Thailand: Tips for going from island to island – Part II

If you’ve decided to find islands in the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand, hotels, hostels and travel agents in Thailand you can buy the ticket for the full itinerary move you from one coast to another. These packages include transfers to and from hotels, bus tickets and ferry passage to reach the islands.

Photography by victoriapeckham

Since then, buy these packages at hotels or agencies is the most practical solution, because if you decide to do on your own all the way, you lose a lot of time waiting at stations, it is difficult to know in advance the schedule of bus routes or of the ferries and squares for not having enough time out of each other.

Very important. As you probably end up buying the ticket at your hotel or any travel agency. Consider these tips and your journey will be much more enjoyable.

– To travel to Ko Samui and Ko Pha-Ngan, you can go by road to Surat Thari and then take a fast boat to the island.

– But if your destination is Ko Tao, do not take the boat to buy a ticket to travel at night. Think that this saves time, but not worth it. There is a passenger boat, but a passenger-carrying freighter. The journey from Surat Thani to Ko Tao takes almost 7 hours a night, and all travelers sleep on a mat on the floor in one of the decks. Characterized not just by cleaning and if the sea is rough, I regret not having done a few miles by road to Chumpon and take from there the fast boat takes you to Ko Tao in just over two hours.

Boat Departure points:

Surat Thani:

It is a good port to go to Ko Samui and Ko Pha-Ngan. The two islands are close to this population and are reached by boat which takes about an hour. In many there is no food on board, so if you want a snack, better buy it before boarding.

Chumpon northernmost to Surat Thani, is the best port to sail to Ko Tao. There is a fast boat arrives in about two hours, is equipped with air conditioning and air conditioning in Thailand means «cold», if you will not catch pneumonia, take a jacket on hand.

Ko Tao:

It is the island for divers. Although she now also reach visitors who do not engage in scuba diving, almost all their assets are geared towards this sport and the hotels do special rates to hire divers fishing trips or go for a dive course .

It is the smallest island of the archipelago and also three of the least services and tourism development has, so you can still see pictures of the traditional life inside and fishermen doing their daily work. But their poor development (so far) also has its drawbacks, the roads are irregular, only some of them are paved, and because the slopes of the island, there is a vertical inclinations of scary if you go by bike. So many islanders and tourists rent quads to move comfortably.

Another problem and part of its charm is that electricity is not guaranteed 24 hours a day, and they usually have power outages in the afternoon. Many hotels have generators and power outages do not last long.

In some hotels are very lively barbecues by night, for example the Buddha Dive that we discussed in another post. Not too far from the port, there is also transportation from the hotel to the port and vice versa when there are guests who have to take the boat or go to the island.

Ko Tao has beautiful beaches and rich marine life beneath the waters. Some days, divers can enjoy a visibility of 30 meters is a spectacle of color!

Ko Pha-Ngan:

Known for its Full Moon Parties are held. It was the hippest island and though it still retains an air of backpacking and not as commercial and subject to fashion sites such as Ko Samui, Ko Pha-Ngan has changed a lot and solitary beaches are just not see a cottage resort.

The Full Moon Festivities begin at dusk. When the sun sets begin to open bars, often improvised for the occasion, the DJ prepare their tables and backpackers begin to be activated for the big night. These festivals are celebrated in almost every island in Thailand, but those of Ko Pha-Ngan are undoubtedly best known for the high number of attendees and the amount he took when his hippie past.

Photography by granth

The feast is celebrated on the beach, bonfires are lit and the experience begins. These parties can be fun, but be careful not to catch a hut near the beach where you place, or leave backpacks anywhere, because thefts are common. Also be aware that the police and Thai laws are very tough with drug trafficking and consumption. So best not to risk, and even if you want to sell, reject, because sometimes undercover cops infiltrate as bait in such acts and the party can end up in a very unpleasant experience.

From Surat Thani the boat to Ko Pha-Ngan takes about two hours to arrive. There are also ferries and fast boats that connect the islands. On this website you can check the schedule.

Ko Samui:

It is the largest of the three islands and also the most known to tourists and that is usually included in tour packages.

Even so, it remains a haven in which to rent a cabin with a fantastic beach for only 5 €. Unbelievable but true!

A gastronomic advice: In Ko Samui do not miss the coconut soup with shrimp or chicken and warm salad of squid, yummy!.

Photography by schuey

Part I – Thailand: Tips for going from island to island

Good Luck!