Koh Samui - Getting there, Moving around and Leaving there

- February 15, 2013

Here is a guide for my fellow Malaysian on how to get to Koh Samui, moving around and leaving there. I hope it is complete but anyhow it is still a good walking stick for all of you.

Up to date, there are 2 airlines that can get to Koh Samui straight from our country. There are Malaysian Airlines (MAS) and Fireflyz but not our low cost airline, AirAsia. AirAsia can only reach Surat Thani which is the nearest city from Koh Samui. So a land transfer to the jetty is required. You might think it is an hassle and troublesome for you but I can assure you that you can save 4-5 times more if to compare with the option of flying straight to Koh Samui.

There is only one flight Kuala Lumpur (KUL) - Surat Thani (URT) - Kuala Lumpur (KUL) and it is only flying on alternate days. The time from KUL - URT will be 1025(departure) and 1050(arrival). While, URT - KUL will be 1120(departure) and 1355(arrival). Please take note that the time in Thailand is -1 hour from our actual time.

One thing I love to travel to Thailand is they always have a very thoughtful service by providing a package tour from Surat Thani Airport to Koh Samui or vice versa with only 500 baht for a ferry with 2 time slot which are 11.30am and 12.30pm (Thai time). This thoughtful package can be purchased at the Surat Thani airport itself. So no pre-booking is required. Please take note: 500 baht/pax is a package that taking you:

1) By Bus: Surat Thani airport to Don Sak Jetty - 2 hours 30 minutes

2) By Ferry: Don Sak Jetty to Koh Samui - 45 minutes

3) By Van or Bus: Straight to your hotel!!! That's ridiculously worth it!

That's not just it. When you see the only time going back to KUL is 1120, you will think it is impossible to catch that flight and you thought you might need to overnight at Surat Thani town. You are wrong!!! Their thoughtful package tour service can guarantee you that you will be able to catch the flight. Once again with the same fare at 500 baht, they will pick you up from your hotel to the airport but the pickup time from the hotel is very early at 6.00am (Thai time).

This incredibly thoughtful service is making me feel so speechless.

This is the ferry that will get you from the Don Sak jetty to Koh Samui or vice versa. The ride is taking up to 45 minutes per trip.

By the way, there is a speed boat service for 600 baht per person per trip but there is only one time slot which is at 1.30pm (Thai Time) and you will get to Koh Samui slower than the normal ferry. So it is only for people who does not like to have too many passengers in a boat and with comfortable seatings. However, I do not really recommend this.

Unlike Langkawi, the ferry itself can load all these cars because this ferry service them every hour start from 8.00am - 6.00pm (Thai Time) for Don Sak Jetty to Koh Samui and 5.00am - 5.00pm (Thai Time) for Koh Samui to Don Sak Jetty.

The ferry is so big where you can sit anywhere you like and there is a cafe in the ferry too! The price is quite reasonable for me.

That's the Donsak Jetty...

One of my recommended hotel to stay at because of their cheap price, comfy room, beautiful swimming pool, spa service, wi-fi service, breakfast is included and they even provide you a motorbike rental but advance booking is required. However, this hotel is quite dark at night if you want to walk in and too many mosquitoes so you are advised to close your balcony door at all times.

Ya, they have dogs here too. Dogs are very common in Thailand. Every each one of a family will own at least one dog. Basically, it is quite rare to see a cat here.

One of the most famous area in Koh Samui is the Bophut Fisherman Village.

A long stretch of 1 km rows of shops at the either sides. Food, massage, souvenirs, pharmacy, bar, boutique and etc. You named it and they got it.

This is the night view of the same street. Oh, by the way...the best thing to do to go around the town is to rent their motorbike which starts from 200 baht. Bike rental is cheap but the petrol is expensive which is selling at 40 baht/per litre. There are not many petrol station you can find but there are many people selling petrol by displaying bottles of petrol by the roadside. So you do not have to worry if you are running out of petrol. But please take note that after 10.00pm, these roadside petrol seller will be closed.

If you think getting from KUL-URT-KUL service already very awesome for you, there are more which is they do provide the whole service to Phuket, Krabi and Bangkok from Koh Samui. How about that, backpackers? They will love this because they do not have to worry how to get to their next destination. All they need to do is sit back and relax and let the tour agency do the work for you at a very minimal price. In Malaysia, we do provide such services but the price is so expensive which you would prefer to do your own homework and travel by your own.