If you are looking for a place away from the bustling city of Bangkok to relax and unwind and you still want to enjoy the beautiful beaches and the perfect picture islands, then Koh Samui is one place that you will love. It is one of the tourists’’ most visited places when they come to Thailand for vacation.
This island is a tourist destination because of its renowned idyllic beaches and its beautiful mountainous rainforest. This island is blessed with luxurious spas making it one of the most attractive places for visitors and if you are the type that loves to go out for some fun during the night, the vibrant nightlife scenes including good and cheap guest houses in the area make it a travelers choice.
So, if you are wondering how to get to Koh Samui from Bangkok, this guide is all you need to find your way from Koh Samui to Bangkok without breaking a sweat.
Bangkok Koh Samui Flights
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The journey from Bangkok to Koh Samui is about seven hundred kilometers and the fastest way to navigate to Koh Samui from Bangkok is by air. However, a flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui can be a little expensive meaning that if you are on a tight budget, this option might not be the best for you.
Koh Samui has its own airport which is located in the north-east of the island and was originally built as a private airport by Bangkok Airways for the purpose of their personal use which makes them the only airline that flies from these two destinations.
So, if you intend to take flights from Bangkok to Koh Samui, You only have Bangkok Airways as the only carrier that is available but the good news is that flight from these two locations is almost on an hourly basis, so you don’t need to worry about delays in your flight as the flight hours are very flexible.
High Season – High Price
If you are visiting Thailand during the high season, you might find it a little difficult to book a seat on a plane as you have lots of people using this medium to move from one location to another – even though there are many daily flight schedules offered by Bangkok Airways.
The flight fare might vary substantially depending on when and how you book your ticket and that is the reason it is mostly advisable to book ahead of time (far in advance) so you can have the best deals instead of waiting to buy a ticket on the day of your departure which could mean you might be paying as much as double when you book on your day of departure.
Either way, you look at it, flight from Bangkok Airways is considered to be on the expensive side and can set you far behind if you are not careful.
And if you want to save cost you also have flight alternatives that will still get you to Koh Samui but this time the flight is not a direct flight. There is a flight that goes from Bangkok to Surat Thani Airport or you can go from Bangkok to Chumphon Airport. These airports are both on the mainland and therefore you will need to take a connecting ferry ride to Koh Samui if you decided to use any of these alternatives.
Using a ferry connection is quite ideal as you will save yourself some money by riding on cheap low-cost air carriers that fly to these two locations. This is one-way many tourists will move from Bangkok to Koh Samui just to save themselves some extra cost.
Once you arrive at Koh Samui airport (either through a direct flight from Bangkok or through the connecting ferry) there are lots of ground transportation available to get you to your desired accommodation or hotel. There are minibusses and private minibusses on the ground that will take you and some other tourist to where your hotel or resort is located.
However, there are limited taxi operators that are available as an option at the airport.
Bangkok To Koh Samui By Train And Ferry
Going by train to Koh Samui from Bangkok is another cheap and low-cost option that is available for travelers. Traveling by train is a cheaper option, however, its biggest disadvantage to using this transport is the time it will take to get you to your destination – Koh Samui.
However, if you travel by night using the sleeper train, you could arrive the next day which makes it even better as you won’t need to worry about wasting precious time with the train slow ride.
You can easily catch an evening train at the Hua Lamphong Train Station and travel all through the night until you get to Surat Thani Station the next morning. From Surat, you can board a special shuttle bus that will take you to the coast and the Don Sak Pier.
When you get to Don Sak Pier, the trip becomes even more exciting. Here you have the option to enjoy a 90-minute conventional ferry ride where you only need to sit back and enjoy what the waterways have to offer.
Another option is to use the faster ferry ride called the Catamaran.
This is a 45 minutes jolly-boat ride to Koh Samui. This option is perfect for those who are very eager to get to Koh Samui so you can start enjoying your beaches and the many bars on the island.
There are other privately operated ferries that can take you to Koh Samui for instance the Seatran Ferries and the Raja ferries are available if you want something more classic and a bit more expensive.
You can buy both the train ticket and the ferry ticket from Hua Lamphong Train Station in Bangkok so you don’t need to worry about buying a separate ticket for your return journey; there is also the online option where you can book your ticket online just in time before you finally depart. However, it’s advisable that you buy your ticket before your travel date so you don’t have to pay more or get disappointed with a fully booked schedule.
Bus And Ferry Ride from Bangkok to Koh Samui
This is another option that is very common among tourists wanting to visit Koh Samui from Bangkok. This option involves you take a bus from Bangkok to Chumphon (with a little stopover at Hua Hin). When you get to Chumphon, you board a speed boat or a ferry trip that travels through the island of kO Nang Yuan, Ko Tao,, and Ko Pha Ngan.
This route which is up to 11 hours gives you more options to see how the waterways in These islands really are.
So, these three options of traveling from Bangkok to Koh Samui are the most common for tourists visiting Bangkok and hoping to see how the island of Koh Samui looks.
Therefore, whichever one you choose will greatly depend on your budget and also how fast you really want to get there.
Koh Samui Guide: Visit Thailand’s Most Beautiful Island
Koh Samui (or Ko Samui) is the third-largest island in Thailand and, probably, the most beautiful one. It is home to some of the nicest beaches in the country and is easily reachable from Bangkok as we have just learned.
Koh Samui Beaches and Attractions
Lamai Beach and Chaweng Beach are, by far, the most popular and crowded beaches on the island. Unfortunately, in recent years, they have become home to a crowd of loud party-goers who tend to spend entire days drinking beer on the beach or in the nearby bars.
Which is exactly why many expats make Koh Samui their home.
Avoid clattery Chaweng Beach if you want peace because the strip running behind this once idyllic beach has been colonized by open-air bars and restaurants, souvenir shops, jewelry stores, pharmacies, tailors, and ice-cream parlors.
The same goes for Lamai beach which also has its share of noisy bars, eateries, and shops, and Maenam beach, where, despite the pleasant walks in the hills above the village, sunbathers are constantly annoyed by the souvenir peddlers and food vendors who stalk the beach.
For travelers looking for a quieter experience, Choengmon Beach and Bophut Beach are places definitely worth visiting. They do offer their share of shops, restaurants, and bars, but in a much more relaxing environment. Overall, those beaches also tend to be cleaner and more beautiful than Lamai and Chaweng.
Diving is obviously a popular activity in Samui, due to its clear blue waters and its coral reefs. It is possible to meet and hire diving instructors almost everywhere on the island. It is however recommended to thoroughly check the qualifications of those instructors before embarking on a diving trip. Some of them tend to have more than dubious certificates.
White, sandy beaches are scattered all along both coasts of Thailand and some are more popular than others. For those looking for less touristy spots, try these beaches.
Hotels and Restaurants in Koh Samui
Hotels come in many shapes and sizes on Samui. From the backpacker hostel to the five-star hotel, anything can be found on the island. As noted above, the beaches of Lamai and Chaweng tend to attract a louder crowd. This is also where most backpacker hotels tend to be. Na Thon, the central city, Bophut and Choengmon tend to offer quieter and cheaper hotels.
Many restaurants and bars can be found on the island. A few years ago, only Thai food was available on Koh Samui. Nowadays, many restaurants offer European and American cuisine to tourists visiting the island. Prices tend however to be much higher than the ones of similar restaurants in Bangkok.
Koh Samui’s Full Moon Parties and Backpackers.
Phuket is still the Queen of the Thai islands and the premier resort, but Koh Samui is now vigorously taking itself upmarket.
Over the years, like Koh Pha Ngan, Koh Samui has become synonymous with full-moon parties, and the sort of back-packer lifestyle that means loud music throughout the night. To a large extent, the island is still given over to wild parties and noisy nightlife, but it is slowly being reclaimed by those who look for tranquillity on near-isolated beaches.
The sign at Koh Samui’s Nathon Pier says “Welcome to the land of sun, sea, and Singha” which says it all. (Singha being the nation’s favorite beer in case anyone doesn’t know).
Koh Samui Resorts
Of the resorts, a few stand out, Tongsai Bay, for one, which has suites, cottages and villas hidden in greenery on a hill facing a secluded beach. Not far away from here is the Samui Peninsula Spa and Resort which features elegant Thai-style villas with private pools and view of the beach and sea.
The Imperial Boat House has been imaginatively constructed from old teak rice barges into deluxe two-story boat suites, located just a few meters from the beach and all with sunbathing decks overlooking a lush forest.
If you don’t hanker after deluxe living, then there are still affordable bungalows well away from the noisy strips. On the outskirts of many of these coves can be found budget accommodation which is clean and with good nearby facilities.
It may be that you want a tranquil, peaceful day spent swimming and snorkeling coupled with heady nightlife. If this is the case, remember you are just a few minute’s drive away from Chaweng.
Getting To Koh Samui From Bangkok Conclusion:
Traveling to Koh Samui from Bangkok can be as simple or as hard as your adventure calls for. It’s a trip where you have a choice of traveling by Land, Air, and Sea. Depending on your budget and travel time schedule you might want to try more than one.
If you’re interested in reading more about other Thai Islands you can visit while in Thailand check out our 3 Thai Islands post here.
Please check out our Booking Page also if you’re curious as to what your next trip to Thailand might cost.