Koh Samui to Bangkok: ferry, bus and flight options (2026)

Flight · 1h–1h20 · ฿2,000–฿6,600

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.

Bus + ferry (one ticket) · 10h–13h · ฿600–฿1,100

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.

Flight + Flight · 3h05–5h20 · ฿3,400–฿9,000

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

Phuket → Bangkok: The most competitive domestic route in the country, which is why the floor sits under ฿1,000 outside holidays. Phuket airport is 32km north of Patong — budget an hour and ฿200–800 for that transfer on top.

Flight + Flight · 3h40–5h55 · ฿4,000–฿10,100

Koh Samui → Chiang Mai: Samui airport is privately owned and Bangkok Airways runs almost all of it, which is why this leg costs more than a longer flight to Phuket. Flying to Surat Thani and taking the boat is routinely half the price.

Chiang Mai → Bangkok: The flight is 75 minutes and the airport transfers either side are longer than that, so the real saving over the sleeper is about half a day, not eleven hours. Bands move sharply around Songkran and Loy Krathong.

Bus + ferry (one ticket) + Flight · 9h05–13h05 · ฿1,700–฿4,500

Koh Samui → Krabi & Ao Nang: Ferry to Donsak, coach across the peninsula, arrive Krabi in the late afternoon. It's the standard way to swap coasts without flying, and it eats a full day whichever operator sells it.

Krabi & Ao Nang → Bangkok: Usually a little cheaper than Phuket and much closer to Ao Nang, Railay and the Lanta and Phi Phi piers. If the Andaman islands are the plan rather than Patong, this is the better arrival.

Ferry + Day train · 10h55–13h50 · ฿628–฿678

Koh Samui → Surat Thani: ฿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.

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.

Flight + Bus · 12h10–17h05 · ฿3,450–฿7,500

Koh Samui → Chiang Mai: Samui airport is privately owned and Bangkok Airways runs almost all of it, which is why this leg costs more than a longer flight to Phuket. Flying to Surat Thani and taking the boat is routinely half the price.

Chiang Mai → Bangkok: VIP 24-seat coaches sit at the top of the band, 32- and 40-seat services at the bottom. The overnight bus arrives earlier than the train but sleeps worse.

Flight + Bus · 13h40–17h40 · ฿3,200–฿6,900

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

Phuket → Bangkok: Twelve to fourteen hours for a fare that a flight booked in advance regularly beats. It exists, it's cheap in the last-minute case, and almost nobody should choose it over the plane.