Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
To/From the Mainland
There are frequent boat departures between Samui and the mainland. Two options are the
which departs from Thong Yang. Ferries take one to five hours, depending on the boat. A
couple of these departures can connect with the train station in Phun Phin (for a nominal
extra fee). The slow night boat to Samui (200B) leaves from central Surat Thani each
night at 11pm, reaching Na Thon around 5am. It returns from Na Thon at 9pm, arriving at
around 3am. Watch your bags on this boat.
To/From Ko Pha-Ngan & Ko Tao
There are almost a dozen daily departures between Ko Samui and Thong Sala on the west
coast of Ko Pha-Ngan and many of these continue on to Ko Tao. These leave from the Na
Thon, Mae Nam or Big Buddha Beach pier, take from 20 minutes to one hour and cost
200 to 300B to Ko Pha-Ngan, depending on the boat.
To go directly to Hat Rin, the
Haad Rin Queen
goes back and forth between Hat Rin
and Big Buddha Beach four times a day. The voyage takes 50 minutes and costs 200B.
Also for Hat Rin and the more remote east coast beaches of Ko Pha-Ngan, the small
and rickety
Thong Nai Pan Express
runs once a day at noon from Mae Hat on Ko Samui
to Hat Rin and then up the east coast, stopping at all the beaches as far as Thong Nai Pan
Noi. Prices range from 200B to 400B, depending on the destination. The boat won't run in
bad weather.
BUS & TRAIN
A bus-ferry combo is more convenient than a train-ferry package for getting to Ko Samui
because you don't have to switch transportation in Phun Phin. However, the trains are
much more comfortable and spacious - especially at night. If you prefer the train, you can
get off at Chumphon and catch the Lomprayah catamaran service the rest of the way.
Several services offer these bus-boat combo tickets, the fastest and most comfortable
being the Lomprayah which has two daily departures from Bangkok at 6am and 9pm and
two from Samui to Bangkok at 8am and 12.30pm. The total voyage takes about 13½
hours and costs 1450B.
Getting Around
You can rent motorcycles (and bicycles) from almost every resort on the island. The going
rate is 200B per day, but for longer periods try to negotiate a better rate.
