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By Car
Surat Thani can be most conveniently reached by car from Bangkok
by taking Highway No. 4 to Chumphon Province via Phetchaburi and
Prachuap Khiri Khan Provinces and then taking Highway No. 41 and
Highway No. 401 directly to Surat Thani City.
By Bus
Air-conditioned buses depart from Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal
to Surat Thani Province everyday. Call the southern Bus Terminal
tel: 0 2434 5557-8 or visit www.transport.co.th
By Train
Trains leave Bangkok's Hua Lamphong Railway Station 10 times
daily from 12 p.m. until 10.50 p.m. The trip takes approximately
12-13 hours. Ask for the train from Bangkok to Phun Phin, the closest
station to Surat Thani. For further details, please call 1690, 0
2223 7010, 0 2223 7020 or visit www.railway.co.th.
Surat Thani Railway Station is 12 kilometers from town. A bus service
between the station and the town is available.
By Air
Thai Airways International has 2 daily flights connecting Bangkok
with Surat Thani. The flight time is approximately 70 minutes. For
more information, contact their Bangkok office at tel. 1566, 0 2280
0060, 0 2628 2000 or get your on-line e-ticket at www.thaiairways.com
By Boat
Seatran (077 275060, 136 Na Meuang Road) operates a bus/boat
combination to Ko Samui. The fee is 150 baht.
Phantip Travel (077 272230, 293/6-8 Talat Mai Road) offers tickets
to Ko Tao (500 baht), Ko Pha-Nhan (250 baht), and Ko Samui (140
baht). The operator is Raja Ferry (07 314523, 077 371151 or 077
371206) who offers bus/boat combinations to the islands.
Getting around the city
Apart from the local orange bus (9 baht / trip / person),songthaews
are another option to get around the city. It costs 10 baht / trip
/ person. Samlors will cost approximately 20-30 baht. The orange
bus departs from the Phu Phin train station to the city every 10
minutes from 6.00 a.m. until 8.00 p.m. The same ride by taxi will
cost approximately 100 baht.
Air-conditioned vans connecting the airport and town costs 70-80
baht / person / trip. Tickets can be purchased at travel agencies
or THAI office (077 272610).
GETTING TO KOH SAMUI
From Bangkok
By air
Bangkok Airways flies from Bangkok to Ko Samui 13 times daily. The
flight takes about one hour and 10 minutes. It also offers daily
flights between Phuket and Samui. For more information, call its
Bangkok office, 0 2229 3456, 0 2229 3434, Samui office, 0 7742 2512
- 9 or Samui Airport Office 0 7724 5601-8.
By bus
Air-conditioned and non air-conditioned buses leave Bangkok's Southern
Bus Terminal for Surat Thani several times daily. The trip takes
about 11 hours. For further information, call 0 2435 1199, 0 2435
1200 (air-con), 0 2434 5557 - 8 (non-air-con).
By car
From Bangkok, take Highway 4 (Buddha Monthon Road) through Phetchaburi
and Chumphon Provinces and then drive on to Highways 41 and 401
to Surat Thani Province. From Surat Thani, visitors can take their
cars to Ko Samui through a vehicle ferry at Donsak Pier. The trip
takes 1.30 hours.
By rail
Several trains leave Bangkok's Hualamphong Station for Surat Thani
daily. The trip takes about 12 hours. Train / bus / ferry combination
tickets are also available. For more information, call Hualamphong
Railway Station, 0 2223 7010, 0 2223 7020.
From Surat Thani to Ko Samui
1.Express boat
1.1 An express ferry boat of Songserm Travel departs from Tha
Thong Pier in Surat Thani at 8.00 a.m. and arrives at Na Thon Pier
in Samui at 10.30 a.m. every day. For the return trip, the boat
leaves Na Thon Pier at 2.00 p.m. and reaches Tha Thong at 4.30 p.m.
1.2 Express boats of Seatran Express operate three times a day
between Ban Don and Ko Samui. Departure times are 7.00 a.m., 12.30
p.m. and 2.30 p.m. The trip takes two hours.
2. Ferry Boats of Seatran
Seatran Ferry, which can accommodate 60 cars and 400 passengers,
operates several trips per day between Don Sak (Surat Thani) and
Ko Samui, from 5.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. The trip takes about 1.30
hours.
3. Night ferry
A slow night ferry leaves Ban Don Pier nightly at 11 p.m. and reaches
Na Thon Pier at Samui around 5 a.m. (6 hours). For the return trip,
the boat leaves Na Thon Pier at 9.00 p.m. and arrives at Ban Don
Pier at 4.00 a.m. (7 hours).
Getting around Ko Samui
Samui is an explorer's dream to discover something new. Offering
a wealth of diversity of landscape, vistas, flora and fauna, and
yet small enough to seek adventure in its many out-of-the-way places,
Samui is best seen by taking songthaews (red local bus) which operate
around the island. The fare starts at 20 baht, depending on the
distance of the destination.
By Taxi
For many reasons, the least suitable for exploring, but the
safest and easiest way to get to the destination is to go by taxi.
The official taxi service time is until 9.00 p.m. Visitors are recommended
to negotiate strongly for the fare and keep in mind that negotiation
should always be dome before boarding. Note that the fare at night
will be escalated.
By a rented Jeep
Rented Jeep, 4WD, is available from many family-owned agencies
and some well known large companies. The vehicle will serve as the
basic means of transportation taking visitors around many hillside
natural and man-made attractions which are easily accessible from
the ring road. Some of these vehicles come with insurance, but the
coverage is limited. Always ask for details first. The minimum price
is from 800 baht.
By Motorcycle
A more flexible way to get around the island, rented motorcycle
costs approximately 200 baht / day. Beware, as roads other than
the main roads on Ko Samui are quite rough in some parts.
Getting to nearby Islands from Samui
1. Ko Pha-ngan
1.1 Na Thon Pier (Ko Samui) -- Thong Sala Pier (Ko Pha-ngan)
Songserm Travel Co. operates ferry boats and express boats between
Na Thon Pier on Ko Samui and Thong Sala Pier on Ko Pha-ngan, four
times a day. The trip takes about 45 minutes for express boats,
and one hour for ordinary ferry boats.
1.2 Bo Phut (Ko Samui) -- Hat Rin (Ko Pha-ngan)
There is a ferry boat leaving Bo Phut for Ko Pha-ngan twice daily
at 9.30 a.m. and 2.30 p.m. The return trips depart Hat Rin on Ko
Pha-ngan at 10.30 a.m. and 3.30 p.m.
2. Ang Thong Islands
Visitors can hire a boat on Ko Samui to Ang Thong. The charge
depends on the boat size and number of passengers. The trip takes
1.30 hours. It is also possible to join a full-day excursion organized
by tour operators in Ko Samui.
3. Ko Tao
Boat services for Ko Tao are available at Na Thon Pier of Ko
Samui.
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