Surat Thani to Koh Samui

Surat Thani's airport is 92 km from Donsak, about an hour and a half by road, and the combo counters are in the arrivals hall, so you buy the whole trip as you walk out. Raja's coach leaves at 09:00 and lands at Lipa Noi at 12:30 for about ฿550, Lomprayah's at 09:30 and 12:30 with the 45-minute catamaran to Nathon for ฿750–950, Boonsiri's van at 11:30 with its catamaran to Lipa Noi, landing at 13:50, for ฿850–1,100, and Phantip's coaches with the Seatran ferry run through the day until mid-afternoon for the lowest fares. The through-ticket operators hold you for the next boat if your flight is late, which separate tickets won't.

Land after about 16:00 and the combos are done for the day. A taxi from outside arrivals can still get you to Donsak for the 19:00 Raja ferry if you agree the fare before you get in, or a private car booked ahead rides the car ferry with you to your hotel. Otherwise, spend the night in Surat Thani town, 28 km away, and take a morning combo from there.

Surat Thani's train station isn't in Surat Thani. It's at Phun Phin, about 14 to 16 km west of the town, and the overnight sleepers from Bangkok arrive there in the early morning. The combo sellers wait on the forecourt as the trains come in, and coaches leave for Donsak from about 05:30, with Phantip and the Seatran ferry from about ฿420 at the forecourt and Raja's coaches every couple of hours until the last at 16:00, which lands at Lipa Noi at 20:30. It's 80 km to the pier, so allow about 3.5 to 4 hours to Samui. Our Bangkok to Koh Samui guide has every train from Bangkok.

From the town itself, Donsak is 66 km and about an hour by road. Lomprayah's coach leaves from Tapee pier at 09:30, the Phantip and Raja combos pick up at their town offices and at hotels, and buses from the town's bus terminal also run to the pier. If you've arrived late the night before, the town is the place to stay, with far more choice than Donsak, and a morning combo has you on Samui by lunchtime.

Two car-ferry companies and two catamarans cross from Donsak. Raja Ferry sails to Lipa Noi on Samui's southwest coast every hour from 05:00 to 19:00, every day, with extra boats from late December to April, in 1 hour 30, for ฿220 on foot. Seatran sails to Nathon, the island's west-coast town, roughly every hour from early morning to early evening, also in 1 hour 30, for ฿170. Lomprayah's catamaran crosses to Nathon in 45 minutes three times a day, and Boonsiri's 13:00 boat lands at Lipa Noi at 14:50. The two companies' piers are about a kilometer apart, so match the pier to your ticket.

If you reach Donsak on your own, buy at the window and take the next boat. Foot passengers rarely fill the car ferries outside the New Year and Songkran weeks. From Nathon or Lipa Noi, songthaews and taxis wait for the boats to take you on across the island.

Going back, Raja's first ferry leaves Lipa Noi at 05:00, and the combined tickets to Surat Thani airport leave the island from about 05:00 until mid-afternoon, taking 3 to 4 hours. Lomprayah's 08:30 from Nathon reaches the airport at about 11:30. Boats can be held up by weather in the monsoon months, so for any flight before about 11:00, cross the night before and sleep in Surat Thani town. For a later flight, take a morning combo and you'll have an hour or two to spare.