Best Time to Visit How to Get There

Koh Samui how to get there?

Koh Samui is Thailand’s third largest island and there are many different ways to get to the island, but how to get there? By bus, train, boat, car or directly with an airplane. The possibilities are huge, but also a lot depending on your travel budget.

Another question which comes to mind when visiting Koh Samui is the date of your travels. What is the best time to visit the island? When is high and low season? Koh Samui is known to have its own microclimate and the seasons are very different to the ones on the west coast of Thailand like e.g. Phuket or Krabi. This very article will help you to make your decisions.

What is the best time to visit Koh Samui?

Basically Koh Samui is a destination that you can travel all year round. Although January until April are usually the best to visit with April being the hottest month of the year. This time is referred to as high season and according to statistics has only 5 rainy days per month. That only means that rain is still possible, but mostly just a couple of minutes before the sun is shining again.

May till August are also good to visit Koh Samui. Since the high season is over the island is usually quieter, but the temperatures are still high. There are some occasionally rain showers, but the most time you will probably have a lot of sunshine.

From September to December it’s called the rainy season, where most of the yearly rainfall is happening on Koh Samui. Rain showers can last longer than the usual one-hour showers in Southeast Asia. But don’t worry. Raining season doesn’t mean that it’s raining all the time, just a little bit more than during the other seasons. Nevertheless, a trip is worthwhile even in the rainy season, which the travel agencies like to call green season, because everything is in flower. Also prices of accommodation are much cheaper in this low season and you can get pretty good discounts.

At last but not least there is the so-called Peak Season, which falls on the end of December. Obviously, because of Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Many visitors are coming to Koh Samui and hotels as well as rental shops for scooters increase sometimes their prices. This season is for you if you would like to spend Christmas in a tropical surrounding and don’t mind many visitors doing the same. Although the high season starts slowly at the end of December, you should still expect some long and sometimes heavy rain showers during this time.

How to get to Koh Samui

There are many ways to get to Koh Samui. The island even has its own little and very beautiful airport, which was built in 1989 by Bangkok Airways. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful airports in the world. Other alternatives are e.g. the bus and the train with a connecting boat trip to reach the island.

Koh Samui How To Get There – Airplane

As indicated in the introduction, you can fly directly from Bangkok to the Koh Samui international airport. But also other destinations in Thailand like Chiang Mai or Phuket are served directly on a daily basis. Due to the monopoly position of Bangkok Airways, direct flights to Koh Samui are usually more expensive and many travelers are looking for alternatives.

Koh Samui How To Get There – Airplane, bus and boat

A good option to reach Koh Samui is to fly to Surat Thani or Nakhon Si Thammarat on the mainland with Air Asia, Thai Lion Air or Nok Air. From these airports there are bus and boat connections to Koh Samui. Of course, the time spent on these routes is a bit longer, but you can save a lot of money that way and still reach the island relatively quick. At the airports you will find counters of various providers of bus and boat connections and you can choose the right one for you. There is no need to book them upfront.

Koh Samui How To Get There – Bus and boat

Apart from flying, you can also reach Koh Samui from many parts of the country by bus. In addition, a boat trip is inevitably this way. Here you can choose between minivans and big coaches depending on the different companies that offer those trips. But sometimes it can be a very long trip. From Bangkok it takes around 12 hours, but from other places like Phuket or Krabi this option doesn’t still take too long, because they are located closer to Koh Samui. Usually you can just go to the Bus station in your town of choice and buy a ticket on-site. The bus and adjoining boat connection is probably the cheapest way to get to Koh Samui.

Koh Samui How To Get There – Train, bus and boat

Another alternative would be the connection to Surat Thani by train. The southern railway line leads from Bangkok via Hua Hin to Surat Thani. If you want, you could even take this train to the Malaysian border. Arriving at the train station in Surat Thani, you will also have to take a short bus ride and then a boat to reach Koh Samui. Directly at the train station in Surat Thani you will find a selection of different providers. The most expensive, but fastest way would be with the provider Lomprayah, which uses a high-speed catamaran from Surat Thani to Koh Samui. Other providers would be Seatran oder Songserm for example. Those are cheaper, but it takes longer to get to the island.

Koh Samui How To Get There – Rental car and ferry

One last option would be to rent a car and drive to Koh Samui yourself. You can, for example, rent a car in Bangkok or Phuket and make your way through the beautiful landscape of Thailand to Surat Thani. About 70 kilometers from the city is the Donsak Ferry Terminal located, where you can take the Raja Ferry to Lipa Noi on Koh Samui. The trip takes about 1 1/2 hours and costs 590 Baht including passenger and car. Note, if you would like to drive on your own through Thailand you will need an international driver’s license.

As you can see, there are many ways to get to Koh Samui. How fast you get to the island depends on which option you choose and what budget is available to you. If you are traveling a long time through Thailand then you might be choosing a cheaper one, but if you only stay for a short time during your holiday we recommend flying directly to Koh Samui. It may be a bit more expensive, but time during your holiday is precious and enjoying that time on the island is much more worth it.