Koh Samui to Koh Phi Phi

Every combo does the same three things. A boat crosses from Samui to Donsak pier on the mainland, a bus or van drives about three hours across the peninsula to Krabi, and a second boat takes you out to Phi Phi. What you're choosing between is the Samui end, the comfort of each leg and the price.

Lomprayah is the one I'd book. Its catamaran leaves Nathon at 08:30, the fastest of the boats to Donsak, and the coach and the Phi Phi boat are timed to it, reaching Tonsai at 15:30 for ฿1,550 on 12Go. Its own timetable sells a pickup from any Samui hotel at 07:00 for ฿1,700, which saves the drive across to Nathon. One 12Go reviewer in July 2026 had an unplanned hour and a half waiting in Krabi, so I'd carry lunch and not plan anything tight on Phi Phi that evening.

Phantip is the budget pick and lands at the same time. The 08:00 from its office in Nathon rides the car ferry to Donsak and a coach to Krabi for about ฿1,110 on 12Go, or ฿1,260 with a van that collects you from your hotel at 06:15. A 12Go reviewer in May 2026 described the 08:00 leaving on time and reaching Tonsai around 15:00. Raja's ticket from its own pier at Lipa Noi leaves at 04:00 and doesn't reach Phi Phi until 17:00, so I'd only take it if everything else is sold out.

The pricier tickets buy convenience. Lomlahkkhirin's speedboat leaves Pralarn pier in Maenam at 08:30, handy if you're staying on the north coast, and reaches Tonsai at 15:30 for about ฿2,100. Faiz Travel collects from Chaweng and Bophut hotels at 09:20 and Ramon from central Chaweng at 10:00, for about ฿2,000, and both land at Tonsai between 17:00 and 18:00. Ramon's 10:00 is the last departure of the day.

Nathon, the island's main town on the west coast, is where Lomprayah's catamaran and Phantip's office are. Lipa Noi, about 8 km south of Nathon, is Raja's car-ferry pier. Pralarn pier in Maenam on the north coast is Lomlahkkhirin's. Chaweng and Bophut, where most people stay, are about 40 minutes from Nathon, so the hotel-pickup tickets are worth the extra ฿150 or so unless you're staying on the west coast already.

Check the ticket for the exact pier and check-in time, and be there at least 30 minutes before the boat. A ticket that says only Koh Samui can mean any of the three.

Phi Phi has no airport, so flying means landing in Phuket or Krabi and finishing by boat. Bangkok Airways is the only airline flying either route nonstop, and the fares reflect it, from about ฿3,700 to Phuket in October and November and ฿5,000 or more in December, with a checked bag included.

Phuket is the flexible one, with 6–8 flights a day from about 08:00. 12Go sells the 08:15 to Phuket together with the 13:30 ferry from Rassada pier, landing at Tonsai in the middle of the afternoon, for about ฿4,200–4,400. It's a self-connect ticket, so the 35 km from the airport to Rassada is yours to sort out. The big ferries from Rassada run until 15:00 and the speedboats until 15:30, so any flight landing before about 13:00 still makes it the same day. Our Phuket to Phi Phi guide has every boat from Rassada.

Krabi has one nonstop a day, leaving Samui at 12:30 in October and 12:25 from November, with a second flight added by mid-December, for about ฿4,100–5,000. Klong Jilad pier is 30 minutes from Krabi airport, and the speedboats from Krabi Town's Kong Ka pier and Krabi River Marina leave until 16:00, so you'd be on Phi Phi by early evening. The Krabi to Koh Phi Phi guide lists them.

If a single eight-hour day sounds like too much, split it. Krabi is already on the way, and every combo passes through it. Take a Samui to Krabi ticket one day, from about ฿500 with Phantip to ฿1,250 with Lomprayah to an Ao Nang hotel, and a boat to Phi Phi the next morning, when you have the whole day's departures to choose from, ferries from ฿450 and speedboats from Ao Nang and Railay as well as Krabi Town.

Khao Sok National Park sits almost halfway between the two coasts, and a night or two there turns the crossing into part of the trip. From Khao Sok it's about 145 km on to Krabi Town, three and a half to four and a half hours by shared van, for the Phi Phi boats. The Koh Samui to Khao Sok guide covers the first half.

Every combo ends at Tonsai pier on Phi Phi Don, the main village, where you pay a ฿20 island fee in cash as you step off. There are no cars on this part of the island, so you walk to the hotels in Tonsai and Loh Dalum. If your hotel is at Laem Tong or Long Beach, ask it about a longtail from Tonsai, because none of the combos go further.

Maya Bay, on Phi Phi Leh, is in the marine national park, and the park fee for foreign adults is ฿400. The bay closes every year from 1 August to 30 September, so if Maya Bay is the reason for the trip, check your dates first.

The two islands have opposite rainy seasons. Samui's comes late in the year, with November its wettest month at about 445 mm of rain, while Phi Phi and the Andaman coast are wet from May to October and driest from December to April. That makes November and December the natural months to move from Samui to Phi Phi, out of the Gulf's rain and into the Andaman's best weather. From February to April both coasts are good, so the order is up to you.

From May to October the Andaman crossing from Krabi is rougher, with September and October the wettest months at about 336–350 mm on the Phuket station, and boats can be canceled on the worst days. The combos still sell all year, but in those months I'd leave a spare day before any flight out of Phuket or Krabi.

The combos run the other way too, and they leave even earlier. Every one leaves Tonsai between about 08:20 and 10:30. The Phi Phi to Koh Samui guide has every departure, the cheapest tickets and the flight back from Phuket.