How do I get to Koh Tao from Chiang Mai?

Chiang Mai is in the far north and Koh Tao is in the Gulf of Thailand, 1,098 km away on Rome2Rio's planner. The choice is between one flight and a boat, or a long overland trip through Bangkok.

The routes compared

The fast way: Chiang Mai to Samui, then the boat

Bangkok Airways is the airline Wikipedia lists on the Chiang Mai to Koh Samui route. Its flight PG242 was scheduled to leave Chiang Mai at 11:35 and land on Samui at 13:04 on 3 October 2026, per Trip.com's flight status page.

From there the timing is tight but workable. Ticket2Attraction's Lomprayah timetable for 4 October 2026 shows three sailings after that landing: a speedboat at 14:30 from Pralarn pier in Maenam, a speedboat at 15:30 from Bangrak pier and a catamaran at 16:00 from Nathon pier, the last of the day, reaching Mae Haad at 17:45. If the flight runs late and you miss them all, you sleep on Samui and take the 08:00 boat. Book the boat only once the flight is confirmed, and check both schedules for your own date.

The other flight: Surat Thani

Thai AirAsia is the airline Wikipedia lists from Chiang Mai to Surat Thani. From Surat Thani airport a joint bus and boat ticket can reach Koh Tao the same day if you land before the last departure; the departures and fares are in our answer on getting to Koh Tao from Bangkok.

The cheap way: overland through Bangkok

Take the train or a bus to Bangkok, then the Lomprayah bus and boat or the sleeper train to Chumphon. Our post on how to get to Koh Tao compares those legs, and the Koh Tao ferry price post has the fares.

Two cautions

1. From October to December, do not plan a same day flight and boat without a fallback night; see do ferries to Koh Tao get cancelled in the monsoon.
2. Flight fares move daily, so we print none. Price the whole trip in baht, then convert it in Currency Check.

Our Koh Tao page picks up from the pier.