Destination guide
Island Hopping in Thailand
Pick the coast your dates allow, then go in one direction, one boat a day.
- Best for
- first-timers, couples
- Logistics
- Moderate
- Updated
- 8 Oct 2026
How to Island Hop in Thailand
Thailand's islands sit on two coasts with opposite rainy seasons, so the first decision is the coast, and your dates make it for you. From November to April, hop the Andaman Sea, south from Phuket to Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta, the Trang islands and Koh Lipe. From January to September, hop the Gulf of Thailand, Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Koh Samui, three islands an hour or two apart. Every hop on either coast is a scheduled ferry or speedboat of 30 minutes to 3 hours, mostly ฿400–1,700, that you can book the day before outside the Christmas weeks. Go in one direction so you never backtrack, spend two or three nights on each island, and if you have two weeks between February and April you can do both coasts, crossing the peninsula on a one-ticket boat and bus or a 50-minute flight. Below is each route hop by hop, with the boats that run in each season.
Arriving in Phuket
Where to stay for a beach trip
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Key Facts
Most hops take 30 minutes to 2 hours
Phi Phi to Lanta is 30 minutes by speedboat, Koh Phangan to Koh Tao about an hour, Phuket to Phi Phi one to two. The long one is Lanta to Koh Lipe, three hours through the Trang islands.
The island-hopping speedboats south of Lanta run 15 October to 20 May
Outside those dates Koh Lipe is reached from the mainland at Pak Bara instead, which runs all year. Phi Phi to Lanta keeps one speedboat a day even in the rainy season.
Two or three nights per island
A hop eats half a day once you count check-out, the pier and check-in. One night on an island means you see a boat and a hotel.
Which Coast to Hop, Month by Month
| Month | Andaman (Phuket station) | Gulf (Koh Samui station) | East (Trat, for Koh Chang) | Hop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50 mm, 4 rain days | 127 mm, 8 days | 51 mm, 4 days | Andaman or east; the Gulf is drying out |
| February | 24 mm, 2 days | 64 mm, 4 days | 82 mm, 6 days | Any coast, or both |
| March | 81 mm, 6 days | 116 mm, 5 days | 140 mm, 10 days | Any coast, or both |
| April | 135 mm, 10 days | 83 mm, 6 days | 196 mm, 12 days | Any coast, or both |
| May | 237 mm, 16 days | 132 mm, 11 days | 420 mm, 19 days | Gulf; the Andaman boats south of Lanta stop on 20 May |
| June | 249 mm, 16 days | 134 mm, 10 days | 777 mm, 23 days | Gulf |
| July | 240 mm, 16 days | 117 mm, 11 days | 1,024 mm, 25 days | Gulf |
| August | 309 mm, 17 days | 102 mm, 10 days | 970 mm, 25 days | Gulf |
| September | 350 mm, 19 days | 118 mm, 11 days | 816 mm, 22 days | Gulf |
| October | 336 mm, 19 days | 295 mm, 16 days | 338 mm, 17 days | Neither is dry; the Andaman boats restart on 15 October |
| November | 178 mm, 13 days | 445 mm, 16 days | 85 mm, 7 days | Andaman or east |
| December | 82 mm, 8 days | 263 mm, 12 days | 28 mm, 2 days | Andaman or east |
Monthly rainfall and days with at least 1 mm of rain, WMO climate normals 1991–2020 for the Phuket, Ko Samui and Trat stations. Rain on these coasts mostly comes as afternoon storms, and the number that matters for hopping is the sea state, which is roughest on the Andaman from June to October.
The Andaman Route, Hop by Hop
The Andaman route runs south down the coast from Phuket, and every hop below is a boat you can take in one morning. The classic version is Phuket, Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta, with Railay or Ao Nang slotted in after Phuket if you want the limestone cliffs, and the Trang islands and Koh Lipe added at the end if you have more than ten days.
Phuket to Koh Phi Phi, 1 to 2 hours
Almost every boat leaves Rassada Pier near Phuket Town and lands at Tonsai, Phi Phi's village. The big ferries sail at 08:30, 11:00, about 13:30 and 15:00, take two hours and cost about ฿500–700. Speedboats leave roughly hourly from 08:30 to 15:30 and take an hour for ฿750–850. You pay ฿20 in cash as you step off at Tonsai. The timetable barely changes with the season.
Or Phuket to Railay and Ao Nang first, then on to Phi Phi
Speedboats leave Rassada, Bang Rong and Laem Hin piers between about 09:30 and 15:00 and land at Ao Nang and East Railay in 1–2 hours for ฿880–1,100. From there, the Ao Nang Princess ferry leaves Nopparat Thara pier for Phi Phi at 09:30 (about two hours, ฿650 with hotel pickup), and Bundhaya's speedboats cross in 50 minutes from Ao Nang for about ฿900, or 30 minutes from Railay.
Koh Phi Phi to Koh Lanta, 30 minutes to an hour
This is the hop that worries people in the rainy season, and it needn't. Bundhaya's speedboat runs from Tonsai to Saladan pier on Lanta all year, 30 minutes for ฿700. From May to mid-October that's one boat a day, at 11:00 on the dates I checked, and from late October there are four, at 09:30, 11:00, 13:00 and 15:30. From November the slower ferries return as well, including Chaokoh's 15:00 at ฿400, about an hour.
Koh Lanta to the Trang islands and Koh Lipe, 30 minutes to 3 hours
From 15 October to 20 May, Bundhaya's island-hopping speedboat leaves Saladan at 10:30 (with a second at 12:30 by December) and works south. It calls at Koh Ngai at about 11:00 (฿650 from Lanta), Koh Mook at 11:20 (฿900) and Koh Kradan at 11:40 (฿950), and reaches Koh Lipe at 13:30 for ฿1,700. The same boats hop between the Trang islands for ฿300–400 a leg, so a night or two on Kradan or Ngai on the way costs little extra. Bundhaya's booking system showed no sailings on this run for 12 October, so don't plan the southern hops before the 15th.
Leaving Koh Lipe
Koh Lipe has no pier, so in season boats tie up at a floating platform off Pattaya Beach and a longtail takes you ashore for about ฿50 in cash, which some tickets include. Visitors pay the Tarutao national park fee, ฿200 for an adult and ฿100 for a child. The way out to the mainland is a speedboat to Pak Bara, which runs all year, at 09:30, 11:30 and 13:30 in about an hour and a half for ฿700. From Pak Bara a van runs to Hat Yai, whose airport has flights to Bangkok, and the trip is about 4.5 hours door to door. If you'd rather go back north, in season the morning speedboat leaves Lipe at 09:00 for Lanta (฿1,700) and Phuket (arriving 14:30, ฿2,500).
Hat Yai is in Songkhla province, and the UK and Canada both advise against travel to parts of it. Check your government's current advice before you route through, and see my safety guide for what each one says.
A detour to Koh Yao Noi
Koh Yao Noi sits in Phang Nga Bay between Phuket and Krabi, 40 minutes by speedboat from Bang Rong pier in Phuket's northeast. It's the quiet island on this coast, with no bar streets and views of the Krabi karsts, and it fits as the first or last stop of an Andaman hop.
Bookable departures · refreshed daily
Koh Phi Phi → Koh Lanta: departure times you can book now
Every departure currently on sale through 12Go for this route, by class. Fares are the spread across the classes shown; the exact price for a seat and date is on the booking page.
Ferry & speedboat
| Class | Departures |
|---|---|
| Speedboat | 13:00, 13:30, 15:30 |
Times and fares as sold on 12Go, refreshed daily. Services sold only locally — ordinary trains, weekend excursion trains, walk-up pier tickets — are not listed; see the table above for those. Sponsored link: we may earn a commission when you book, at no extra cost to you.
Koh Phi Phi → Koh Lanta
Check the Phi Phi to Lanta boats for your date
12Go's Phi Phi board shows the speedboats and ferries to Saladan for your date, with the operator's departure times and a mobile ticket. Its prices include a booking fee.
Sponsored link — we may earn a small commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
The Gulf Route, Hop by Hop
The Gulf islands are a short chain, Koh Tao in the north, Koh Phangan in the middle and Koh Samui in the south, and the boats run on the same timetable all year. The neat way to do it is north to south. Come down from Bangkok on the night bus and boat to Koh Tao, hop to Phangan and then Samui, and fly home from Samui's airport. Flying both ways? Go south to north from Samui and come back the same way, or leave Koh Tao for Chumphon on the mainland.
Bangkok to Koh Tao, overnight
Lomprayah's combined ticket leaves Khao San at 22:00 and reaches Mae Haad pier on Koh Tao at 08:45, by bus to Chumphon and catamaran across, for ฿1,250. The cheaper version with the slow ferry is ฿850.
Koh Tao to Koh Phangan, about an hour
Lomprayah's catamarans leave Mae Haad at 09:15, 09:30 and 15:30 for ฿600 and reach Thong Sala on Phangan in an hour to an hour and a quarter, and its speedboats at 07:05 and 12:30 are ฿700 and a little faster. The slow ferry at 16:30 is ฿450. Boonsiri's catamarans leave at 08:00, 09:15 and 15:15 for ฿600, and Songserm's ferry at 09:30 (฿500, two hours) and its speedboats at 11:30 and 12:30 (฿600, under an hour).
Going the other way, Lomprayah has eight boats from Thong Sala to Koh Tao between 08:30 and 16:45, ฿600 on the catamarans and speedboats and ฿450 on the 12:00 ferry, Boonsiri sails at 08:45, 13:15 and 15:25 for ฿600, and Songserm has a 10:00 speedboat (55 minutes, ฿600) and a 12:00 ferry (฿500).
Koh Phangan to Koh Samui, 20 to 50 minutes
Nine operators make the 15 km crossing for ฿200 to ฿500, from 07:30 to 18:30. What matters is where you land on Samui. Bangrak is ten minutes from the airport and fifteen from Chaweng, so if you're flying out, take a boat that lands there, or Lomprayah's ฿500 through ticket from Thong Sala to the airport terminal.
Koh Samui to Koh Tao, if you're going the other way
Around 20 boats a day make it, almost all stopping at Phangan, in 1.5–2 hours on the fast boats for ฿700 or up to 3.5 on the slow ferries for ฿450–550, from 08:00 to 16:00.
Bookable departures · refreshed daily
Koh Phangan → Koh Tao: departure times you can book now
Every departure currently on sale through 12Go for this route, by class. Fares are the spread across the classes shown; the exact price for a seat and date is on the booking page.
Ferry & speedboat
| Class | Departures |
|---|---|
| High Speed Ferry | 12:30 |
| Speedboat | 08:30, 15:00 |
| Catamaran | 13:00, 16:00 |
Times and fares as sold on 12Go, refreshed daily. Services sold only locally — ordinary trains, weekend excursion trains, walk-up pier tickets — are not listed; see the table above for those. Sponsored link: we may earn a commission when you book, at no extra cost to you.
Koh Phangan → Koh Tao
Check the Koh Phangan to Koh Tao boats for your date
12Go lists the departures from Thong Sala to Mae Haad with live seats and a mobile ticket. Its prices include a booking fee.
Sponsored link — we may earn a small commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
Crossing Between the Gulf and the Andaman
There's no ferry between the two coasts, because the peninsula is in the way. You either take a boat to the mainland and a coach across, or fly. Between February and April, when both coasts are dry, this is the hop that turns two short trips into one long one, and it costs one day.
The one-ticket boats are the easy way. Lomprayah's timetable sells Koh Phangan to its Krabi office from 08:00 (arriving 12:30) for ฿1,200, to Koh Lanta for ฿1,600 and to Phuket at 11:00 (arriving 18:30) for ฿1,400. From Koh Tao it's ฿1,300 to Krabi (09:30, arriving 15:30) and ฿1,700 to Lanta. Boonsiri's 08:00 from Koh Tao reaches Ao Nang at 15:30 for ฿1,300. Going the other way, Lomprayah sells Krabi to Koh Tao from ฿1,300 and Phi Phi to Koh Tao for ฿1,850, leaving Tonsai at 10:00 and landing at 17:45. From Samui, the bus-and-ferry combos to Krabi take 5 to 7 hours for ฿500–1,500.
Flying is quicker but costs more. Bangkok Airways flies Samui to Krabi nonstop once a day around midday, about 50 minutes, for roughly ฿3,900–4,800, and Samui to Phuket 6–8 times a day for about ฿3,200 in October and November and ฿5,000 or more in December. Ignore the connections through Bangkok that booking sites offer; they're no faster than the boat and coach.
The Eastern Islands, Koh Chang, Koh Mak and Koh Kood
The third chain is the quietest, near the Cambodian border, and its season runs with the Andaman. Koh Chang is the big one, reached by bus and car ferry from Bangkok, and Boonsiri's catamarans hop south from Bang Bao pier at 09:00 and 13:00. Koh Mak is an hour away for ฿550, Koh Kood an hour and a half for ฿900, and Koh Mak to Koh Kood is 30 minutes for ฿400, leaving at 10:00 and 14:00. That timetable runs from 1 October to 31 May. Boonsiri's June-to-September sheet keeps one sailing a day each way, from Bang Bao at 13:00 (฿600 to Koh Mak, ฿900 to Koh Kood), while most other island boats stop for the rains, which are heavy here, so confirm it a day ahead. Boonsiri also sells an overnight boat-and-bus ticket from Koh Kood to Koh Tao, leaving at 14:30 and arriving at 08:30 the next morning for ฿2,250, which links this chain to the Gulf without going back to Bangkok.
Sample Island-Hopping Routes
| Route | Nights | Best months | How you get in and out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gulf, 7 days | Koh Tao 2 → Koh Phangan 2 → Koh Samui 2 | January–September | Night bus and boat from Bangkok to Koh Tao; fly home from Samui |
| Andaman classic, 10 days | Phuket 2 → Railay or Ao Nang 2 → Koh Phi Phi 2 → Koh Lanta 3 | November–April | Fly into Phuket; van from Lanta to Krabi airport |
| Andaman deep south, 2 weeks | Phuket 1 → Koh Phi Phi 2 → Koh Lanta 3 → Koh Kradan or Koh Ngai 2 → Koh Lipe 4 | 15 October–20 May | Fly into Phuket; speedboat to Pak Bara and fly out of Hat Yai |
| Both coasts, 2 weeks | Koh Tao 3 → Koh Phangan 3 → Krabi or Railay 2 → Koh Phi Phi 2 → Koh Lanta 3 | February–April | Night bus and boat to Koh Tao; Lomprayah's one-ticket boat and coach to Krabi; van from Lanta to Krabi airport |
| East, 7 days | Koh Chang 3 → Koh Mak 2 → Koh Kood 2 | November–April | Bus and car ferry from Bangkok; boat back to the mainland |
Night counts are suggestions built on two or three nights per island. Every hop in these routes is a daytime boat from the timetables above, so none of them needs an overnight on the mainland except the Hat Yai exit.
How to Book and Hop Without Problems
Book the day before, or a few days ahead in late December
Outside Christmas, New Year and the mornings after a Full Moon Party, most boats sell out rarely. In the peak weeks, book two or three days out.
Take the morning boat
Seas are usually calmer in the morning, and an early boat leaves you a margin if a sailing is canceled. Never plan a hop on the day of an international flight.
Check in 30 minutes before departure
Operators hand out a boarding sticker at their desk on the pier. Bags travel in a pile at the front of the boat, so keep your passport, phone and cash on you.
Choose the catamaran if you get seasick
The big ferries and catamarans roll less than the speedboats, which slam on any chop. Sit at the back, low down, and take a tablet before you board.
Island-Hopping Day Trips From One Base
If you'd rather stay put, a speedboat day trip does a lot of hopping in one day. From Phuket the standard trip is Phi Phi, Maya Bay and Bamboo Island, from Krabi the four-island tour, and from Samui Ang Thong Marine Park. Book the early-departure boats a day or two ahead in season, because they reach Maya Bay before the crowds and fill first. Maya Bay itself closes every August and September.
Every hop has its own guide, with the full timetable
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about island hopping in thailand.
Pick one coast by your dates, the Andaman (Phuket, Phi Phi, Lanta, Lipe) from November to April or the Gulf (Koh Tao, Phangan, Samui) from January to September, and travel in one direction on the scheduled ferries and speedboats, two or three nights per island. Book each boat a day ahead, or a few days ahead in late December.
The Gulf trio of Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Koh Samui is the easiest, with boats every hour or two all year. On the Andaman side, Phuket, Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta are the classic chain, and from mid-October to May you can continue through the Trang islands to Koh Lipe. The best islands guide ranks them one by one.
A day ahead is enough for most of the year. In the two weeks around Christmas and New Year, and on the mornings after a Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan, book two or three days out.
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Written by
Mac Kiley
I lived in Bangkok for four years and traveled the country from there. The guides are my own opinions, written the way I'd explain them to a friend planning a trip.
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