Koh Samui is Thailand’s third biggest island and is often ranked as one of the country’s most visited destinations. You may take advantage of its wonderful beaches and other attractions while you’re there. It is an excellent starting point to begin touring the southern part of the country if you are coming from the northern part of the country. The southern part of the country is where all of the islands are located, and as a result, it has the most beautiful paradisiacal beaches that seem to have been taken from your very dreams. This is the post for you to read if you are looking for information on how to get to Koh Samui from Chiang Mai.
In this post, we will provide you with all the information you must know on how to get from Chiang Mai to Koh Samui.
How to get from Chiang Mai to Koh Samui?
Despite the fact that Koh Samui is an island, it is possible to get there without having to go by boat thanks to the fact that the island has its own airport. Because of this, your choices for reaching your destination include flying there directly via aeroplane or travelling there via aeroplane, bus, and/or ferry in combination to complete the final leg of the journey by water. Which option you go with will be determined by factors such as your available time and money. Continue reading to obtain all of the information that you will want to organise this portion of your vacation.
Read More: How to get from Koh Samui to Koh Phangan
Transport to go from Chiang Mai to Koh Samui:
- Direct Plane – This is the most direct and fastest way to get to Koh Samui, but it also costs the most.
- Plane + Ferry – Perfect if you want to save some time and money.
- Bus + ferry – Cheaper but will take longer.
How to go to Koh Samui by direct plane
If you do not have financial constraints, you want to arrive as quickly as possible, and you do not need to make any transfers, the best alternative for you is to take a direct flight. You will depart from Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX), where you will connect to an aircraft that will take you directly to Koh Samui Airport (USM). This is the most costly choice, and the fact that there is only one airline that provides this trip means that the rates are frequently much higher than the standard level.
- Distance: A little more than 1000 kilometers in a straight line.
- Duration: 1 hour and 45 minutes.
- Price: Approximately 10,500 bahts (the price may vary according to the season of the year and the day of the week).
- Departure area: Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX).
Read More: How to get from Koh Samui to Bangkok
How to go to Koh Samui by plane + ferry
If you do not want to pay the exorbitant expense of a direct flight but also want to save time on your trip, one alternative would be to book a flight to Surat Thani and then take a boat to Koh Samui from there. This would allow you to avoid both of these issues. Flights to Surat Thani are less expensive than flights to Koh Samui; as a result, you may save a few bahts while simultaneously saving a significant amount of time. This is because Surat Thani is not as popular of a tourist destination as Koh Samui. Whenever you buy a ferry ticket, you will often receive complimentary transportation from the Surat Thani airport to the location from whence the ship leaves (combined ticket).
- Distance: By plane, it’s just over 1,000 km from Chiang Mai to Surat Thani. By sea, it is about 40 kilometres from Surat Thani, where the ferry leaves, to Koh Samui.
- Duration: 1 hour and 50 minutes by plane and between 3 and 4 hours by ferry.
- Price: The flight to Surat Thani costs about 5800 baht, and the ferry to Koh Samui costs between 350 and 750 baht.
- Departure area: Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX).
How to go to Koh Samui by bus + ferry
It is possible that the alternative of flying through Thailand is not within your financial means, that you do not enjoy flying, or that you want to go through Thailand by land from north to south in order to experience the country’s many landscapes. No matter what the circumstances are, the option of taking the bus in conjunction with the boat is a viable choice that you might think about.
You will need to take a bus from Chiang Mai to Hua Hin, and then from Hua Hin, you will need to take a boat to go to Koh Samui. It is important to keep in mind that the entire trip will take around 26 hours. If you wish to travel the majority of the distance on land, you can continue your journey by bus to Chumphon or Surat Thani and then take a boat to Koh Samui from any of those cities. We strongly suggest that you investigate these many options in advance so that you may select the combination that takes into account your tastes, the amount of time you have available, and the amount of money you are willing to spend.
When you purchase a ticket for the ferry, it will always be the case that transportation from the bus station of the town you select to the location from which the boat departs is included in the price of the ticket (combined ticket).
- Distance: Hua Hin is just over 880 kilometres away by road. From Hua Hin to Koh Samui, you have to travel almost 350 kilometres by sea.
- Duration: From Chiang Mai to Hua Hin by bus takes about 14 hours. The boat ride from Hua Hin to Koh Samui took almost 12 hours.
- Price: About 1,100 baht for the bus to Hua Hin and about 1,500 baht for the ferry to Koh Samui.
- Departure area: Chiang Mai Terminal 3.
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