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How to get to Koh Tao
The gorgeous island of Koh Tao is very easy to reach. Plenty of travel agents in Bangkok, mainly in Khao San road and around the railway station Hua Lamphong, provide package tours, incl. bus or train and boat tickets. Best to look out for offices offering the free "Koh Tao Info", they will offer the best services. If you are planning to do a freediving course, you can book some accommodation on Sairee Beach (close to us!).
From Bangkok:
You can catch a train or bus to Chumphon, travelling time is about 6-10 hours, usually at night time. There you have several kinds of boat services, leaving mostly in the morning, connecting you with the island in about 1½ to 2 hours.
There are also airports in Chumphon, Suratthani and Koh Samui. A domestic flight from Bangkok is about 1½ hours. From any of these places, you can catch a boat to Koh Tao.
From the south or the west coast:
Coming from Malaysia, Hat Yai or Phuket, you can also go to Suratthani and reach Koh Tao via Koh Samui or Koh Phangan.
Afraid of being stuck on the rock? Well, you're not.
A wide selection of boat services connects you with the mainland or the neighbouring islands, from where you can catch a bus, train or airplane to your next destination. The transport ranges from slow night boats, big express boats and speed boats to a high speed catamaran.
Tickets have to be reconfirmed ½ hour before departure.
Due to weather conditions (especially from Nov-Jan) trips might be canceled, so it's better to leave one or two days earlier than needed or you might, well, get stuck.
On the island, Travel agents provide you with joint tickets, flights and accommodation to nearly every destination world wide and offer reconfirmations, overseas calls and email services.
For Visa extension, you can make a day trip to Samui to the immigration office, a border run to Hat Yai via Suratthani takes 3 days or 1 1/2 days to Ranong, with one of the hourly mini-busses from Chumphon. For details ask expats.
The timetable gives an overview of the current situation, but times and boats might change, please double check when purchasing the ticket. |
