Lomprayah

Lomprayah High Speed Ferries Co., Ltd. was established in 1999, featuring a unique fleet of high-speed catamaran ferries service from Surat Thani to Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao, Chumphon and from Chumphon/Surat Thani to Bangkok by an A/C bus.

Lomprayah High Speed Ferries is the first and the only fast ferries operation in Thailand which provides speedy and stylish service. The company has 7 high-speed ferries – Pralarn, Namuang, Maenam, Koh Prab, Thongsala, Maehaad, Thapdaorai. They offer the fastest sea crossing in The Gulf of Thailand.

Lomprayah offices are located in Bangkok, Hua Hin, Chumphon City and Pier, Koh Tao, Koh Phangan, Koh Samui (Nathon pier and Maenam pier), Surat Thani (Tapee pier), Krabi and Phuket.

Lomprayah offers a huge range of services to some of Thailand’s most popular destinations, including Koh Samui, Krabi and Phuket.

One of Lomprayah’s major routes connects Bangkok and Koh Samui.
The route offers two or three departures each day between 06.00 and 21.00.

The scheduled duration is between 10 and 15 hours, depending on which departure you pick.
Similarly, there are several morning departures from from Koh Samui with the trip to Bangkok taking between 12 and 14 hours.

From Bangkok, you can also head to Koh Phangan and Koh Tao using Lomprayah’s services.
From Bangkok, all passengers to Samui, Phangan and Tao use the same bus. Passengers to Koh Tao then connect to a ferry in Chumphon and passengers to Phangan and Samui catch their ferry in Surat Thani.
The total travel time from Bangkok to Koh Phangan is between 10 and 14 hours; to Koh Tao – between 9 and 12 hours.

It is possible to fly to Surat Thani and then travel to the islands in the lower part of the Gulf using Lomprayah’s catamarans.
There are four departures from Surat Thani to Koh Samui each day between 09.00 and 16.00, with the whole combination bus+ferry trip taking just two hours.

In Samui, Lomprayah boats dock at two different piers. The first one is Nathon pier, which is the main pier on Koh Samui and is used by other major boat companies like Seatran, Songserm and Raja ferry. The second pier is known as Lomprayah Maenam pier, or Lomprayah Parlarn pier. Both Nathon and Maenam are in the north of Koh Samui.

From Koh Samui, there is a direct service by Lopmrayah to Angthong national marine park.

There are also four services from Surat Thani to Koh Phangan every day, as well as four departures back to Surat Thani from both Koh Phangan and Koh Samui per day. Travel time is 2 hours 30 minutes.

There are two departures in either direction between Koh Tao and Surat Thani, a trip that takes four or five hours.

Note that in Surat Thani, Lomprayah speed boats depart from Tapee pier. Tapee pier Lomprayah is located about 8 km northeast of the city centre in the Ta Pi River delta. Note that it is not Donsak from where larger car ferries depart.
The company also offers transfer to the pier from

• Surat Thani train station
• Surat Thani airport

Lomprayah offers plenty of choice to get to Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao from Krabi.
There is a good choice of departures from Krabi to Samui. It is a five- to six-hour combination bus+ferry trip.
The trip to Koh Phangan is slightly shorter at around four to five hours.
The trip to Koh Tao from Krabi is longer: it takes between seven and nine hours.

Phuket is another of Thailand’s major transport and tourist hubs and from there using Lomprayah’s service, you can, too, easily reach

• Koh Samui
• Koh Phangan
• Koh Tao

Note that it is again a combination bus+ferry trip: buses depart Phuket to all three islands every day, with services departing the islands for Phuket each morning.
You first brought to Lomprayah’s pier in Surat Thani, where you then board their high speed catamaran to the islands.
The whole trip from Phuket takes seven hours to Koh Samui, 8 hours – to Koh Phangan and 9 hours – to Koh Tao.

Hua Hin is one of the most popular beach resorts on the mainland. Lomprayah offers two departures of combination bus+ferry trips to each of the three islands of the Gulf as well as services in the opposite direction.
Getting to Koh Samui takes 10–13 hours; to Koh Phangan – 8–11 hours; and to Koh Tao – six–nine hours depending on your departure time.

• Compared to conventional ferries, Lomprayah fleet of smaller, faster vessels results in fast loading and uploading
• All of Lomprayah’s cross Gulf of Thailand services are run from dedicated ports what makes the travel a fast and hassle free experience.
• Lomprayah is one of the most reputable and largest companies taking travellers around Siam Gulf and to/from Bangkok and Andaman Sea. They literally own some routes and even some islands – so if you can't fly there and not on super tight budget – go with them.

• Traveller reviews of Lomprayah on TripAdvisor often mention the catamaran is noisy and the trip can be too bumpy when the sea is rough.

• Lomprayah’s service is more expensive compared to other options. The alternatives can be a bit cheaper Seatran.

1. A company of Lomprayah size of operations (taking around about 3,000 people a day over some complicated multi-modal routes) has certain employee turnover that may result in issues with delays, misunderstandings, or employees not speaking English. Please accept that fact – any company will have that issue in SEA unless you get some private driver in white gloves and cabbie cap. The company is doing all it can.
2. You will be waiting in line to check in with a hundred of other travellers – it is inevitable. Take it easy and have a bottle of water with you to survive the queue.
3. Keep your travel inventory separated – a day backpack with valuable / fragile stuff and a larger backpack with clothes and other things that may get wet.
4. AC on the bus might be too cold. Pack layers – they do provide a blanket but ... you know...
5. You may get seasick, once again, YOU MAY GET SEASICK. It's a fast catamaran, you can't run away to catch your breath under a banyan tree. It is especially true during high waves seasons.

Lomprayah has established a reputation as one of the most efficient and reliable operators on these routes as well as across Thailand. There is a huge range of departures across many popular routes that are sure to suit travellers on all schedules.

The combination tickets from Bangkok, Krabi and Phuket are a useful and hassle-free option for visiting the islands. It offers travellers good value for money. It is far easier to make these trips when bus and Lomprayah speed ferry tickets are included in one package than to try to purchase tickets for each leg of your journey separately.

Although the cost of the fares for Lomprayah’s services may not be the lowest that you’ll find, the price is worth it for the comfortable and reliable journey you’ll hopefully enjoy.

Another advantage of travelling on Lomprayah’s services is that you can choose whether you wish to be dropped off at the airport or train station in Surat Thani rather than in the centre of the city. This is very handy if you have a connection or you are travelling internationally from the city’s airport.

12Go recommends this company. There are not too many alternatives anyway – Siam Gulf ferries serving similar routes are

• Seatran
• Raja Ferry
• Songserm
• and some other smaller night ferries.

All other companies that promote "Bangkok to the islands" routes use the above mentioned ferries and only provide their own land transport.

Note that advanced booking for Lomprayah boats is recommended, especially in high season.