How to get to Koh Tao: Samui, Chumphon or Surat Thani, the cheapest and fastest route

How do you get to Koh Tao? You fly or ride to a pier on the Gulf of Thailand and finish by boat, because the island has no airport. The fastest way is a Bangkok Airways flight to Samui plus a catamaran of about 1.5 hours. The cheapest way is the Lomprayah bus and boat ticket from Bangkok, from about USD 46 and about 8 hours 45 minutes, per Bookaway.

Every route below starts in Bangkok, since that is where most long haul flights from Europe land, Lisbon included. From there you have three gateways: Samui, Chumphon and Surat Thani. Lomprayah, the main catamaran operator, sells connections to Koh Tao from all three, plus from Bangkok directly.

What is the best way to get to Koh Tao?

The best way for most remote workers is Bangkok to Samui by air, then the catamaran to Mae Haad pier. It costs more than the ground routes but lands you on the island the same day, with room for a delayed flight.

Here is how the four main options compare, using the figures published by each source listed at the end of this page.

The flight fares are the part we cannot give you as one number. They move with the season and the booking date, so check them the week you book and compare them with the ground totals above.

What is the closest airport to Koh Tao?

Samui airport (USM) is the closest in practice, because the catamaran from Samui is the shortest sea crossing that connects to regular flights. Chumphon airport and Surat Thani airport, both on the mainland, also appear in the Lomprayah route list with a bus transfer to the pier.

Samui airport is privately owned and operated by Bangkok Airways, according to Wikipedia, and the airline has a near monopoly on its flights. That explains the higher fares. It also explains the schedule: the Koh Tao Complete Guide reports Bangkok Airways departures to Samui every half hour from 06:00 to 22:00. A late long haul arrival rarely costs you the day.

How do you get to Koh Tao from Bangkok?

You have three ground or air combinations from Bangkok, and the choice comes down to time against money.

1. Samui by air. Fly Bangkok to Samui, transfer to a pier, take the catamaran. Siam Tickets lists the Lomprayah catamaran from Samui at 700 THB per adult and about 1.5 hours, with departures from Maenam pier at 08:00 and 12:30. A taxi and ferry combination costs 850 THB.
2. Bus and boat. Lomprayah runs a joint coach and catamaran ticket from Bangkok. Bookaway lists it from about USD 46, with the earliest departure at 22:00 and a trip of about 8 hours 45 minutes. You sleep on the coach and reach the island in the morning.
3. Train and boat via Chumphon. Covered in its own section below.

Going the other way, Inside Samui lists Lomprayah departures from Mae Haad to Samui at 08:30 and 14:45, for 450 to 600 THB. Seatran Discovery takes 2.5 to 3 hours via Koh Phangan for 400 to 550 THB. The Raja car ferry is the cheapest at 300 to 400 THB, and the slowest at 3 to 4 hours.

How do you get from Surat Thani airport to Koh Tao?

You buy a joint bus and boat ticket at or before the airport, and it takes 4 hours to 5 hours 15 minutes in daytime. Siam Tickets lists Lomprayah departures at 09:30, 11:00, 12:30 and 14:00 for 1,100 to 1,200 THB.

If you land late, overnight options exist. Phantip 1970 sells a bus and night ferry for 1,000 THB, and Koh Tao Booking Center a van and night ferry for 1,200 THB. Both take 11 to 14 hours in total. The Koh Tao Complete Guide puts the night ferry from Surat Thani at about 9 hours on the water.

Surat Thani makes sense when a flight there is much cheaper than a flight to Samui. On most dates it is slower, so compare the full cost including the extra half day.

Can you take the train and ferry to Koh Tao via Chumphon?

Yes, but the overnight sleeper reaches Chumphon in the middle of the night, so plan the ferry around a wait or a hotel night. Seat 61 lists train 85 leaving Bangkok Krung Thep Aphiwat at 19:50 and arriving in Chumphon at 03:43 (Surat Thani 06:23). It quotes 729 THB for a second class air conditioned sleeper and 1,230 THB for first class.

From a 03:43 arrival, the first catamaran is two hours away at best, and the Lomprayah pier is 26 km from the station. Seat 61 suggests a different rhythm: sleep in Chumphon, then take the Lomprayah minivan from outside the station at 12:00 and the 13:00 catamaran, reaching Mae Haad at 14:45. It lists that minivan and ferry at 900 THB one way.

From Chumphon, the Lomprayah catamaran takes 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours and costs 600 to 900 THB depending on when you book, per Wonderland Koh Tao. Direct Ferries lists three sailings a day, the first around 05:45 and the last around 13:15. A night boat also runs: Wonderland Koh Tao says it leaves around 23:00 and reaches Mae Haad around 05:00, with thin mattresses in rows, not cabins.

This is the slowest route from Bangkok, and it usually adds a night in Chumphon. It suits travellers who like trains.

Do ferries to Koh Tao get cancelled in the monsoon?

Yes, sometimes, mostly from October to December. Wonderland Koh Tao names those months as the choppiest seas and the highest cancellation risk, and March to May as the calmest. It adds that Lomprayah usually rebooks you onto the next sailing rather than refunding you.

The Koh Tao Complete Guide places the monsoon between mid November and the end of December. It notes that ferries usually keep running with waves up to 4 metres but can stop when conditions get worse.

Three rules follow from that.

1. In October to December, plan a buffer day with a booked room on the mainland or on Samui, in both directions.
2. Take the first boat of the day. If it is cancelled, later sailings are still an option.
3. Never connect a ferry to an international flight on the same day.

Divers have a fourth rule. The Koh Tao Tourism Association asks you to leave 24 hours between your last dive and any flight, and a Samui hop counts as a flight.

Which route should you choose?

Choose Samui if you arrive with a laptop and a deadline: it is the only route that puts you on the island the day your long haul lands. Choose the bus and boat or the Chumphon train if the budget matters more than the day, or if you want a night in Bangkok anyway.

Plan the return trip before the outbound one. Work backwards from your international check in, add the buffer day in the monsoon months, then book the rest. Everyone aged 12 and over pays a 20 THB island fee on arrival, not included in the ticket, per Siam Tickets.

Before you book, run your nationality through Visa Check and set your budget in baht with Currency Check. For the wet season itself, read November on Koh Tao, and for the island's connection, the internet guide.

Updated on 25 September 2026. Rules and prices change: confirm with the official source linked above before you act.