Thailand Guide

Boats to Ko Tao, Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Samui

There are several different boat services from Chumphon to Ko Tao, Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Samui, tickets for all of which are sold by travel agents and guest houses in town. Of these, the Songsem Express is the most likely to be cancelled if the weather is very bad. Prices include transport to the relevant pier from Chumphon town guesthouses and train station, including off the overnight train from Bangkok that arrives around 4am.

The fastest boat services from Chumphon to Ko Tao (about 1hr 30min) are with Lomprayah Catamaran (daily at 7am and 1pm; B550; 077 558212–3, www.lomprayah.com), which has an office on Thanon Tapao and departs from Ao Thung Makham Noi, 27km south of Chumphon; and Seatran (daily at 7am, plus 1pm in high season; B550; 077 521052, www.seatranferry.com), which departs from Pak Nam port, 14km southeast of Chumphon. Songserm Express (7am; 2hr 30min; B450; 077 506205, www.songserm-expressboat.com) has an office on Thanon Tapao (tickets can also be bought from a State Railways booth at the station) and departs from Tha Yang, 7km east of town. These three companies' boats continue to Ko Pha Ngan (B750 with Lomprayah and Seatran, B620 Songserm) and Ko Samui (B850 Lomprayah and Seatran, B770 Songserm).

There are also two late-night services from Tha Yang, both of which do pick-ups from town guesthouses at around 10pm (B50 per person). Of these, the slightly pricier Ko Jaroen car ferry (daily at 11pm; 6hr; B300; 077 580030) is more comfortable and has blankets and pillows for passengers; cheapest of all is the smaller midnight boat (daily at midnight; 6hr; B200; 077 553052).