Koh Samui to Chiang Mai

Bangkok Airways is the only airline flying Samui to Chiang Mai without a stop, once a day. The flight leaves at 08:50 and lands at 10:40, early enough that you're in the Old City for lunch. Thai Airways sells seats on the same flight under its own number, so it isn't a second option. A 20 kg checked bag is included.

Fares run lower going north. For dates in mid-November and mid-December, 12Go showed ฿4,346, and for a date in March about ฿7,000, where the flight south sat at about ฿10,000 on every winter date I checked. If you're doing both legs, that's worth knowing before you pick a direction for the trip.

Bangkok Airways sells Samui to Chiang Mai with a change at Suvarnabhumi from about ฿8,300 on 12Go, leaving Samui from 07:00 to mid-afternoon and taking about 4 to 5 hours. They're worth it only when the 08:50 is full or you need an afternoon departure. Skip the overnight connections that leave Samui in the evening and land the next morning.

There's no train from Samui, so the first leg is a boat-and-bus ticket to Surat Thani's station at Phun Phin, sold at every pier office for about ฿500–900 and in time for the evening trains if you leave the island by late morning. Express No. 86 leaves Phun Phin at 19:31 and reaches Krung Thep Aphiwat in Bangkok at 06:10 (2nd-class air-con berth about ฿755 upper, ฿825 lower). Special Express No. 7 leaves the same station at 07:30 and reaches Chiang Mai at 17:50 (2nd-class air-con seat ฿558). That's about 30 hours from a late-morning boat for about ฿1,800–2,300.

The 1 hour 20 at Krung Thep Aphiwat is fine when No. 86 runs on time, but it comes up from Nakhon Si Thammarat and can run late. For a safer plan, spend the day in Bangkok and take the No. 9 sleeper north at 18:40, into Chiang Mai at about 07:15. Our Bangkok to Chiang Mai guide covers every northbound train, and seats on both legs go on sale 90 days ahead.