Surat Thani to Krabi & Ao Nang: ferry options (2026)

3 ways to make this trip, from ฿200 one way, and 3h–4h20 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

3h–4h20 · ฿200–฿400 · Local and tourist bus operators

Our pick for budget

Bus

฿200–฿400 · 3h–4h20 · Local and tourist bus operators

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

Surat Thani to Krabi & Ao Nang: every option with mode, time, fare, operators and frequency
Option	Time	Fare	Operators	How often	Change
Bus	3h–4h20	฿200–฿400	Local and tourist bus operators	Through the day	Direct
Ferry + Bus + ferry (one ticket)	9h15–13h10	฿1,000–฿1,550	Raja Ferry, Phantip Travel, Seatran Discovery	Through the day from Donsak, first sailing around 05:00 · One or two combined departures a day, morning	via Koh Samui
Day train + Flight	10h45–13h45	฿1,328–฿3,628	State Railway of Thailand (trains 40/41 diesel railcar), Thai AirAsia, Thai Vietjet, Thai Lion Air, Bangkok Airways	Daily · Roughly 15 departures a day	via Bangkok

Booking notes

Bus · 3h–4h20 · ฿200–฿400

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.

Ferry + Bus + ferry (one ticket) · 9h15–13h10 · ฿1,000–฿1,550

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.

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.

Day train + Flight · 10h45–13h45 · ฿1,328–฿3,628

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.

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.

Both ends of the trip

Surat Thani

Not a destination — the mainland interchange every Gulf island ticket routes through.

Airport URT: The cheap way into the Gulf islands: low-cost flight here, then a bus-and-ferry combination to the pier.

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 Surat Thani to Krabi & Ao Nang?

3h–4h20 on the quickest option we hold — bus with Local and tourist bus operators. The slowest of the 3 options here takes 10h45–13h45, so the spread between them is about 8h35. Times are for the scheduled leg and exclude the transfer at either end.

How much is Surat Thani to Krabi & Ao Nang?

From ฿200–฿400 one way by bus, 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 3 options here runs to ฿1,328–฿3,628. That band comes from a dated route listing rather than a published tariff, so treat it as indicative.

What else runs between Surat Thani and Krabi & Ao Nang?

2 other options. The next one after bus with Local and tourist bus operators is ferry + bus + ferry (one ticket) with Raja Ferry at ฿1,000–฿1,550 and 9h15–13h10, changing at Koh Samui — dearer and slower. All of them are in the table above with their operators and frequency.

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

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. Through the day.

Going the other way, or further

The return trip is on the Krabi & Ao Nang to Surat Thani 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.
seat61.com Thailand rail fares (page updated 8 July 2026) — a dated route reference.

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

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