Koh Samui to Krabi & Ao Nang: ferry and bus options (2026)

6 ways to make this trip, from ฿400 one way, and 7h–9h 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)

7h–9h · ฿800–฿1,300 · Phantip Travel, Seatran Discovery

Our pick for budget

Ferry + Bus

฿400–฿650 · 5h15–8h30 · Raja Ferry, Local and tourist bus operators

All options

Koh Samui to Krabi & Ao Nang: every option with mode, time, fare, operators and frequency
Option	Time	Fare	Operators	How often	Change
Bus + ferry (one ticket)	7h–9h	฿800–฿1,300	Phantip Travel, Seatran Discovery	One or two combined departures a day, morning	Direct
Flight + Flight	3h05–5h25	฿2,900–฿9,800	Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, Thai Vietjet, Thai Lion Air	Around 20 departures a day from Suvarnabhumi · Roughly 15 departures a day	via Bangkok
Flight + Bus	4h10–7h30	฿2,800–฿6,250	Bangkok Airways, Minibus 1996, RTC Transport	One or two direct flights a day, seasonal · Frequent, roughly 06:00–22:30	via Phuket
Flight + Minivan	4h20–7h	฿2,740–฿5,950	Bangkok Airways, Shared minivan operators	One or two direct flights a day, seasonal · Frequent through the day	via Phuket
Ferry + Bus	5h15–8h30	฿400–฿650	Raja Ferry, Local and tourist bus operators	Through the day from Donsak, first sailing around 05:00 · Through the day	via Surat Thani
Bus + ferry (one ticket) + Flight	12h05–17h05	฿1,500–฿4,300	Phantip Travel, Seatran Discovery, Raja Ferry, Nakhon Si Bus, Thai AirAsia, Thai Vietjet, Thai Lion Air, Bangkok Airways	Mostly overnight departures from Sai Tai Mai and Khao San · Roughly 15 departures a day	via Bangkok

Booking notes

Bus + ferry (one ticket) · 7h–9h · ฿800–฿1,300

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.

Flight + Flight · 3h05–5h25 · ฿2,900–฿9,800

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 → Krabi & Ao Nang: 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.

Flight + Bus · 4h10–7h30 · ฿2,800–฿6,250

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 → Krabi & Ao Nang: 86km by road around the bay. The bus is the one most people take; the ferry between the two takes five hours and stops at Phi Phi, so it's a sightseeing route rather than a transfer.

Flight + Minivan · 4h20–7h · ฿2,740–฿5,950

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 → Krabi & Ao Nang: Cheaper than the bus and it will pick up at hotels and the airport. The trade is the usual one: nine people, one aisle, no luggage hold.

Ferry + Bus · 5h15–8h30 · ฿400–฿650

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 → Krabi & Ao Nang: The overland link between the Gulf and Andaman coasts. Sold as part of most Samui-to-Krabi combined tickets rather than bought on its own.

Bus + ferry (one ticket) + Flight · 12h05–17h05 · ฿1,500–฿4,300

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.

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

Krabi & Ao Nang

Limestone cliffs, Railay's climbing beaches and the pier for Phi Phi and Lanta.

Airport KBV: Cheaper than Phuket on most Bangkok routes and closer to Railay and the four-island boats.

Krabi & Ao Nang is driest Nov–Apr and wettest May–Oct on its own monthly rain-day normals.

Krabi & Ao Nang weather Krabi & Ao Nang guide

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get from Koh Samui to Krabi & Ao Nang?

7h–9h on the quickest option we hold — bus + ferry (one ticket) with Phantip Travel. The slowest of the 6 options here takes 12h05–17h05, so the spread between them is about 6h35. Times are for the scheduled leg and exclude the transfer at either end.

How much is Koh Samui to Krabi & Ao Nang?

From ฿400–฿650 one way by ferry + bus, checked 7 September 2026. The quickest option costs ฿800–฿1,300 and saves about 15min, so the gap between them is ฿400 against roughly that much time. That bottom figure comes off the operator's own fare board.

What is the cheapest way from Koh Samui to Krabi & Ao Nang?

Ferry + Bus at ฿400–฿650, run by Raja Ferry, Local and tourist bus operators. It takes 5h15–8h30 against the quickest option's 7h–9h, and runs through the day from donsak, first sailing around 05:00.

Where does the Koh Samui to Krabi & Ao Nang service leave from, and how often does it run?

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. One or two combined departures a day, morning.

Going the other way, or further

The return trip is on the Krabi & Ao Nang 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.

Sources

12go.asia route listings (band from what was on sale, not a tariff) — aggregator listings, not a published tariff.
InsideSamui Bangkok–Koh Samui transport guide (2026 edition) — a dated route reference.
Bookaway Phuket–Krabi route listings — aggregator listings, not a published tariff.
Raja Ferry Port fare and timetable board — the carrier's own fare board.

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

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