Getting to Ko Samui
Travel to Ko Samui Thailand - Boat, Car, Bus, Air Service to Ko Samui and Getting around Ko Samui Thailand.
Boat Services to Ko Samui
From Bangkok Ko Samui
By Air
Bangkok Airways flies from Bangkok to Ko Samui 13 times daily. The flight
takes about one hour and 10 minutes. It also offers daily flights between
Phuket and Samui. For more information, call its Bangkok office, 0 2229
3456, 0 2229 3434, Samui office, 0 7742 2512 - 9 or Samui Airport Office 0
7724 5601-8.
Air-conditioned and non air-conditioned buses leave Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal for Surat Thani several times daily. The trip takes about 11 hours. For further information, call 0 2435 1199, 0 2435 1200 (air-con), 0 2434 5557 - 8 (non-air-con).
From Bangkok, take Highway 4 (Buddha Monthon Road) through Phetchaburi and
Chumphon Provinces and then drive on to Highways 41 and 401 to Surat Thani
Province. From Surat Thani, visitors can take their cars to Ko Samui through
a vehicle ferry at Donsak Pier. The trip takes 1.30 hours.
By rail
Several trains leave Bangkok's Hualamphong Station for Surat Thani daily.
The trip takes about 12 hours. Train / bus / ferry combination tickets are
also available. For more information, call Hualamphong Railway Station, 0
2223 7010, 0 2223 7020..
From Surat Thani to Ko Samui
1.1 An express ferry boat of Songserm Travel departs from Tha Thong Pier
in Surat Thani at 8.00 a.m. and arrives at Na Thon Pier in Samui at 10.30
a.m. every day. For the return trip, the boat leaves Na Thon Pier at 2.00
p.m. and reaches Tha Thong at 4.30 p.m.
1.2 Express boats of Seatran Express operate three times a day between Ban
Don and Ko Samui. Departure times are 7.00 a.m., 12.30 p.m. and 2.30 p.m.
The trip takes two hours.
Seatran Ferry, which can accommodate 60 cars and 400 passengers, operates several trips per day between Don Sak (Surat Thani) and Ko Samui, from 5.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. The trip takes about 1.30 hours.
A slow night ferry leaves Ban Don Pier nightly at 11 p.m. and reaches Na Thon Pier at Samui around 5 a.m. (6 hours). For the return trip, the boat leaves Na Thon Pier at 9.00 p.m. and arrives at Ban Don Pier at 4.00 a.m. (7 hours).
Getting Around Koh Samui
Samui is an explorer's dream to discover something new. Offering a wealth of diversity of landscape, vistas, flora and fauna, and yet small enough to seek adventure in its many out-of-the-way places, Samui is best seen by taking songthaews (red local bus) which operate around the island. The fare starts at 20 baht, depending on the distance of the destination.
For many reasons, the least suitable for exploring, but the safest and easiest way to get to the destination is to go by taxi. The official taxi service time is until 9.00 p.m. Visitors are recommended to negotiate strongly for the fare and keep in mind that negotiation should always be dome before boarding. Note that the fare at night will be escalated.
Rented Jeep, 4WD, is available from many family-owned agencies and some well known large companies. The vehicle will serve as the basic means of transportation taking visitors around many hillside natural and man-made attractions which are easily accessible from the ring road. Some of these vehicles come with insurance, but the coverage is limited. Always ask for details first. The minimum price is from 800 baht.
A more flexible way to get around the island, rented motorcycle costs
approximately 200 baht / day. Beware, as roads other than the main roads on
Ko Samui are quite rough in some parts.
Getting to nearby Islands from Samui
1.1 Na Thon Pier (Ko Samui) -- Thong Sala Pier (Ko Pha-ngan)
Songserm Travel Co. operates ferry boats and express boats between Na Thon
Pier on Ko Samui and Thong Sala Pier on Ko Pha-ngan, four times a day. The
trip takes about 45 minutes for express boats, and one hour for ordinary
ferry boats.
1.2 Bo Phut (Ko Samui) -- Hat Rin (Ko Pha-ngan)
There is a ferry boat leaving Bo Phut for Ko Pha-ngan twice daily at 9.30
a.m. and 2.30 p.m. The return trips depart Hat Rin on Ko Pha-ngan at 10.30
a.m. and 3.30 p.m.
Visitors can hire a boat on Ko Samui to Ang Thong. The charge depends on
the boat size and number of passengers. The trip takes 1.30 hours. It is
also possible to join a full-day excursion organized by tour operators in Ko
Samui.
Boat services for Ko Tao are available at Na Thon Pier of Ko Samui.
