--- title: "Koh Phangan to Koh Tao: ferry and speedboat options (2026)" description: "Koh Phangan to Koh Tao in 45min–1h10 by speedboat / catamaran, from ฿500 one way — 6 options with operators, frequency and 2026 fare bands." url: https://bestofthailand.org/routes/koh-phangan-to-koh-tao locale: en --- # Koh Phangan to Koh Tao: ferry and speedboat options (2026) 6 ways to make this trip, from ฿500 one way, and 45min–1h10 on the quickest, direct. Below: what each costs, who runs it, how often it goes and the pier or station it actually leaves from. Fares checked 7 September 2026 and quoted as one-way bands per adult. They move with season, fuel and demand — the flight bands move fastest of all. Our pick for time Speedboat / catamaran 45min–1h10 · ฿500–฿650 · Lomprayah High Speed Ferries Our pick for budget Speedboat / catamaran ฿500–฿650 · 45min–1h10 · Lomprayah High Speed Ferries Same option twice: on this pair the quickest way is also the cheapest, which is rarer than it sounds — it usually means one operator has the route to itself. ## All options **Koh Phangan to Koh Tao: every option with mode, time, fare, operators and frequency** | Option | Time | Fare | Operators | How often | Change | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Speedboat / catamaran | 45min–1h10 | ฿500–฿650 | Lomprayah High Speed Ferries | Two departures a day on the Samui–Phangan–Tao chain | Direct | | Ferry | 3h–3h40 | ฿550–฿700 | Seatran Discovery | One or two sailings a day | Direct | | Speedboat / catamaran + Speedboat / catamaran | 2h45–5h15 | ฿850–฿1,150 | Lomprayah High Speed Ferries, Seatran Discovery | Several catamaran departures a day from Nathon, Maenam and Bangrak · About two direct departures a day from Nathon, around 08:00 and 13:00 | via Koh Samui | | Ferry + Speedboat / catamaran | 3h15–6h | ฿800–฿1,050 | Raja Ferry, Seatran Discovery, Lomprayah High Speed Ferries | Through the day · About two direct departures a day from Nathon, around 08:00 and 13:00 | via Koh Samui | | Ferry + Speedboat / catamaran | 6h15–9h35 | ฿1,070–฿1,550 | Raja Ferry, Lomprayah High Speed Ferries, Seatran Discovery | Several sailings a day from Donsak to Thong Sala · Once or twice daily, routed via Koh Phangan | via Surat Thani | | Bus + ferry (one ticket) + Bus + ferry (one ticket) | 25h45–30h50 | ฿1,750–฿2,650 | Lomprayah High Speed Ferries, Seatran Discovery, Raja Ferry | Overnight departures from Pinklao and Khao San · One overnight combination a day, bus around 22:00 from Pinklao or Khao San | via Bangkok | ## Booking notes ### Speedboat / catamaran · 45min–1h10 · ฿500–฿650 The shortest of the three Gulf hops. Doing Samui to Tao with a Phangan stop costs about 2h30–3h in total and one extra ticket — which is why most people put Phangan in the middle rather than at the end. ### Ferry · 3h–3h40 · ฿550–฿700 Three hours-plus against the catamaran's hour, for roughly the same money. It exists mainly as the fallback when Lomprayah is full. ### Speedboat / catamaran + Speedboat / catamaran · 2h45–5h15 · ฿850–฿1,150 Koh Phangan → Koh Samui: Thirty minutes. The choice that matters is which Samui pier you leave from — Bangrak is next to the airport, Nathon is the far side of the island from Chaweng. Koh Samui → Koh Tao: Lomprayah runs this one nearly alone. Children 3–11 travel at roughly half fare. In rough weather this crossing gets cancelled before the shorter Phangan hop does. ### Ferry + Speedboat / catamaran · 3h15–6h · ฿800–฿1,050 Koh Phangan → Koh Samui: The vehicle ferries take twice as long as the catamaran for about ฿100 less, and they carry motorbikes — which is the actual reason to take one. Koh Samui → Koh Tao: Lomprayah runs this one nearly alone. Children 3–11 travel at roughly half fare. In rough weather this crossing gets cancelled before the shorter Phangan hop does. ### Ferry + Speedboat / catamaran · 6h15–9h35 · ฿1,070–฿1,550 Koh Phangan → Surat Thani: ฿270 is Raja's published passenger fare for the Donsak–Thong Sala crossing. Around the Full Moon these sailings fill; book the day before rather than at the pier. Surat Thani → Koh Tao: Nothing runs Surat Thani to Koh Tao directly — the boat calls at Phangan or Samui on the way, which is why the time band is so wide. Coming from Bangkok, Chumphon is the shorter door. ### Bus + ferry (one ticket) + Bus + ferry (one ticket) · 25h45–30h50 · ฿1,750–฿2,650 Koh Phangan → Bangkok: Two routings sell under the same name: the Chumphon catamaran down through Koh Tao, and the Surat Thani coach across to Donsak. The Chumphon version is faster and pricier; check which one the ticket actually is. Bangkok → Koh Tao: The bus runs overnight to Chumphon and hands over to the 08:00 catamaran, landing on Koh Tao around 10:30 — 12 to 13 hours door to door. Lomprayah's own promoted fare for the combination was ฿850 in May 2026; the top of the band covers VIP coach seats and high season. ## Both ends of the trip ### Koh Phangan Half an hour from Samui by boat: Full Moon on one beach, near-silence on the north coast. Koh Phangan has no weather station of ours; the nearest one we track is driest Feb–Aug and wettest Sep–Jan. ### Koh Tao The dive-certification island — small, steep, and reached only by boat. Koh Tao has no weather station of ours; the nearest one we track is driest Feb–Aug and wettest Sep–Jan. ## Frequently asked questions **How long does it take to get from Koh Phangan to Koh Tao?** 45min–1h10 on the quickest option we hold — speedboat / catamaran with Lomprayah High Speed Ferries. The slowest of the 6 options here takes 25h45–30h50, so the spread between them is about 27h20. Times are for the scheduled leg and exclude the transfer at either end. **How much is Koh Phangan to Koh Tao?** From ฿500–฿650 one way by speedboat / catamaran, checked 7 September 2026 — and on this pair that is also the quickest way, so there is nothing to trade off. The dearest of the 6 options here runs to ฿1,750–฿2,650. That band comes from a dated route listing rather than a published tariff, so treat it as indicative. **What else runs between Koh Phangan and Koh Tao?** 5 other options. The next one after speedboat / catamaran with Lomprayah High Speed Ferries is ferry with Seatran Discovery at ฿550–฿700 and 3h–3h40 — dearer and slower. All of them are in the table above with their operators and frequency. **Where does the Koh Phangan to Koh Tao service leave from, and how often does it run?** The shortest of the three Gulf hops. Doing Samui to Tao with a Phangan stop costs about 2h30–3h in total and one extra ticket — which is why most people put Phangan in the middle rather than at the end. Two departures a day on the Samui–Phangan–Tao chain. ## Going the other way, or further The return trip is on the [Koh Tao to Koh Phangan](https://bestofthailand.org/routes/koh-tao-to-koh-phangan) page — fares are the same in both directions on almost every leg here, but the timetables are not. To string this hop into a longer trip with a pace check, use the [route planner](https://bestofthailand.org/routes?stops=koh-phangan,koh-tao&nights=3,4), and see the [island comparison](https://bestofthailand.org/islands) for which coast is dry in the month you are travelling. ## Sources - [InsideSamui Koh Samui–Koh Tao ferry guide (2026 edition)](https://www.insidesamui.com/getting-here/koh-samui-to-koh-tao/) — a dated route reference. - [Raja Ferry Port fare and timetable board](https://www.rajaferryport.com/) — the carrier's own fare board. - [Lomprayah High Speed Ferries route list and journey times](https://lomprayah.com/) — the carrier's own fare board. Checked 7 September 2026. Every figure on this page is a range, because every one of them moves. Best of Thailand https://bestofthailand.org/routes/koh-phangan-to-koh-tao Scan or type the address for opening hours, phone numbers and the map.