Airport to island · Gulf of Thailand
Surat Thani Airport to Koh Tao
Koh Tao is the furthest of the three Samui islands from Surat Thani, so this is a long day: boats leave from Donsak on the coast and land at Mae Haad, and a one-ticket van + boat leaves from the airport.
- Drive 90 min
- Boat from 3h 10m
- Land by 12:30 for the last boat
- One ticket from €30.30
✓ Checked 3 Nov 2026 against the operators’ and partners’ own pages
Updated 3 Nov 2026 · Sources · How we check
Book Surat Thani Airport → Koh Tao
One ticket: van from Surat Thani Airport + boat, one ticket.
Tickets from €30.30 per person, seen 3 Nov 2026
- E-ticket on your phone
- 1 operator, 1 departure listed from Surat Thani Airport
- Quickest door to door 4h 45m
The short answer
The drive from Surat Thani Airport to Donsak Pier takes about 90 minutes; Kiwitaxi lists private cars from US$115 per car. Boats from Donsak Pier to Koh Tao take from 3h 10m, with 2 departures listed for 5 Nov 2026 (first 11:00, last 13:30) and fares from €15.97 per person. The last boat is at 15:00 (Lomprayah from Donsak, operator timetable): to make it, land by about 12:30. One ticket from Surat Thani Airport (van from Surat Thani Airport + boat, one ticket) is listed from €30.30, leaving at 09:30.
Your trip, step by step
-
Step 1 · Land
Arrive at Surat Thani International Airport (URT)
Allow about 30 minutes to collect your bags and meet your driver or van. A pre-booked car meets you in arrivals; one-ticket vans name their meeting point on the ticket.
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Step 2 · By road
Surat Thani International Airport → Donsak Pier
- About 90 min
- Private car from US$115 per car (≈ €103)
- Minivan 4PAX US$115 · Comfort US$125 · Minibus 10PAX US$146
Kiwitaxi’s fixed price per vehicle with meet & greet, read 3 Nov 2026 (“Taxi & Transfers from Surat Thani airport (URT) to Surat Thani pier”).
Pre-book a car -
Step 3 · By boat · Runs all year
Donsak Pier (Lomprayah) → Mae Haad Pier
- from 3h 10m (route: 2h 45m – 3h 45m)
- 2 departures listed, 11:00 – 13:30
- Fares from €15.97 per person
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Step 4 · Arrive
On Koh Tao
- Lomprayah’s combined tickets include bus transfers from Surat Thani airport, railway station and Tapee Pier to Donsak
Time and cost at a glance
| Option | Time | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Private car to Donsak Pier | about 90 min | from US$115 per car |
| Boat Donsak Pier → Koh Tao | from 3h 10m | from €15.97 per person |
| One ticket from the airport | from 4h 45m | from €30.30 per person |
| Car + boat, two travellers | – | about €67.24 each |
Car prices are Kiwitaxi’s per vehicle in US dollars (converted at ECB rates); boat and one-ticket fares are per person as listed on our booking partner for the date shown. “Two travellers” is half the cheapest car plus the cheapest fare from that pier.
Which boat can I catch?
Boats from Donsak Pier listed for 5 Nov 2026. “Land by” = departure minus the 90-minute drive, 30 minutes through arrivals and 30 minutes’ check-in at the pier. Leave more if your flight might be late.
| Boat departs | Operator & pier | Crossing | Land by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 | Lomprayah Donsak Lomprayah Ferry → Mae Haad Koh Tao | 3h 15m | 08:30 |
| 13:30 |  Boonsiri High Speed FerriesSurat Thani Donsak Boonsiri Office Catamaran → Koh Tao Catamaran | 3h 10m | 11:00 |
Later boats run than this sample day lists: the last is at 15:00 (Lomprayah from Donsak, operator timetable on the route page), so land by about 12:30 for it.
One ticket from the airport
Van from Surat Thani Airport + boat, one ticket. Departures listed for 6 Nov 2026 (checked 3 Nov 2026); the ticket names the meeting point.
| Depart → arrive | Operator & from → to | Time | Fare | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09:30 → 14:15 | Lomprayah Surat Thani Airport → Mae Haad Koh Tao | 4h 45m | €30.30 | Book |
See every operator, seat availability and the live price.
When to book
Book the boat when your flight is fixed
- Pick a boat that leaves after your “land by” time with room to spare: if your flight is late, a boat you booked may leave without you.
- Around holidays and island events, boats fill up: book a day or more ahead.
- Booking the car and the boat separately? Book the car for your landing time, and the boat with the buffer above.
Season and sea
The Gulf has a different weather pattern from the Andaman coast: services run all year, but the northeast monsoon can disrupt crossings around November and December, mostly on the open-water legs to and from Koh Tao and Chumphon.
Good to know
- Few boats go from Donsak all the way to Koh Tao; flying to Samui or taking the Chumphon crossing are the other ways in.
- Mae Haad pier is in Koh Tao’s main village; taxis serve Sairee Beach and the dive resorts.
Surat Thani Airport to Koh Tao: questions
How do I get from Surat Thani International Airport to Koh Tao?
Koh Tao is the furthest of the three Samui islands from Surat Thani, so this is a long day: boats leave from Donsak on the coast and land at Mae Haad, and a one-ticket van + boat leaves from the airport. The drive from Surat Thani Airport to Donsak Pier takes about 90 minutes; Kiwitaxi lists private cars from US$115 per car. Boats from Donsak Pier to Koh Tao take from 3h 10m, with 2 departures listed for 5 Nov 2026 (first 11:00, last 13:30) and fares from €15.97 per person. The last boat is at 15:00 (Lomprayah from Donsak, operator timetable): to make it, land by about 12:30. One ticket from Surat Thani Airport (van from Surat Thani Airport + boat, one ticket) is listed from €30.30, leaving at 09:30.
How long does it take from Surat Thani Airport to Koh Tao?
About 90 minutes by car to Donsak Pier, then from 3h 10m on the boat, plus the wait for your departure. The quickest one-ticket trip from the airport listed 4h 45m door to door.
How much does it cost to get from Surat Thani Airport to Koh Tao?
A private car to Donsak Pier: from US$115 per car on Kiwitaxi (read 3 Nov 2026). The boat: from €15.97 per person (listed 2 Nov 2026). One ticket from the airport: from €30.30 per person (listed 3 Nov 2026).
What time does my flight need to land to reach Koh Tao the same day?
The last boat from Donsak Pier is at 15:00 (Lomprayah from Donsak, operator timetable). With about 90 minutes’ drive, 30 minutes through arrivals and 30 minutes’ check-in at the pier, land by about 12:30. Later than that, stay near the pier and take a morning boat. Times change by season: pick your date for live times.
Is there one ticket from Surat Thani Airport to Koh Tao?
Yes: 1 departure combining the road and the boat leave from the airport (Lomprayah 09:30), from €30.30 per person on 3 Nov 2026.
Sources and checks
- Donsak to Koh Tao ferry: operator, port and timetable sources listed on that page, departures and fares read on our booking partner (12Go) 2 Nov 2026
- Booking partner (12Go) public page for surat thani airport → koh tao, one-ticket departures read 3 Nov 2026
- Kiwitaxi public transfer page “Taxi & Transfers from Surat Thani airport (URT) to Surat Thani pier”: drive time and per-car prices read 3 Nov 2026
- “Land by” times and per-person totals are our arithmetic on those figures, as explained above.
Photo: Shark Bay on Koh Tao seen from the John-Suwan viewpoint (kallerna, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).
🙏 Spotted something out of date? Tell us at sawadee@thaiferries.co and we’ll check it.