Airasia - Getting To The Airport

[Boater]

Booked a flight with Airasia to Bangkok ( departing Surrathani ), the flight was only 1,036 THB including Taxes , so i wasnt prepared to pay the 4,200 THB Bkk Air ( Asia's Boutique Rip Off Airline ) was charging on the same day for a one way.

So....

1) Is there any mini bus that will pick you up and take you to Naton for the ferry? , as i dont want to leave my car at Nathon as i will be away for a few weeks.

2) What time would anyone recommend i catch the ferry? , the flight leaves at 0845 am

3) how do you get from Donsak to the airport? , is there an airasia bus or anything?

If anyone has done the trip successfully , it would be great to hear from you...

many thanks

Boater

Edited January 8, 2011 by Boater

[joe84330]

flight at 8:45 is cutting it close, maybe too close. you'd pretty much need to be on a 5am ferry because you need at least 2.5 hours to get from nathon to the surat airport and that is if every connection is smooth as silk.

[BlackWolf]

To be 100% safe, you better spend the night at a hotel in Suratthani.

[alfieconn]

Why not drive to Surat airport

[Boater]

To be 100% safe, you better spend the night at a hotel in Suratthani.

might be a good idea, i remember the Diamond Plaza hotel is only 500 THB a night or something

[smokie36]

To be 100% safe, you better spend the night at a hotel in Suratthani.

might be a good idea, i remember the Diamond Plaza hotel is only 500 THB a night or something

You had better do or you won't be catcging the flight.

From experience.....

Buses do run from Donsak pier just ask the drivers.....never trust a sign on the bus.....but take 2 hours plus.

[notime]

No way you can catch that flight relaying on public transport. Surat airport is 28km from Suratthani town center and almost 100km from Don Sak terminal. Even if you take 5am ferry arriving at 6:45am and catch a taxi from Don Sak, if there was one available, you may not make it and AirAsia will not check you in even if you are 5 min late. I once lost the flight and the airfare from Bkk to Hatyai because of being 3 min late.

8:45 am flight is for people from Surrathani and the afternoon flight for people from Samui and other locations. There is actually a Panthip bus from Nathon to Surat airport but it's slow and not safe as the staff goes through passengers baggage like their own. The Ripp-off airline charges their boutique prices for a reason. To me the best way is to hop on the motorbike in Chaweng, board Nathon ferry 30 min later, roll off the ferry and make it quickly all the way to Surat airport. Park moto there at the staff parking for the duration of the Bkk trip. Pick it up on the return and zoom back to Samui. I call this "flying moto to Bkk". The weather has to be reasonably dry for this to work though as riding 100 km on the moto with the travel bag in the rain rather sucks.

[jonben]

Another option is to take the night boat from Samui to Surat Thani, you arrive at 4 in Surat Thani, not Don Sak, so you are already much closer to the airport and there is always a tuk tuk to bring you to the airport there.

I do this from Koh Phangan so i guess it can be done from Samui as well as Tao, there are night boats from the 3 islands that arrive early in the morning in Surat Thani.

From Koh Phangan, the night boat is 400 bahts, it leaves at 10 pm, you arrive at 4 am in Surat Thani (right next to the town center) but you can stay to sleep in the boat (quite confortable) until 7, then from the pier find a tuk tuk that wants to bring you to the airport (25 minutes).