Ferries to Surat Thani Airport

Surat Thani Airport is not a port but the starting point for combined bus-and-boat tickets on Thailand's south coast: a bus first takes you from the airport to the pier, where you change onto the ferry. The times in the timetable therefore always cover the whole journey. Koh Phaluai takes 3.5 hours, Koh Samui 3.75 hours, and Ko Phangan and Koh Tao five hours each. Together the four destinations add up to as many as 57 departures a day. The services are offered by Lomprayah High Speed Ferries, Raja Ferry and Seatran Ferry.

Getting there and the terminal

Which pier awaits you depends on the operator. Lomprayah takes its passengers from the airport to Tapee Pier in Surat Thani and puts them on the catamaran that runs via Koh Samui and Ko Phangan to Koh Tao. Raja Ferry and Seatran Ferry drive to the ferry port of Donsak on the coast east of the city instead. The bus transfer is part of the ticket, so you book one journey and not two, and the bus is timed to the departure of the ship. Travelling the other way, from the islands to a flight, plan generously: if the ferry is late, your arrival at the airport shifts with it.