Bangkok to Koh Phangan

Bangkok Airways is the only airline into Koh Samui. It flies from Suvarnabhumi roughly every hour from 06:00 to about 19:15, plus three flights a day from Don Mueang, in about 1 hour 10, from about ฿2,800 one way and over ฿6,000 in the peak weeks. Samui's airport is on the northeast corner of the island, close to Bangrak pier, where Lomprayah's catamarans and the Lomlahkkhirin speedboats cross to Thong Sala roughly hourly from 08:00 to 17:30 for ฿350, in about 30 minutes. A morning or early afternoon flight gets you onto the island the same afternoon.

Land after about 17:00 and the Bangrak boats are done, but scheduled sailings from Samui's other piers run until 20:30, and the Haad Rin Queen from the Big Buddha pier goes straight to Haad Rin. Our Koh Samui to Koh Phangan guide has every pier and the last boats.

About 14 nonstop flights a day leave Bangkok for Surat Thani, from Don Mueang on Nok Air, Thai Lion Air and Thai AirAsia and from Suvarnabhumi on Thai VietJet, in 70 to 85 minutes, for about ฿1,300–1,600 on a November weekday and more in December. The early ones are the ones that connect. Nok Air's 06:00 and Thai Lion's 06:20 land in time for Raja's 09:00 airport bus and car ferry, at Thong Sala at 13:30 for ฿600, and Thai AirAsia's 07:00 lands at 08:15 for Lomprayah's 09:30 bus and catamaran, at Thong Sala at 12:45 for ฿950.

Later flights still work until mid-afternoon, because combos leave the airport until about 16:00. Land after that and you'll be taking the night boat from Surat Thani town or staying over. Nok Air also sells its own Fly'n'Ferry ticket with Lomprayah, which now flies to Nakhon Si Thammarat instead and runs seasonally from 1 December to 30 April. Our Surat Thani to Koh Phangan guide has every departure from the airport, the station and the town.

This is the budget classic, and two companies run it on the same timings. Lomprayah's 22:00 bus from its Khao San office (21:30 from Pinklao) reaches the pier near Chumphon before dawn, and the catamaran stops at Koh Tao and lands at Thong Sala at 10:30, for ฿1,350 or ฿1,650 with a VIP seat. Its 21:30 bus with the slower ferry and a change of boat at Koh Tao also arrives at 10:30 for ฿1,150. Boonsiri's 22:00 from Khao San lands at 10:30 for ฿1,350 too, with check-in from 21:00, and its ฿1,500 ticket adds a drop at your Phangan hotel.

By day, Boonsiri's 05:00 bus and Lomprayah's 06:00 both land at 16:45 for ฿1,350. Boonsiri also runs a 20:00 pickup from Suvarnabhumi airport for ฿1,600, handy if you land in the evening. The agencies along Khao San sell cheaper bus-and-boat tickets from about ฿1,000 that connect with other boats, but I'd pay the extra for one of the two operators, because the bus and the catamaran are timed for each other.

Ten trains a day leave Krung Thep Aphiwat for the south, and all of them stop at Surat Thani's station at Phun Phin. Express No. 85 is the one to book, leaving at 19:50 and arriving at 06:23, with 2nd-class air-conditioned berths for about ฿700 upper and ฿900 lower and 1st-class cabins at about ฿1,300–1,500. Raja's buses leave the station for the ferries from 05:30, and Lomprayah's 09:30 bus and catamaran reaches Thong Sala at 12:45 for ฿850. Book the berth early for December and January. Our Bangkok to Koh Samui guide has all ten trains and when their seats go on sale.

Around each Full Moon Party the whole route fills, the night buses from Khao San, the boats from Samui and the bus-and-boat tickets from Surat Thani alike, so book three to seven days ahead and aim to arrive a day or two before the party. Rooms near Haad Rin often come with minimum stays on those nights. Our Full Moon Party guide has the dates and how the night works.

Going back by boat and bus, Lomprayah leaves Thong Sala at 08:30 and reaches Khao San or Pinklao at 20:30 for ฿1,350 (฿1,650 VIP), and its 13:00 reaches Khao San at 00:45. The same 08:30 boat connects with a bus to Suvarnabhumi or Don Mueang airport, arriving at 23:00, for ฿1,850, which is only good for a flight the next morning. Boonsiri leaves at 08:45, reaching Khao San at 20:30, and at 13:15, reaching it at 01:00, for ฿1,350.

To fly home from Samui, take a boat from Thong Sala by about 15:00 to 16:45 for an evening flight; the last boats to Samui leave around 18:00. To fly from Surat Thani, Raja's 05:00 ferry and bus reach the airport at 10:00 for ฿600, and the last flights back to Bangkok leave Surat Thani between 18:40 and 20:00.