In your itinerary around Thailand, you might want to know how to get from Chiang Mai to Koh Tao, and make the big change from the cultural north of the country to the paradise islands in the south. We will tell you know all the possibilities you have to do so, the cheapest and the fastest ones. All the options will be available for you. So just be prepared to enjoy the crystal waters of Koh Tao!
When travelling from Chiang Mai to Koh Tao you have to take in consideration that there is a big distance between these two places. Chiang Mai is the second largest city of Thailand and the main one in the North. Most tourists go there to explore the culture, the temples and do some nice hiking around the mountains or meet the beautiful elephants. However, there is always time to head to the beach, enjoy the sunshine and do some diving.
Having said that, the best way to get to Koh Tao from Chiang Mai is grabbing a plane, but this is also the most expensive one. Therefore, we can give you now all the options, so you can choose the one that fits you better. If you are going down by road, you can always stop at Kanchanaburi or Sukhothai, so you make your trip more pleasant.
If you decide to take the flight to Surat Thani, which is cheaper, you’d need to take the overnight ferry at 10 pm to get to Koh Tao around 5 am the next morning. Take into consideration these options before you decide to book your flight.
The third option would be stopping by in Bangkok. Then, you can also travel to Chumphon, the closest pier in the mainland from Koh Tao. Then, if you make a stopover in Koh Tao, you can have many options to get to the island from one of the three closest airports.
We wouldn’t recommend this option, but still, you can get from Chiang Mai to Koh Tao by train via Chumphon. You’d need to book your train ticket from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, which takes around 11 hours but you can do it overnight and save one night of hotel. Then, you’d need to book another train ticket from Bangkok to Chumphon, and there you can take the ferry. As you can see, these options are really time-consuming and not really quick, but you can also enjoy the Thai trains and culture while doing it.
The best option would be taking a flight from Chiang Mai to Surat Thani, and then book the overnight ferry to get to Koh Tao. This would be a reasonably cheap option and fast, even if it would take you around 12 hours to get to Koh Tao. If your budget is higher, you can also book a flight to Koh Samui.
Price would depend on the way you choose. If you take the flight to Koh Samui and then the boat you can expect to pay around 9000 baht (260€). On the other hand, if you travel by bus, probably you could pay around 2500 bahts (70€).
Timing varies depending on transportation. The flight from Bangkok to all the neighboring airports take around one hour. Then you’ll need to add up 2-3 hours ferry depending on your pier. If you decide to take the overnight train or bus, you can get to Koh Tao in about 14-16 hours, but you’d travel overnight.
