Getting here · Koh Tao
Bangkok to Koh Tao
The overnight classic, the simple combo, or the fast way, with the trade-offs.
Getting here · Koh Tao
The overnight classic, the simple combo, or the fast way, with the trade-offs.
There is no airport on Koh Tao, so every route from Bangkok ends with a ferry from the mainland. There are three sensible ways to do it, depending on whether you care most about money, simplicity or speed.
Take a night train from Bangkok down to Chumphon, roughly eight to nine hours, then transfer to Chumphon pier and a high-speed ferry across to Koh Tao. It is cheap, scenic, and it saves you a night of accommodation. Book a sleeper berth ahead in high season.
Joint bus-and-ferry tickets run overnight from Bangkok straight through to Koh Tao, around ten to twelve hours door to pier. It is the simplest option because it is a single ticket, sold by the main ferry operators and booking sites.
Fly from Bangkok to Chumphon or to Surat Thani and connect to a ferry, or fly to Koh Samui and take the catamaran across. Flying is the quickest by far but the priciest, and you still finish on the water.
On a budget, or for the experience, take the overnight train and ferry. For the least hassle, buy a combined bus-and-ferry ticket. For speed, fly and connect. Whatever you pick, book ahead in high season and leave a buffer around the November to December monsoon, when rough seas can cancel boats.