You have
various options to reach the sunny island of Samui.
Direct
flights to Samui:
Bangkok Airways
offers daily flights to Samui from early
morning until late at night. The fare is
the most expensive, but it is also the
fastest and easiest way to reach Samui.
The first flight in the morning and the
last flight at night are offered on a
promotion rate and are little bit
cheaper than the normal fare.
Price: about 8500 THB round trip,
Promotion flight about 6300 THB
roundtrip.
Flying
to Suratthani:
Air Asia and One to
go offer flights from Bangkok to
Suratthani at a cheap fare. Minibuses
take you from the airport to Donsak
port, where ferry boats depart to Samui.
The last boat from Donsak to Samui
leaves a 7 pm. If you take an evening
flight you have to spend the night in
Suratthani.
Price: about 3,500 Baht for a roundtrip,
300 Baht for bus and ferry from
Suratthani to Samui. Ask for combination
tickets, which combine flight, bus and
ferry. Sometimes it might be that you
have to change the bus in the city,
which is about 15 km from the airport.
Traveling from Bangkok:
The most comfortable way is to go
by night train with a combination ticket, which
includes train ticket, bus transfer from Suratthani railway station to ferry pier and
ferry ticket. The trip from Suratthani railway
station to Samui will take about 3 hours. If you
arrive by train in Ponphin you can take the
public red bus to Suratthani city, which takes
about 20 min. In Suratthani you can take the bus
to the Seatran ferry, ask the busdriver for the
bus station, west of the city, which takes you
to Seatrain ferry pier.
Traveling from Butterworth:
(Malaysia)
There is only one
train a day leaving at 2:40 pm. At the
border you have to leave the train with
your luggage, but after the checkpoint
you travel with the same train until Hat
Yai. The arrival in Suratthani is 11:00
pm, so you have to stay overnight and
take the ferry boat on the next morning.
You have the choice
between 1st,2nd class or 3rd class, seat or sleeper, AC or
fan. Most recommended and comfortable is a 1st
class sleeper. Tickets for the train can be
booked at travel agencies, Bangkok Railway
Station, Butterworth Railway Station and even
Bangkok Airport. The prices depend on which
class you are traveling and at which station you
get in the train. Prices start from Bangkok to
Suratthani from about 350 Baht for 3rd class
seat until about 1300 Baht for a 1st class
sleeper.
The ferry takes about 1,5 hours to Samui. It can
contain cars, has a air-con cabin and a sundeck,
as well as a small shop selling snacks and
drinks.
Seatran Ferry:
Depature
Donsak Pier - Arrival Nathon Pier.
Time: 6:00 am - 07:00 pm every hour Depature Nathon Pier - Arrival Donsak
Pier.
Time: 05:00 am - 06:00 pm every hour.
Price:about 150 Baht/per per person one
way.
Raja Ferry:
Departure
Donsak Pier - Arrival Nathon Pier.
Time: 06:00 am - 07:00 pm every
hour
Depature Nathon Pier - Arrival Lipanoi
Pier.
Time: 06:00 am - 07:00 pm every hour
Price:about 150 Baht/per person one way.
Night
Boat:
If you arrive late at
the airport or train station you can
also take the night boat from the harbor
in Suratthani city. It leaves at 11 pm
and takes about 6 hours. It is a long
trip, but also a little adventure. The
boat offers free sleeping mattresses,
which is quit convenient.
Economic Bus:
This way
of transportation is the cheapest with a
really low fare. You have to resign on
the comfort of air-condition and the bus
stops whenever someone is waiting for it
at the street. Price: about 300 Baht
Air-conditioning Bus:
This bus
usually travels overnight and takes
about 10-12 hours until it reaches
Suratthani. From Surattani it takes
about 3 hours more with bus and ferry
until you reach Samui.Price: about 600 Baht
VIP Bus:
The VIP Bus is the
most comfortable way to go to Samui,
compared to the above. Only 24 seats and
air-con. A convenient way to travel.
Price: about 950 Baht.
Note:
Suratthani has 2 bus
stations. One is located east of the
city, when arriving from the airport or
train station. This is the main station
and bus connection to Bangkok and the
south of Thailand. The other bus station
is in the center of the city and is
connecting to Krabi, Phuket and Ranong.
In this area you also find minibus
services to Chumpon, Phuket and Kaw Sok.
Information about
Suratthani
If you are not
choosing a direct flight to Samui, you
will most certainly travel through the
city of Suratthani. Suratthani means
"City of good people" in Thai, is the
capital of Suratthani province, the
largest province of Southern Thailand
and a hub for travelers in the South of
Thailand. It is a typical Thai city and
no tourist destination, but if you are
not in a hurry, you will find a decent
hotel room here and you can have a
closer look at the city. Today
Suratthani is a important export region
for coconuts, fruits, rubber and also a
port for tourists going to the islands
of Samui, Phangan and Tao, as well as
the Andaman region. You find there 2 big
shopping centers, Tesco (westside) and
Big C (eastside) located on the ring
road. In the center are various small
Thai shops, but you will also find
famous western franchise companies, like
Mc Donalds and Pizzahut. Every Saturday
evening is a small market at the harbor,
where you can find all kinds of clothes
and other things less expensive than on
Samui.
