Fuel consumption in stationary traffic rises noticeably, which changes the logic of refuelling. If you are planning an evening run over the pass, fill up beforehand, because the stations on the approach to Patong also collect a queue at peak hour.

The island's timetable by the hour

The morning peak starts early and holds until mid morning: residents, school minibuses and deliveries all appear at once. It shows most around the schools, where short but dense queues form and clear as quickly as they arrived.

The middle of the day

From late morning until mid afternoon the highways are clear and the coast is busy, because everyone is heading for the beach. The approaches to Patong, Karon and Kata move at that hour, but the parking has gone, and it is the absence of spaces that creates the feeling of a jam.

The evening peak is longer than the morning one. It begins at the end of the working day and runs until dark, overlapping with the sunset traffic to the viewpoints. The pass then flows towards Kathu and the town, and the Chalong circle is busy in every direction at once.

After sunset the island clears quickly. The roads empty and driving them is pleasant, provided the car's lights are in order and you remember which side of the road you are on at an empty junction where there is nobody to copy.

The detours and when they work

The island's main detour is the eastern road. Instead of running along the west coast through Patong and over the pass, the southern districts connect to the north through Phuket Town and the east coast towards Pa Khlok. It is longer in kilometres, but at the evening peak it wins on time and is far calmer.

When a detour is pointless

In the middle of the day and after sunset all of this manoeuvring is wasted: the direct route over the pass is quicker. The detour makes sense in two specific windows, the morning and evening peaks, and in rain, when the hill becomes slow for everybody.

The second working technique is to shift the time rather than the route. Leaving an hour earlier or later almost always saves more than any alternative road. The island is small and its peaks are short.

At peak hour the navigation app suggests detours through residential lanes, and that is where it should not be trusted without a look at the map. Some of those passages are narrow, some end at gates, and some deliver you onto a road where a right turn across dense traffic takes longer than the whole detour.

What to do when you are stuck

In a queue on the pass the important thing is the gap. The gradient means the car in front can roll back when it pulls away, and bikes between the rows make any sudden move dangerous. Keep more space than usual and do not creep up to the bumper ahead.

If the tail has not moved for several minutes, there is a collision or a stalled car ahead. Turning across a solid line on a hill road is a bad idea for several reasons at once, penalties included. It is calmer to wait and drive through.

When not to drive at all

Festival days rearrange the traffic scheme: some streets in the old town are closed, parking disappears and the alternatives fill up. On those days the car is left on the edge of the centre and you walk in, which is not a compromise but the only method that works.

And finally: a jam in Phuket rarely lasts. The island is too small for a queue to live for hours, and almost everything that looks hopeless clears in twenty or thirty minutes. That is worth remembering before you go hunting for a way round through unfamiliar lanes.

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