Koh Samui to Chiang Mai: bus and flight options (2026)

4 ways to make this trip, from ฿1,050 one way, and 1h45–2h05 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

Flight

1h45–2h05 · ฿3,000–฿6,600 · Bangkok Airways

Our pick for budget

Bus + ferry (one ticket) + Bus

฿1,050–฿2,000 · 20h25–28h · Phantip Travel, Seatran Discovery, Raja Ferry, Nakhon Si Bus, Sombat Tour, Nakhonchai Air, Sritawong Tour

All options

Koh Samui to Chiang Mai: every option with mode, time, fare, operators and frequency
Option	Time	Fare	Operators	How often	Change
Flight	1h45–2h05	฿3,000–฿6,600	Bangkok Airways	Seasonal direct service; otherwise a connection through Bangkok	Direct
Flight + Flight	2h55–5h10	฿3,000–฿10,100	Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, Thai Vietjet, Nok Air, Thai Airways, Thai Lion Air	Around 20 departures a day from Suvarnabhumi · Roughly 25–30 departures a day split between Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi	via Bangkok
Flight + Flight	3h45–6h10	฿4,000–฿10,000	Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, Thai Vietjet	One or two direct flights a day, seasonal · A handful of direct flights a day; the rest connect through Bangkok	via Phuket
Bus + ferry (one ticket) + Bus	20h25–28h	฿1,050–฿2,000	Phantip Travel, Seatran Discovery, Raja Ferry, Nakhon Si Bus, Sombat Tour, Nakhonchai Air, Sritawong Tour	Mostly overnight departures from Sai Tai Mai and Khao San · Departures through the day and evening from Mo Chit (Northern Terminal)	via Bangkok

Booking notes

Flight · 1h45–2h05 · ฿3,000–฿6,600

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.

Flight + Flight · 2h55–5h10 · ฿3,000–฿10,100

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.

Bangkok → Chiang Mai: 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.

Flight + Flight · 3h45–6h10 · ฿4,000–฿10,000

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 → Chiang Mai: Direct flights exist but are thin — a connection through Bangkok can be cheaper and is often only an hour longer overall. Check both before assuming direct wins.

Bus + ferry (one ticket) + Bus · 20h25–28h · ฿1,050–฿2,000

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.

Bangkok → Chiang Mai: 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.

Both ends of the trip

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

Chiang Mai

The northern hub: temples, cooking schools and the road to Pai and the hills.

Airport CNX: 10 minutes from the old city; the busiest domestic route in the country runs here from Bangkok.

Chiang Mai is driest Nov–Apr and wettest May–Oct on its own monthly rain-day normals.

Chiang Mai weather Chiang Mai guide

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get from Koh Samui to Chiang Mai?

1h45–2h05 on the quickest option we hold — flight with Bangkok Airways. The slowest of the 4 options here takes 20h25–28h, so the spread between them is about 22h18. Times are for the scheduled leg and exclude the transfer at either end.

How much is Koh Samui to Chiang Mai?

From ฿1,050–฿2,000 one way by bus + ferry (one ticket) + bus, checked 7 September 2026. The quickest option costs ฿3,000–฿6,600 and saves about 22h18, so the gap between them is ฿1,950 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 Koh Samui to Chiang Mai?

Bus + ferry (one ticket) + Bus at ฿1,050–฿2,000, run by Phantip Travel, Seatran Discovery, Raja Ferry, Nakhon Si Bus, Sombat Tour, Nakhonchai Air, Sritawong Tour. It takes 20h25–28h against the quickest option's 1h45–2h05, and runs mostly overnight departures from sai tai mai and khao san.

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

Going the other way, or further

The return trip is on the Chiang Mai to Koh Samui 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.

Elephant tourism concentrates at this end of the country, and a riding camp with a new name looks the same in a listing as a genuine one. Ethical elephant sanctuaries checks 16 sourced venues against what actually happens on the visit.

Sources

InsideSamui Bangkok–Koh Samui transport guide (2026 edition) — a dated route reference.
Bookaway Bangkok–Chiang Mai route listings — aggregator listings, not a published tariff.
12go.asia route listings (band from what was on sale, not a tariff) — aggregator listings, not a published tariff.

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

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