Although Bangkok Airways does fly from Samui to Krabi and Phuket, it is not a low cost carrier and fares can be as much as 10 times the price of taking the same journey with a combined ferry bus ticket. Frequent ferries connect the three gulf islands with Surat Thani and the main ferry terminal at Donsak Pier.
From the pier it is simply a matter of getting to Surat Thani Bus Station where there are frequent buses across to Phang Nga, Krabi and Phuket. Transport between the arrival piers and the bus station is often included when buying combined ferry-bus tickets.
The same works in reverse and travelling east from the Andaman to Samui or its sister islands is streamlined and stress-free. Total journey times are longer than when flying, yet the overland route offers the opportunity of taking in beautiful seascapes and landscapes en route.
Travel between Koh Samui and the Thai Andaman Sea resorts
News in Asia
Thailand’s southern peninsula is long and narrow and stretches for almost 1,000kms from the top of the Gulf of Thailand down to the Malay border. The southern half of the peninsula divides the gulf from the Andaman Sea. The gulf islands of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao are on the opposite coast from Krabi and Phuket.