Thailand Routes and Transfers
On this network the mode matters more than the map. Bangkok to Koh Samui is an hour by air and fifteen and a half by road and ferry. Phuket to Koh Lipe is five hours on a boat for half the year and impossible for the other half.
The map is every route we have checked. Below it, each one is drawn on the same scale, from the quickest way to take it to the slowest, so you can see before you plan which decisions cost you a day.
- By sea
- By road
- By rail
- By air
- Koh Samui to Koh Phangan 20m by boat
- Phuket to Koh Samui 55m by flight, 10h by bus and ferry
- Krabi to Koh Samui 1h by flight, 5h by bus and ferry
- Phuket to Koh Phi Phi 1h by speedboat, 2h by ferry
- Koh Phangan to Koh Tao 1h by boat, 1h 30m by ferry
- Bangkok to Chiang Mai 1h by flight, 13h by train
- Bangkok to Koh Samui 1h 5m by flight, 15h 30m by bus and ferry
- Phuket to Khao Lak 1h 15m by car
- Bangkok to Ayutthaya 1h 20m by minivan, 2h by train
- Bangkok to Krabi 1h 25m by flight, 13h by overnight bus
- Bangkok to Phuket 1h 30m by flight
- Phuket to Krabi 1h 30m by ferry, 3h by minivan
- Krabi to Koh Lanta 1h 30m by ferry, 4h by minivan
- Krabi to Koh Phi Phi 1h 30m by ferry
- Koh Samui to Koh Tao 1h 30m by boat
- Phuket to Koh Lanta 1h 30m by speedboat, 2h 35m by ferry
- Pattaya to Phuket 1h 40m by flight, 20h by road
- Bangkok to Pattaya 2h by bus, 4h 20m by train
- Chiang Mai to Pai 2h 50m by minivan
- Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai 3h by bus
- Phuket to Koh Lipe 5h by speedboat
- Bangkok to Koh Tao 11h by bus and catamaran, 11h 15m by bus and ferry
The bead on the left is the quickest option, the one on the right the slowest. A single bead means one sensible way to go.
Getting to Thailand in the first place
Every route we have checked
-
Koh Samui to Koh Phangan Take whichever boat leaves nearest your hotel. -
Phuket to Koh Samui Fly if the budget allows. -
Krabi to Koh Samui There is no direct boat and there cannot be: Krabi and Koh Samui are on opposite sides of the peninsula, so every route crosses land. -
Phuket to Koh Phi Phi Take the standard ferry. -
Koh Phangan to Koh Tao The catamaran: about an hour, seven times a day from Thong Sala. -
Bangkok to Chiang Mai The overnight sleeper is the one route in Thailand where the slow option is the better one: a berth is about a thousand baht, it replaces a night's accommodation, and it puts you in Chiang Mai at breakfast. -
Bangkok to Koh Samui Fly direct if the fare is bearable, or fly to Surat Thani and take the boat. -
Phuket to Khao Lak A car, and book it from the airport rather than from your hotel: Phuket airport is at the north end of the island, which is the Khao Lak end, and starting there saves an hour of the island's traffic. -
Bangkok to Ayutthaya The train, for about the price of a coffee. -
Bangkok to Krabi Fly, and fly into Krabi rather than into Phuket. -
Bangkok to Phuket Fly. -
Phuket to Krabi The road is faster and runs all day; the ferry is the one worth taking if the bay itself is the point, because it lands you at Ao Nam Mao or Railay rather than in Krabi Town. -
Krabi to Koh Lanta The ferry in high season, the minivan the rest of the year. -
Krabi to Koh Phi Phi The shortest ferry crossing to Phi Phi, and the cheapest. -
Koh Samui to Koh Tao Pick a direct departure. -
Phuket to Koh Lanta The ferry, and take an early one. -
Pattaya to Phuket Fly, and check the direct one first: Bangkok Airways flies U-Tapao to Phuket once a day and it saves the whole Bangkok transfer. -
Bangkok to Pattaya The bus, and from whichever end of Bangkok you are already at. -
Chiang Mai to Pai The minivan, because it is the only scheduled way. -
Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai The bus, and there is no real second option. -
Phuket to Koh Lipe Five hours on a boat, and only for half the year. -
Bangkok to Koh Tao The overnight coach and boat on one ticket.
Unless a route says otherwise, these times and fares come from booking agents and route aggregators, not from operator timetables. Most Thai ferry and minivan operators publish no English schedule. Treat every figure as a planning range and confirm it before you build a day around it. Every route on this page was last read on 2 October 2026.