--- title: "Koh Tao to Bangkok: ferry, speedboat and bus options (2026)" description: "Koh Tao to Bangkok in 12h–13h20 by bus + ferry (one ticket), from ฿850 one way — 7 options with operators, frequency and 2026 fare bands." url: https://bestofthailand.org/routes/koh-tao-to-bangkok locale: en --- # Koh Tao to Bangkok: ferry, speedboat and bus options (2026) 7 ways to make this trip, from ฿850 one way, and 12h–13h20 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 Bus + ferry (one ticket) 12h–13h20 · ฿850–฿1,250 · Lomprayah High Speed Ferries Our pick for budget Bus + ferry (one ticket) ฿850–฿1,250 · 12h–13h20 · 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 Tao to Bangkok: every option with mode, time, fare, operators and frequency** | Option | Time | Fare | Operators | How often | Change | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Bus + ferry (one ticket) | 12h–13h20 | ฿850–฿1,250 | Lomprayah High Speed Ferries | One overnight combination a day, bus around 22:00 from Pinklao or Khao San | Direct | | Speedboat / catamaran + Flight | 3h15–5h50 | ฿2,600–฿7,350 | Lomprayah High Speed Ferries, Bangkok Airways | About two direct departures a day from Nathon, around 08:00 and 13:00 · Around 20 departures a day from Suvarnabhumi | via Koh Samui | | Speedboat / catamaran + Sleeper train | 11h30–15h05 | ฿1,268–฿1,468 | Lomprayah High Speed Ferries, State Railway of Thailand (train 85 and others) | Two departures a day, about 07:00 and 13:00 · Several overnight southern services call here | via Chumphon | | Speedboat / catamaran + Bus + ferry (one ticket) | 12h15–17h30 | ฿1,200–฿1,850 | Lomprayah High Speed Ferries, Phantip Travel, Seatran Discovery, Raja Ferry, Nakhon Si Bus | About two direct departures a day from Nathon, around 08:00 and 13:00 · Mostly overnight departures from Sai Tai Mai and Khao San | via Koh Samui | | Speedboat / catamaran + Day train | 12h25–16h30 | ฿1,228–฿1,628 | Lomprayah High Speed Ferries, Seatran Discovery, State Railway of Thailand (trains 40/41 diesel railcar) | Once or twice daily, routed via Koh Phangan · Daily | via Surat Thani | | Speedboat / catamaran + Bus + ferry (one ticket) | 14h30–18h40 | ฿1,400–฿2,050 | Lomprayah High Speed Ferries, Seatran Discovery, Raja Ferry | Two departures a day on the Samui–Phangan–Tao chain · Overnight departures from Pinklao and Khao San | via Koh Phangan | | Ferry + Sleeper train | 15h45–20h50 | ฿968–฿1,218 | Night boat operators from Chumphon pier, State Railway of Thailand (train 85 and others) | Nightly, about 23:00 · Several overnight southern services call here | via Chumphon | ## Booking notes ### Bus + ferry (one ticket) · 12h–13h20 · ฿850–฿1,250 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. ### Speedboat / catamaran + Flight · 3h15–5h50 · ฿2,600–฿7,350 Koh Tao → Koh Samui: 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. Koh Samui → Bangkok: Bangkok Airways owns Samui airport and runs a near-monopoly on the route, so the floor here sits where other islands' ceilings do. Flying to Surat Thani and continuing by bus and boat is the standard way around it. ### Speedboat / catamaran + Sleeper train · 11h30–15h05 · ฿1,268–฿1,468 Koh Tao → Chumphon: Eighty kilometres of open water and the shortest mainland crossing to Koh Tao. The 07:00 exists for the overnight train; miss it and the 13:00 costs you half a day on the island. Chumphon → Bangkok: Band shown is a 2nd class air-conditioned sleeper; 1st class runs ฿1,046–1,246. The train reaches Chumphon around 05:30–06:30, which is the whole point — it lands ahead of the 07:00 Koh Tao catamaran. ### Speedboat / catamaran + Bus + ferry (one ticket) · 12h15–17h30 · ฿1,200–฿1,850 Koh Tao → Koh Samui: 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. Koh Samui → Bangkok: Standard coaches sit at ฿600–800 and VIP at ฿900–1,100, both including the Donsak ferry. One ticket means one company owns the connection — worth more on this route than the ฿100 difference between operators. ### Speedboat / catamaran + Day train · 12h25–16h30 · ฿1,228–฿1,628 Koh Tao → Surat Thani: 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. Surat Thani → Bangkok: Air-conditioned 2nd class seats, about 9 hours in daylight. Cheaper than a sleeper but it costs a full day rather than a night. ### Speedboat / catamaran + Bus + ferry (one ticket) · 14h30–18h40 · ฿1,400–฿2,050 Koh Tao → Koh Phangan: 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. 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. ### Ferry + Sleeper train · 15h45–20h50 · ฿968–฿1,218 Koh Tao → Chumphon: Foam mats on deck, six to eight hours, arriving at dawn. It saves a fare and a night's room and it is genuinely uncomfortable — bring earplugs and something warmer than you expect to need. Chumphon → Bangkok: Band shown is a 2nd class air-conditioned sleeper; 1st class runs ฿1,046–1,246. The train reaches Chumphon around 05:30–06:30, which is the whole point — it lands ahead of the 07:00 Koh Tao catamaran. ## Both ends of the trip ### 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. ### Bangkok The arrival point for most trips and the hub every rail and bus line runs back to. Airport BKK / DMK: Two airports 50km apart on opposite sides of the city; a domestic connection between them needs 3 hours, not 1. Bangkok is driest Nov–Apr and wettest May–Oct on its own monthly rain-day normals. [Bangkok weather](https://bestofthailand.org/weather/bangkok) · [Bangkok guide](https://bestofthailand.org/guide/bangkok) ## Frequently asked questions **How long does it take to get from Koh Tao to Bangkok?** 12h–13h20 on the quickest option we hold — bus + ferry (one ticket) with Lomprayah High Speed Ferries. The slowest of the 7 options here takes 15h45–20h50, so the spread between them is about 5h38. Times are for the scheduled leg and exclude the transfer at either end. **How much is Koh Tao to Bangkok?** From ฿850–฿1,250 one way by bus + ferry (one ticket), 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 7 options here runs to ฿2,600–฿7,350. That bottom figure comes off the operator's own fare board. **What else runs between Koh Tao and Bangkok?** 6 other options. The next one after bus + ferry (one ticket) with Lomprayah High Speed Ferries is speedboat / catamaran + flight with Lomprayah High Speed Ferries at ฿2,600–฿7,350 and 3h15–5h50, changing at Koh Samui — dearer and faster. All of them are in the table above with their operators and frequency. **Where does the Koh Tao to Bangkok service leave from, and how often does it run?** 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. One overnight combination a day, bus around 22:00 from Pinklao or Khao San. ## Going the other way, or further The return trip is on the [Bangkok to Koh Tao](https://bestofthailand.org/routes/bangkok-to-koh-tao) 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-tao,bangkok&nights=3,4), and see the [island comparison](https://bestofthailand.org/islands) for which coast is dry in the month you are travelling. The Bangkok end of this leg starts at a station or a terminal rather than a hotel door: [getting around Bangkok](https://bestofthailand.org/getting-around) has the BTS, MRT and boat fares for reaching Hua Lamphong, Krung Thep Aphiwat and the two bus terminals, and [airport to city](https://bestofthailand.org/airport) covers the Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang runs if the leg is a flight. ## Sources - [Lomprayah High Speed Ferries route list and journey times](https://lomprayah.com/) — the carrier's own fare board. - [InsideSamui Koh Samui–Koh Tao ferry guide (2026 edition)](https://www.insidesamui.com/getting-here/koh-samui-to-koh-tao/) — a dated route reference. - [InsideSamui Bangkok–Koh Samui transport guide (2026 edition)](https://www.insidesamui.com/getting-here/bangkok-to-koh-samui/) — a dated route reference. - [InsideSamui Chumphon–Koh Tao ferry guide (2026 edition)](https://www.insidesamui.com/getting-here/chumphon-to-koh-tao/) — a dated route reference. - [seat61.com Thailand rail fares (page updated 8 July 2026)](https://www.seat61.com/Thailand.htm) — a dated route reference. 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-tao-to-bangkok Scan or type the address for opening hours, phone numbers and the map.