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Thailand's many lovely islands means both locals and tourists rely on ferries to reach some of the beauty spots offshore. For islands like Koh Phangan, Phi Phi, and Koh tao, a ferry is the only way to get there. All the major tourist islands have regular ferry service, and even smaller islands have at least one ferry running there each day. Ferries are generally privately run on a concession basis and they tend to be slow. They do leave reliably and get to their destinations on time. Ferries can get quite full during the tourist high season and spaces on a ferry are often given on a basis of first come, first served... even if you hold a ticket. Most of the ferries aren't very big (except the ones to Samui) and they don't offer many comforts. Ferries Leaving from Krabi and Phuket Both Krabi and Phuket, the popular centers on the Andaman coast, feature regular ferries to nearby islands. From Phuket, two ferries a day leave for both the island of Phi Phi and Krabi's Ao Nang, with trip times of about an hour and a half. Other private ferry companies run transfers via speed boat, leaving five times a day from Baan Rong's small pier to Thailand's Yao islands. You can get to the Smilian islands with a ferry from Thap Lamu Pier, up the coast north towards Takua Pa. On Phi Phi, you can reach Krabi's Ao Nang via several daily ferries (with a trip time of 60-90 minutes) and, from Krabi town to Koh Lanta (about two and a half hours). Heading directly to Koh Lanta from Phi Phi will take about an hour. Driving south down the coast and catching a pontoon ferry to Lanta takes a minimum of 90 minutes, including time spent waiting. These ferries are very convenient, since a minibus normally drops you off directly at your guesthouse of choice, avoiding multiple transfers. Reaching Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao by Ferry Samui can be reached both by airplane and by ferry, with boats leaving from three Surat Thani piers. Normally you buy a ticket from a travel agent, and the ticket includes your bus or train, transfer, and the ferry trip itself complete with meet and greet at the destination... plus lots of waiting. A ferry generally departs from the Don Sak pier to Samui's Na Thon each hour, with trips lasting 90 minutes. A ferry to Koh Phangan leaves Don Sak several times a day, and the ferry to Koh Phangan will generally go onwards from Koh Phangan to Koh Tao. Journey by ferry to Koh Phangan takes about 90 minutes, to Koh Tao, three hours. Some of those ferries will stop at Samui first, lengthening the journey time, but giving you more options to reach the smaller islands from Samui's Na Thon. An hourly ferry to Koh Phangan's Haad Rin runs from Big Buddha beach on Samui, with a trip time of just 45 minutes. Lastly, there's a high speed catamaran ferry that runs between Koh Phangan, Samui, Koh Tao, and Chumphon on the coast's isthmus, near Bangkok. If the adverse weather hasn't canceled a sailing, the catamaran may be a much faster way of getting between the islands.
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Thailand, ferry, Koh Samui, traveling,
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