Ferry Companies
Travel to Koh Tao by Ferry
Lomprayah
Most would agree that Lomprayah has the faster, more modern fleet of ferries running between the mainland towns of Chumpon & Surat Thanni to the islands.
Safe & comfortable during my 15 years here I cannot recall any incident/ breakdown with this company. On their ferries they have a full team of staff to assist their customers with luggage, at least one engineer, a small café/ tuck shop stocked with crisps, chocolates, drinks and normally sandwiches too.
We could publish their timetable here, but instead please use our trip search engine to find departure times/ destinations covered, every single Lomprayah ferry/ bus joint ticket is in the trip search engine so click away!
FAQ
I’ve booked a joint ticket from Bangkok – Tao and you’ve emailed to me a simple six digit number but no ticket, is this all I need?
Yes! It’s that easy with Lomprayah you simply quote the code we sent you at check in, this goes for any inbound trip with Lomprayah!We are a family, my children 2 years, and 6 years old what is the ticket price for them?
Lomprayah policy is children 0-2 years go free, 2-11 years are half price
Hot Tip
As you board the ferry instead of staying downstairs have a look upstairs at the front near the captain’s deck, you’ll find a VIP section which I personally believe is good value. For an extra cost of 150 baht (payable on the ferry) you can relax in a wide business class reclining seat and really enjoy the trip! It’s well worth a mention here that children go for free which is a bonus for myself and my daughter when we travel together ☺
Seatran
A very popular choice, loved and preferred by many Koh Tao expats that find the Lomprayah a just a bit too hectic at times.
The Seatran ferries don’t carry as many people so you can expect a slightly more chilled out vibe during the trip.
They also have a small shop stocked with tasty mama noodles, crisps & chocolate.
Their published timetable times are similar to Lomprayah but their ferries are slower so you can often add a little extra time on to their stated arrival times.
The Seatran ferries are conventional boats compared with the Lomprayah which are a Catamaran style design, this could be a contributing factor as to why many people find travelling on the Lomprayah more nauseous than Seatran on a choppy sea.
Hot Tip
The Seatran pier on Samui is very conveniently located just 10 minutes taxi drive to the airport compared with Lomprayah Maenam which is 25 minutes or Lomprayah Nathon which is 35 minutes’ drive. So if you’re arriving by flight Seatran is a good option. At Island Travel we can pre-arrange one of our taxi drivers to transfer you between Seatran pier – Airport – Seatran pier for about 300 baht one way so if there’s 2 or more of you travelling it’s the same price or cheaper than a minivan transfer.
Songserm
Is the budget traveller’s choice. The cheapest of all three companies and consequently as you would expect the ferries are slower than Lomprayah & Seatran.
They too have a well-stocked tuck shop with the usual selection of travel treats.
Still a good option particularly for backpackers after all we’re on holiday! So what’s the rush……?
FAQ
On the Island Travel trip search you don’t seem to show any inbound travel to Koh Tao with Songserm is there any reason for this?
It’s not practical to book inbound travel with this company, so we recommend Lomprayah & Seatran for inbound and travelling between the islands.