There is no bridge to Koh Samui. Every route ends either with a landing at Bo Phut airport or with a mooring at one of the island's piers — and what separates the two is not the fare but how many changes you are willing to make.
- The plane — about 50 minutes from Bangkok, the only way in with no water leg.
- The Raja car ferry — Don Sak to Lipa Noi, ฿200 ≈ $6 per adult, about 1 h 30 min, hourly from 05:00 to 19:00.
- Bus or minivan plus ferry — one through ticket from Bangkok, Surat Thani or Chumphon.
The figures come from the airport's own site and from the ferry companies, each named in the text. Carriers change fares without notice, so confirm them with the ticket seller for your travel date.
In short
about 50 minutes from Bangkok by air on the airport's own figure; an hour and a half and ฿200 ≈ $6 per person on the Raja car ferry from Don Sak; combined bus-and-ferry tickets sold from Bangkok and Surat Thani.
What is the fastest way to get to Koh Samui?
Flying. Samui Airport states the flight time from Bangkok itself — about 50 minutes — and it is the only option with no transfer to a boat. Everything else means mainland transport plus a crossing: at least two changes and at least ninety minutes at sea.
The ferry is cheaper and steadier in high season, when island seats sell out. The Raja Ferry passenger fare on the Don Sak – Samui crossing is ฿200 ≈ $6 per person: here the ferry is public transport, not an excursion.
By air: Samui Airport
What kind of airport it is
Samui Airport opened on 25 April 1989 as Thailand's first privately owned airport. Construction began in 1984 on what had been a coconut plantation; today the site covers about 600 rai in Tambon Bo Phut, on the island's north side. It was granted customs-airport status on 25 September 1996.
The runway is 2,100 metres long and 45 wide and takes aircraft up to 70 tonnes: that is the Airbus A319 and Boeing 737 class, not widebodies. The terminal is 7,300 square metres across six pavilions — four domestic, two international — with capacity for roughly 16,000 passengers a day.
The international pavilion holds immigration, customs, animal quarantine, disease control, visa-on-arrival stamping and VAT refunds. That matters in exactly one practical way: you can fly into Samui from abroad without routing through Bangkok.
Parking and getting out of the airport
The airport publishes its parking rates: free up to 25 minutes, then ฿20 ≈ $0.55 an hour for the first to the fourth hour, ฿100 ≈ $3 flat for 5–12 hours and ฿200 ≈ $6 flat for 13–24 hours. A lost ticket costs a ฿300 ≈ $8 penalty plus the actual time parked.
Tip
if you are collecting someone, the first 25 minutes are free — enough to walk out of arrivals. The island's public songthaew also serves the airport, which the airport announced separately in March 2026.
The Koh Samui ferry: two completely different boats
On this route the word "ferry" covers two different vehicles. The first is the car ferry across the strait from mainland Don Sak: slow, cheap, and it takes cars and motorbikes. The second is the high-speed catamaran, which goes further and faster but will not carry your car.
The Raja car ferry: Don Sak to Lipa Noi
Raja Ferry Port runs on the hour: 15 departures each way between 05:00 and 19:00. The Don Sak – Samui crossing to Lipa Noi pier takes about an hour and a half. The company notes that during the peaks — 05:00–06:00 and 12:00–16:00 — it adds a boat when sailings fill, and that extra sailings are laid on between 30 December and 30 April as needed.
| What travels | Don Sak – Samui fare | ≈ in dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Adult passenger | ฿200 | $6 |
| Child 100–120 cm tall | ฿100 | $3 |
| Monk, novice or student in uniform | ฿100 | $3 |
| Bicycle | ฿240 | $7 |
| Motorcycle with rider | ฿260 | $7 |
| Big bike with rider | ฿380 | $11 |
| Car, van or pick-up with driver | ฿640 | $18 |
Fares and timetable from the Raja Ferry Port site (rajaferryport.com), English version, Fare section, Donsak – Koh Samui route; checked 2 September 2026. The carrier reserves the right to change the schedule.
High-speed catamarans: Lomprayah and Seatran
Lomprayah runs high-speed catamarans and sells through tickets from Bangkok: its own site lists Bangkok (Pinklao) to Koh Samui (Pralan Pier) and Koh Tao to Koh Samui (Pralan Pier) among its routes. Its office on the island is at 26/61 Moo 4, Maenam; phone booking runs 08:00–20:00 daily.
Seatran Discovery works the same class of vessel: its Discovery 5 carries 301 passengers at 48.5 metres long and 23–27 knots. The company's transfer network links Samui's piers with Don Sak, Surat Thani, Chumphon, Krabi, Phuket and Bangkok.
What does a through ticket across the mainland buy?
The third way is not a separate vehicle but a single ticket for a chain of them. Raja, Seatran and Lomprayah all sell combinations where a bus or minivan takes you to the mainland pier and the ferry does the rest; you can board in Bangkok at Khao San or Pinklao, in Surat Thani at the station or airport, or in Chumphon.
Important
carriers publish the price and journey time of these combinations only in a date search, so look them up there for your date. The point of a through ticket is not saved hours but that the seller owns the connection instead of you owning it at a bus station.
Where do you land?
Samui has more than one port, and your ticket decides which coast you arrive on. The western piers face the mainland; the northern ones face Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. The same split decides where sea trips leave from.
| Pier | Coast | Who uses it | What leaves from here for the sea |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lipa Noi | West | Raja car ferry from Don Sak | — |
| Nathon | West | Seatran, Lomprayah, Songserm, Boonsiri | Ang Thong kayak day, 08:00 departure |
| Bangrak | North | Seatran; operators' own piers | Ang Thong and Koh Tao speedboats, yacht charter |
| Maenam (Pralan) | North | Lomprayah | — |
| Bophut | North | The island's dive centres | Diving and snorkelling from the dive boat |
Bangrak also wins on distances: it is about 10 minutes from Chaweng, 11 from Bophut and the airport, and 33 from Lamai. That is why most day trips leave from here rather than from the west coast.
The dive centres work the north coast too: a snorkelling place on the dive boat costs ฿2,900 ≈ $80 per participant with lunch, and hotel pickup from Bophut, Chaweng, Bangrak and Choengmon is free.
Island to island: Phangan and Koh Tao
Raja Ferry puts Don Sak – Phangan at about two and a half hours and Samui (Lipa Noi) – Phangan at about one and a half. Lomprayah runs between Koh Tao and Samui into Pralan pier at Maenam. In other words, the neighbouring islands are reachable on scheduled transport, not only on a tour.
A tour solves a different problem: it brings you back the same evening and includes the rest. The Koh Tao and Koh Nang Yuan day by speedboat is 8.5 hours from Bangrak pier with an 08:00 pickup, ฿2,300 ≈ $64 per person plus the Nang Yuan entry fee of ฿250 ≈ $7 per adult and ฿120 ≈ $3 per child.
If the water rather than the viewpoint is the point, the same island has a try dive: two dives to 12 metres, a maximum of two students per instructor, ฿5,900 ≈ $163 per person, hotel pickup at 08:00–08:15. No certification needed.
