Samui to Surat Thani with Lomprayah – Thailand

Posted on Jul 30, 2016 in Experiences

After our previous experience with the Air Asia ferry crossing from Samui to Donasak with Raja and their bus connection to Surat Thani, we were keen to try another operator. This time we went with Lomprayah and the ferry connection was so much better. We booked online and took our booking (on the mobile phone) to 7-eleven to pay.

They initially claimed not to know anything about it but I suspect that’s because they get next to nothing out of it. They eventually gave in and the process then took less than 30 seconds. So we rocked up to the ticket desk at the Nathon pier with the email confirming our booking and payment. We were given tickets for the ferry and bus as well as a blue ribbon for each of our suitcases (it appears there’s a different colour for each stop to assist with correct storage and movement of bags). Our taxi driver dropped us to the end of the pier (it’s a long walk!) and we sat in the shade provided to wait. Right on time, a lovely clean catamaran turned up. There were already passengers on board from the first pickup at Koh Phangan – some got off, others stayed. Staff assisted with our large bags which were stored at the front of the boat and we took our smaller bags into the cabin – much easier than lugging them around the boat with us. The cabin was clean, seats were comfortable and it was air conditioned. The trip was shorter (around 1hr 15m) and when we disembarked at Donsak, staff again assisted with the large bags.

We were allocated buses based on what time we were due at the airport. I’m a little confused about this as I’m not sure if some of them planned to drive slower? Or maybe the ‘later’ buses were going to make additional stop? Regardless of the reason, I’m sure we all arrived around the same. The bus we were on was quite grungy with broken seats, leftover rubbish from previous occupants and suspension that was almost non-existent. The driver did not appear overly cautious but we did arrive safely and without incident (even though there was one close call!).

In the end, even with a difference in price of around thb600, I would definitely use Lomprayah over Raja every time. I still haven’t tried Seatran…

Travelled July 2016