Koh Samui to Bangkok during the night. No need to print the tickets. Ferry was on time and it was easy to find our transfer for the train (which was 30 min late but it happens).
The 3rd class train is really not a good idea, lights on all night, ventilators turn on & impossible to turn off, windows open so it’s pretty cold & lots of noises from outside that you can’t block. Seats are uncomfortable & 2x2 facing each others so you don’t have any way to try to sleep peacefully.
People come to sell a variety of food & drinks (coffee), it’s still better to buy beforehand tho ; but during the night they keep on coming every 20 min screaming so it’s impossible to sleep. Bathrooms uncleaned and without paper but it’s to be expected on a train.
I saw the seats on 2nd class & they did look a bit better but I think if you don’t book a bed it’s not a good idea to travel by train. Cheapest option but I won’t do it again, the night bus seats were way more comfortable & it was less noisy.
Highly recommend Seatran, we have used them twice now and both trips were excellent. There is even a little shop on board if you need a quick bite. The trip is super quick, only about 1 1/2 hrs. I suggest sitting up stairs on the deck under the shade to get amazing views of the islands. This time we transferred to Surat Thani by bus and had no issues. Got off the ferry and walked up to the bus area and just asked around showing our ticket until we found the right one. Bus was nice and had reclining seats and AC, perfect for a quick nap. Thank you very much!!
We booked on the same day and therefore had to go two hours early to see if we could get on the transport after paying. The lady from there helped us confirm the booking but we weren’t sure where to go as she seemed in a rush so just gave our ticket (not her fault, she helped fix our problem after awhile). There was no problems on the ferry, worked effectively and was quick. Once we arrived at the port we realised the bus wasn’t for another two hours and as two girls we had to sit around waiting (this is fine but if we had realised we would have booked a taxi at an earlier time but like I said the girl said to get on the bus straight after the taxi and not that it was a two hour wait). Whilst waiting the driver of the bus said that we had to pay another 250 each on top of what we have already paid for the bus to be dropped at our hotel (which was in the city and on route to the train station) whilst being on the bus we realised people were being charged 100-200 to make a stop in the city rather than 250 per person. It also stated that the bus would leave at 8 but left at half 8 so at this rate we were desperate to get to our accommodation we didn’t question it. I think it’s poorly run and for future reference maybe ask about peoples stops before hand and charge them with the fee of the bus then.
サムイ島からスラートターニーへ, フェリー フェリー, Raja Ferry Port, 2023/02/03
The ferry departed on time and when it docked, your staff were there to organize any ongoing travels, whether it was the airport, the train station or to Surat Thani and they were well trained and organized.
The transfer from my hotel in ko samui to nathon pier was good. When we arrived to the pier, the woman in the pier told Us that we could board on the boat at 13:00h ( and not at 14:00h as the ticket I bought) So when we arrived to Donsak pier there was no a bus waiting for Us. I undestood beacause We got on the bout one hour earlier, but the thing that I didnt understand is that the bus arrived to te bus stop when We were waiting for a while and we wanted to ask for the transfer to the driver and he didnt open the door. It was very hot outside and I was with my wife and my 6 years old son. One hour later I took a photo of the bus and then, they opened the door and two of the employees where staring and laughing of me in a bad mood. When my wife asked then the time that the bus leave they said that they didnt know and started laughing again.
39 minutes later the bus left and the got to surat thani town.
