Bangkok to Koh Tao – Bus and Ferry

I’ve decided to write about a few of my earlier travels across Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. The first journey we undertook after arriving in Thailand was to leave Bangkok and head towards the island of Koh Tao for some scuba diving! With us staying near Koh San Road in Bangkok, we had plenty of choice with how to travel to Koh Tao but make sure to beware of scams!

Lomprayah High Speed Catamaran

We chose to use the recommended Lomprayah High Speed Catamaran service which includes bus and ferry travel. Their main office is located on the corner of Rambuttri Alley next to Koh San Road. Upon recommendation from a friend, we booked our tickets from a travel agent located on the main road next to Boots on Chakrabongse Road. This cost us 1,000 baht each which is slightly cheaper than the online price, for the 6.00am departure. I’m sure if you look around you might be able to find a slightly cheaper deal.

Luggage Rules

On the morning of our departure from Bangkok, we had to sign in at the Lomprayah office at 5am and exchange our booking receipt for travel tickets. We received stickers to wear and some to put on our backpacks to ensure we got onto the correct bus. 45 minutes later and the bus arrived just down the road from the office. 

Pink stickers for Koh Tao

The coach itself wasn’t too bad for our first experience of transport in South East Asia and the coach journey down to Chumphon pier was comfortable. Upon arrival at Chumphon pier, we had 15 minutes to buy anything from the shop and use the bathroom before boarding the ferry to Koh Tao.

Plenty of room on the bus

The ferry was very busy inside with people using it to get to Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Koh Samui. We decided to sit outside on the first floor of the ferry towards the back. We had much more room here and enjoyed a sea breeze sheltered from the sun.

We arrived on Koh Tao at Mae Haad Pier, not long before 3pm. From here, we shared a taxi with two others up to Sairee Beach for 100 baht each which seemed reasonable.

Overall the journey was a good first experience of travelling in Thailand and probably the best way of reaching Koh Tao from Bangkok.

4 out of 5