Surat Thani is the mainland hub most guides undersell — bigger airport than Chumphon, a train station, and an overnight boat that leaves from the middle of town while you sleep. It’s not the fastest way to Koh Tao, but it might be the most flexible.
This guide covers every leg of the Surat Thani to Koh Tao journey: getting from the airport to the pier, comparing the daytime ferry options, the overnight boat that locals actually use, and what happens when you step off at Mae Haad. For every other route to the island, see our complete how to get to Koh Tao guide.
Flying into Chumphon instead? That crossing is an hour shorter — see our Chumphon to Koh Tao guide. Coming from Koh Samui or Koh Phangan? Those are short inter-island hops covered in our Koh Tao vs Koh Phangan comparison.
Surat Thani to Koh Tao takes around 2.5–3 hours by daytime Lomprayah or Seatran ferry via Donsak Pier, with fares from roughly 800–950 THB. An overnight boat also runs from a pier in Surat Thani town itself, taking about 8–9 hours while you sleep, for around 800–1,000 THB — skipping a hotel night entirely. Surat Thani’s airport has more flight options than Chumphon’s, making it the better mainland gateway if you want cheap flights over a shorter boat ride. Check live times and tickets below.
Table of Contents
Why Surat Thani — the Cheapest Flight Gateway
Surat Thani has the largest airport on this side of the Gulf, with far more domestic flight options than Chumphon and routes arriving from Phuket, Pattaya, and Chiang Mai as well as Bangkok. If you’re comparing flight prices before booking, Surat Thani is usually the cheaper airport to fly into — noticeably less than flying direct to Koh Samui, where Bangkok Airways holds a near-monopoly on the route and prices it accordingly.
The trade-off is time: Chumphon’s ferry crossing is about an hour shorter than the one from Surat Thani. So the honest calculation is this — if you value a cheaper flight and don’t mind an extra hour on the water, Surat Thani wins. If you want the shortest possible crossing and don’t mind fewer flight options, Chumphon wins. Either way, you end up at the same pier on Koh Tao.
Key takeaway
Surat Thani = more flights, cheaper fares, bigger airport, longer boat ride. Chumphon = fewer flights, shorter boat ride. Compare both before booking — see our Chumphon to Koh Tao guide for the other side of that trade-off.
Airport to Pier — the Logistics
Surat Thani airport sits some distance from both the ferry pier and the town centre, so you’ll need a transfer regardless of which route you take. Most travellers book a combined flight + bus + ferry ticket in one go, which handles the connection timing automatically — you’re met at the airport (or town) and taken straight to Donsak Pier for the ferry departure, no working out local transport on arrival.
If you’d rather sort transfers yourself, Surat Thani has Grab coverage, making it easy to get from the airport into town or to the pier without pre-booking. A bus or shared van from the airport to Donsak Pier takes roughly an hour. Book the whole chain — flight, transfer, ferry — through 12Go Asia to keep the connections tight and avoid missing a sailing because a transfer ran late.
Local Tip
If you land in Surat Thani after the last daytime ferry has gone, don’t book a hotel out of panic — the overnight boat from town (covered below) departs late enough that you can usually still catch it the same evening.
Ferry Options Compared
The daytime route runs via Donsak Pier, about an hour by bus or van from Surat Thani town or the airport. From there, Lomprayah and Seatran both operate high-speed catamarans to Koh Tao, taking roughly 2.5 to 3 hours depending on the boat and sea conditions. Right now (July 2026), expect to pay somewhere between 800 and 950 THB one-way for the crossing alone, or 1,000–1,500 THB if you book the bus-plus-ferry combination as a single ticket with the transfer already folded in.
Lomprayah is the larger of the two operators here and generally the more reliable — newer boats, more consistent scheduling. Seatran also runs the route and is worth comparing on price and timing, particularly if Lomprayah’s convenient departure times are sold out.
Route
Surat Thani (Donsak Pier) → Koh Tao (Mae Haad Pier)
Duration: ~2.5–3 hours by catamaran
Cost: ~800–950 THB one-way (at time of writing, July 2026)
Ferry companies: Lomprayah, Seatran Discovery
Frequency: Multiple daily sailings — check live times below
Live times and tickets: search current Surat Thani–Koh Tao sailings below and book ahead in high season, when the earlier boats sell out first.
The Night Boat — Skipping a Hotel Entirely
This is the part most guides miss. A separate overnight boat runs directly from a pier in the centre of Surat Thani town — not Donsak — straight to Koh Tao while you sleep. It typically leaves around 10 pm and arrives at Mae Haad Pier around 5–6 am, taking roughly 8–9 hours total. Fares run in a similar range to the daytime option, around 800–1,000 THB, though this varies by operator and which boat is running that particular night.
The honest take: it’s basic. Shared sleeping areas with mattresses laid out in rows, no private cabins, and the boats themselves are older than the daytime catamarans. But it means you skip a hotel night in Surat Thani entirely, skip the hour-long transfer to Donsak Pier, and arrive on the island at sunrise instead of losing a travel day to it. It’s not luxurious — it’s practical, and there’s something to be said for waking up at Mae Haad Pier instead of a mainland guesthouse.
Local Tip
If you take the night boat, hit the night market right by the departure pier in Surat Thani town first — stock up on snacks and street food, since there’s nothing sold onboard. It’s also a decent taste of ordinary mainland Thai life before the islands.
Heads Up
Night boat operators on this route (small local companies, not Lomprayah) rotate, and schedules can shift with demand — check the current operator with your accommodation, a local agent, or 12Go Asia beforehand rather than assuming the same boat runs every night. Light sleepers or anyone prone to seasickness should take the daytime catamaran instead.
Koh Tao to Surat Thani: The Return Trip
The route runs the same in reverse, with both the daytime catamaran and the overnight boat operating from Mae Haad Pier back to Surat Thani. If you’re catching a flight out of Surat Thani airport, build in a buffer — the ferry-to-airport transfer takes about an hour on top of the crossing itself, and Gulf crossings occasionally run late in rough weather. Combined ferry + bus + flight tickets are bookable the same way as the inbound journey, with the connections handled for you.
Surat Thani to Koh Tao: Costs at a Glance
Here’s every leg of the trip laid out with its own price and duration, so you’re budgeting for the whole journey and not just the boat.
| Leg | Duration | Cost (THB) |
|---|---|---|
| Bangkok → Surat Thani (flight) | ~1h15 | 1,000–2,500 |
| Surat Thani airport → Donsak Pier (bus/van) | ~1 hour | 150–300 |
| Surat Thani (Donsak) → Koh Tao (day catamaran) | ~2.5–3 hours | 800–950 |
| Surat Thani (town pier) → Koh Tao (night boat) | ~8–9 hours (overnight) | 800–1,000 (verify locally — operators rotate) |
| Combined bus + ferry ticket (one booking) | ~4 hours total | 1,000–1,500 |
Arriving at Mae Haad Pier
Whichever ferry you take from Surat Thani, you’ll land at Mae Haad Pier on Koh Tao’s west coast — the island’s only port. It’s a short burst of organised chaos when you step off: taxi drivers, dive-shop touts, scooter rental staff, all working the same fifty metres. It thins out fast once you’re past the pier gates. Our how to get to Koh Tao guide covers exactly what to sort out first — SIM card, cash, and onward transport.
Most travellers rent a scooter within their first hour on the island — three trusted shops sit within walking distance of the pier. Our Koh Tao scooter rental guide covers which ones to use and the anti-scam routine that saves real money.
Heads Up
If two wheels aren’t your thing, Koh Tao’s roads are steep, narrow, and a bad place to learn on the fly. Message Wonderland’s reception via WhatsApp ahead of time and we’ll have a taxi waiting at the pier instead.
Where to Stay When You Land
After a long journey from Surat Thani — especially if you took the night boat — the next question is where to sleep. Our where to stay in Koh Tao guide walks through the island’s five main neighbourhoods so you can match one to your trip.
Here’s our honestly-biased pitch: Wonderland Jungle Hostel is tucked into the hillside over Chalok, away from the island’s busier north end — sociable, but not a party hostel, with jungle wrapped around three sides and a 3–5 minute scooter ride to Mae Haad Pier. If you’ve just come off an overnight boat and want somewhere calm with a decent bed and a community that gets it, this is close to where you’re stepping off. Book direct and save against the OTA price for the same room.
Frequently Asked Questions
The daytime Lomprayah or Seatran catamaran from Donsak Pier takes roughly 2.5 to 3 hours. The overnight boat from Surat Thani town takes longer — around 8–9 hours — but runs while you sleep, so it doesn’t cost you a travel day the same way.
At time of writing (July 2026), the daytime catamaran runs around 800–950 THB one-way. Combined bus + ferry tickets from Surat Thani town or the airport typically total 1,000–1,500 THB once the transfer to Donsak Pier is included. The night boat runs in a similar price range, though it varies by operator.
Yes — it departs from a pier in the centre of Surat Thani town (not Donsak) around 10 pm and arrives at Mae Haad Pier around 5–6 am. It’s a basic crossing with shared mattress-style sleeping areas rather than private cabins, but it saves a hotel night and gets you straight to the island by morning. Confirm the current operator locally, as the boat running on a given night can vary.
Surat Thani has a bigger airport with more flight routes and generally cheaper fares, but the ferry crossing is about an hour longer than from Chumphon. Chumphon is the faster water crossing but has fewer flight options. If flight price matters more than crossing time, choose Surat Thani; if you want the shortest boat ride, choose Chumphon.
A shared bus or van transfer runs from the airport to Donsak Pier in about an hour, and is usually included in a combined flight + ferry ticket. Surat Thani also has Grab coverage if you’d rather arrange transport independently, though booking the whole chain — flight, transfer, ferry — as one ticket keeps the connection timing tight.
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- How to Get to Koh Tao — every route, ferry schedule, and transport option compared
- Chumphon to Koh Tao — the shorter crossing, if you can find the right flight
- Where to Stay in Koh Tao — area-by-area breakdown for every type of traveller
- Best Hostels in Koh Tao — our ranked pick of where to sleep
- Koh Tao Scooter Rental — honest advice on renting safely from the pier
- Koh Tao Budget Guide — what everything actually costs once you land
- Best Time to Visit Koh Tao — plan around calm seas and good weather
