How to Get Around Southern Thailand

Flying is how most people arrive. Phuket, Krabi, Surat Thani, Ko Samui and Hat Yai all have airports, with Phuket and Samui taking international flights. Internal flights from Bangkok are frequent and cheap, except to Samui, which is served by a privately owned airport at a premium.

Ferries and speedboats connect everything. Schedules are seasonal and reduce sharply in the monsoon on the affected coast; services are suspended in rough weather at short notice, so never plan a same-day island-to-airport connection.

Longtail boats are the local transport on the Andaman coast and the only way to reach Railay.

Trains run down the peninsula from Bangkok to Surat Thani and Hat Yai, with overnight sleepers that connect to the Samui ferries.

Scooters are everywhere and are the main cause of visitor injury. An international permit with a motorcycle entitlement is required; without one you are uninsured.