Khao Sok to Koh Samui: bus and minivan options (2026)

3 ways to make this trip, from ฿400 one way, and 5h–6h40 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)

5h–6h40 · ฿700–฿1,100 · Phantip Travel, Local minivan and ferry combinations

Our pick for budget

Minivan + Ferry

฿400–฿650 · 4h15–6h50 · Shared minivan operators from Surat Thani town and airport, Raja Ferry

All options

Khao Sok to Koh Samui: every option with mode, time, fare, operators and frequency
Option	Time	Fare	Operators	How often	Change
Bus + ferry (one ticket)	5h–6h40	฿700–฿1,100	Phantip Travel, Local minivan and ferry combinations	Usually one morning departure	Direct
Minivan + Ferry	4h15–6h50	฿400–฿650	Shared minivan operators from Surat Thani town and airport, Raja Ferry	Several a day, timed loosely to flight arrivals · Through the day from Donsak, first sailing around 05:00	via Surat Thani
Minivan + Flight	4h46–7h40	฿2,780–฿6,400	Phuket Bus and Van Travel, Kanokwan Travel, Andaman Taxi, Bangkok Airways	Several shared departures a day, plus private transfers · One or two direct flights a day, seasonal	via Phuket

Booking notes

Bus + ferry (one ticket) · 5h–6h40 · ฿700–฿1,100

Minivan to Donsak, then the Samui ferry. Booked as one ticket in Khao Sok village; there is no walk-up alternative if it's missed.

Minivan + Ferry · 4h15–6h50 · ฿400–฿650

Khao Sok → Surat Thani: The link that turns Khao Sok from a detour into a stop between the Gulf and the Andaman. Vans fill rather than depart on the hour.

Surat Thani → Koh Samui: ฿200 is Raja's own published passenger fare on the Donsak–Lipa Noi crossing, one of the few numbers on this page that comes straight off an operator's board. Donsak pier is 60–90 minutes by road from Surat Thani town.

Minivan + Flight · 4h46–7h40 · ฿2,780–฿6,400

Khao Sok → Phuket: The bottom of the band is a shared van, the top a private car. Most Khao Sok bookings include the transfer to the lake pier as a separate morning leg — that isn't in this fare.

Phuket → Koh Samui: The only quick way to swap coasts. Everything else — coach across the peninsula, or a flight via Bangkok — costs a day or a connection.

Both ends of the trip

Khao Sok

Rainforest national park and the floating raft houses on Cheow Lan lake.

Khao Sok has no weather station of ours; the nearest one we track is driest Nov–Apr and wettest May–Oct.

Koh Samui

The Gulf's biggest island and the only one with its own airport.

Airport USM: Privately owned and served almost entirely by Bangkok Airways, which is why fares here sit well above the low-cost market.

Koh Samui is driest Feb–Aug and wettest Sep–Jan on its own monthly rain-day normals.

Koh Samui weather Koh Samui guide

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get from Khao Sok to Koh Samui?

5h–6h40 on the quickest option we hold — bus + ferry (one ticket) with Phantip Travel. The slowest of the 3 options here takes 4h46–7h40, so the spread between them is about 30min. Times are for the scheduled leg and exclude the transfer at either end.

How much is Khao Sok to Koh Samui?

From ฿400–฿650 one way by minivan + ferry, checked 7 September 2026. The quickest option costs ฿700–฿1,100 and saves about 15min, so the gap between them is ฿300 against roughly that much time. That band comes from a dated route listing rather than a published tariff, so treat it as indicative.

What is the cheapest way from Khao Sok to Koh Samui?

Minivan + Ferry at ฿400–฿650, run by Shared minivan operators from Surat Thani town and airport, Raja Ferry. It takes 4h15–6h50 against the quickest option's 5h–6h40, and runs several a day, timed loosely to flight arrivals.

Where does the Khao Sok to Koh Samui service leave from, and how often does it run?

Minivan to Donsak, then the Samui ferry. Booked as one ticket in Khao Sok village; there is no walk-up alternative if it's missed. Usually one morning departure.

Going the other way, or further

The return trip is on the Koh Samui to Khao Sok 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, and see the island comparison for which coast is dry in the month you are travelling.

Sources

12go.asia route listings (band from what was on sale, not a tariff) — aggregator listings, not a published tariff.
Raja Ferry Port fare and timetable board — the carrier's own fare board.
Bookaway Phuket–Khao Sok route listings — aggregator listings, not a published tariff.

Checked 7 September 2026. Every figure on this page is a range, because every one of them moves.

All guides and tools