From Beaches to Jungle: by ferry, bus and mini-van from Koh Tao to Khao Sok (via Surat Thani)

Lomprayah High Speed Ferries operates an efficient service between the mainland and the eastern islands of Koh Tao, Koh Phangan, and Koh Samui. These islands are part of the Samui Archipelago, also known as the Ang Thong Archipelago.

You can board the ferry from Chumphon Pier (near Chumphon) or Songserm Pier / Raja Ferry Pier (near Surat Thani). These routes connect you to and from Koh Tao. Both piers are served by Lomprayah-operated bus connections, which link the ferry terminals to airports and nearby cities, and they’re surprisingly efficient.

On our trip, we traveled from Koh Tao to Khao Sok National Park. This involved a combination of ferry and minivan or ferry, bus, and minivan. You can book these combo tickets through platforms like 12go.asia ↗ or at local travel agencies.

Important: Make sure to book at least 24 hours in advance, preferably earlier. If you wait too long, tickets for the next day are often no longer available or already sold out.

Here’s what you can roughly expect from this crossing:

We booked this trip through 12go.asia because they offer ferry tickets with connecting shuttle services in a single booking. Everything is arranged for you, and along the way we noticed that many other travelers used the same service.

Before the trip, we weren’t quite sure what to expect, since our ticket listed ferry, bus, and minivan. But it turned out Lomprayah, the ferry company itself, operated the bus, and it took us directly to Tapee Pier.

Our ticket also included the name of a partner travel agency, which was ready and waiting for us when we arrived by bus.

So, when traveling from Koh Tao, you take the ferry with stops at other islands, eventually arriving at Raja Ferry Pier near Surat Thani. From there, Lomprayah buses are standing by to take you to Tapee Pier.

From Tapee Pier, you transfer to one of the many minivans headed to various destinations across Thailand – in our case, Khao Sok.

It’s worth noting that Tapee Pier is a broader terminal, so it serves as a bus and transfer hub as well. The real pier where you arrive by ferry is Raja Ferry Pier.

Getting to Khao Sok

From Tapee Pier, we continued in a shared minivan with other passengers to the Khao Sok minivan station. Once there, we had the option to either get off at the station or pay an extra 200 baht to be dropped off directly at our resort.

We chose the latter: it was convenient and worth it. If you’ve booked a private minivan, this kind of door-to-door service is usually included by default.

Our takeaways on this crossing

• The journey from Koh Tao to Khao Sok involves multiple transfers.
• As with many things in Thailand, it’s a case of organized chaos – delays are common, but somehow, you almost always end up exactly where you need to be.
• If you've booked a private minivan, make sure not to board the buses at Raja Ferry Pier. Those buses are intended to take passengers to Tapee Pier for further transfers.
• Be sure to board the ferry on time. If you're traveling with kids, avoid staying on the top deck for the entire ride, heat and sun exposure can be intense. It’s better to move downstairs to stay cool and comfortable.
• For 100–200 baht, you can access the air-conditioned cabin, which usually has plenty of space and is well worth it.