Bus Timetable And Recommended Bus Service Bkk To Samui?

[themikeymeister]

Hello

Due to the ever increasing and ridiculous price of flights to Samui from Bkk, I will be travelling down by bus and ferry to Samui from Bangkok.

Can anyone recommend a decent service down to Samui, and can advise on times of departures, and/or cost.

I am quite prepared to pay for the VIP bus, but just cant bring myself to pay the Bangkok Airways prices.

Cheers for any help people.........

[PoorSucker]

999 bus or Sombat from southern bus terminal.

VIP bus around 650 baht one way.

[H2oDunc]

Lomprayah now do a plane to Surat Thani and then a bus and high speed Catamaran to Samui all in one ticket for around 1800 baht I believe. The other option is get your own flight to Surat and get the bus to Donsak and take a ferry from there.

Another option is the night train to Chumphon and then the ferry to Samui, again Lomprayah. Or stay on the train to Surat and again take the bus to Donsak and take a ferry from there.

Loads of options open to you

[smokie36]

Prob can get a taxi to Samui for 5k Baht.

Don't try doing it the other way though!

edit <sp>

Edited March 16, 2011 by smokie36

[robsamui]

Prob can get a taxi to Samui for 5k Baht.

Don't try doing it the other way though!

edit <sp>

erm . . . if he can afford 5,000B then why would he want to spend 10 hours in a car rather than one hour in the air?

[steelerian]

The fact that you can prob get a taxi for the same price just goes to show how outrageous the BKK Airways prices are!

Can I add to the OP's question and ask that on top of the information people are giving, can they also post some of their experiences with these routes? Comfort, safety, reliability, etc? Its a jourey I am considering in the near future.

[smokie36]

The fact that you can prob get a taxi for the same price just goes to show how outrageous the BKK Airways prices are!

Can I add to the OP's question and ask that on top of the information people are giving, can they also post some of their experiences with these routes? Comfort, safety, reliability, etc? Its a jourey I am considering in the near future.

Cheers at least someone is paying attention. The flight to Surat Thani bus and boat is fine....just bring a book.

[Mole]

I take the buses all the time.

I'd recommend the 999 buses because they are a whole lot cheaper than Lomprayah.

The VIP buses are also more spacious than the cramp buses Lomprayah provides.

The travel time is about the same whenever you use Lomprayah or the other bus companies which goes via Surat and Donsak.

Sombat Tour has newer buses, but their "fancy" seats with buildt in massage is not so comfortable in my opinion. This is because they have a "neck support pillow" firmly attached to the seat supposedly for added comfort.

But this doesn't work so very well because they obviously didn't think that people come in different sizes and the position was clearly messured for Thai size.

If I was sitting properly on the seat, this pillow would be somewhere on the top of my back and in order to get it positioned on my neck, I had to move my ass quite low on the seat.

The result was a bad back pain for almost a week after I returned to Samui.

In general, I hate those pillows and never use them even on buses which provides them for you as accessory.

999 Transport Company have ticket offices in Nathon, Chaweng and Lamai.

Chaweng phone number: 077-231833

They have buses 7.30 in the morning, and many buses from 14:30 till around 17:00 in the evening.

Sombat Tour has offices in Nathon and Chaweng.

http://www.sombattour.com/html/route/991.php

They don't have as many buses as 999, but their buses are brand new.

Lomprayah also provides buses from/to Donsak and their catamaran to Nathon as well as the usual route from their Maenam pier via Pa-Ngan, Tao and Chumpon.

Last I spoke with them in December, they ran a promotion on their newly opened Donsak route at only 1000bt. (Not sure if this promotion is still valid though)

However, when I wanted to order for my father who is Thai, they refused and said that they can only accept foreigners on this route.

Aparently it's because normally these routes are governed by consessions which the two above bus companies has.

http://www.lomprayah.com/E/route.htm

Edited March 16, 2011 by Mole

[samuijimmy]

Good info there, Mole, thanks!

I've got to make the dreaded BKK trip soon.... I used to prefer Lomprayah, as it cut out the bus travel time... for a tourist it's quite a nice trip, stopping at the islands of KP, KT& KN... providing the sea is not too rough! But prices a bit higher now...

If H20 Dunc's guess is correct at 1800 baht to fly, then that's only 400 baht more than their bus & ferry.... that would save some of the back pain!

Is the 999 bus terminal the one just beyond the Honda dealer in Nanthon?

[Mole]

Yes, that's their terminal. Sombat Tour's office is also just opposite 999 bus terminal.

You are right about 400 bt if you calculate from the Lomprayah, but I usually travel with 999 bus and the price difference is more than double.

I also believe the Lomprayah deal is with Nok Air from Nakorn Sritammarat to Bangkok (Don Muang).

I recently took the catamaran route because of flooding in Surat and buses couldn't run.

They demanded a higher price claiming it was their policy to charge more 2 days before and 2 days after any public holidays, so instead of the regular 1400, they wanted 1550 since it was near Chakri day (6th April).

Their buses with leather seats are not as comfortable as 999 VIP buses. Being double deck buses, when sitting at upper deck, the shaking can be quite unbearable at times.

On the catamarans, I think their seat pitch is comparable to an aircraft and you can't move the seats at all and basically sitting almost at 90 degree angle.

Not as comfortable as the car ferry relaxing seats.

Lomprayah used to allow you to take their early morning catamaran, then make a couple of hours stop on Pha-ngan or Tao and then catch their afternoon catamaran to either Samui or Chumpon.

But now, they don't allow this anymore and you'll have to pay full ticket if you want to make stops.

I won't be taking their catamarans anymore unless strictly neccesary.

Edited April 15, 2011 by Mole

[samuijimmy]

999 bus or Sombat from southern bus terminal.

VIP bus around 650 baht one way.

I stopped by the 999 bus station in Nanthon, yesterday, just to check prices to / from BKK .

The VIP bus is in the 1100 baht range... (one way!) Morning bus leaves daily at 7.30 AM

Non VIP buses are more in the 600 to 700 baht range...times of leaving vary....

Now to decide whether to go Lomprayah to Chumpon, and cut out the bus road time! I always enjoyed the boat rather than the bus!

Edit: I just checked Lomprayah's web site... 1400 baht leaving at 8.30 am from Maenam. Arriving BKK 8.30 pm

1200 baht leaving Maenam at noon arriving BKK 12.30 am

One thing I am not sure that people are aware of is that Lomprayah will pick people up or take to Resort, if you ask when buying your ticket... that saves the taxi fare every one loves to complain about!

Edited April 29, 2011 by samuijimmy

[Mole]

They used to provide free transport to their Maenam pier, but have stopped this for about a year now.

Now they'll charge you 100 bt (at least from Chaweng) and probably more if further away such as Lamai etc.

The seats on their Catamarans are set in almost a 90 degree fixed position and they're not really comfortable to sit on for so many hours.

Their buses are also not as comfortable as 999 buses and their double deck buses are comparable to the regular 40 seats P.1 999 buses, but at a much higher cost.

Now, I'd rather just sleep in a comfortable VIP bus reclining seat than on Lomprayah's hard plastic seats.

[samuijimmy]

They used to provide free transport to their Maenam pier, but have stopped this for about a year now.

Now they'll charge you 100 bt (at least from Chaweng) and probably more if further away such as Lamai etc.

The seats on their Catamarans are set in almost a 90 degree fixed position and they're not really comfortable to sit on for so many hours.

Their buses are also not as comfortable as 999 buses and their double deck buses are comparable to the regular 40 seats P.1 999 buses, but at a much higher cost.

Now, I'd rather just sleep in a comfortable VIP bus reclining seat than on Lomprayah's hard plastic seats.

Yes, correct Mole, 100 baht or 150 for pickup and return drop off, I assumed that would be for people making day trips to Koa Toa or KP....

I ended up taking the Lomprayah to BKK.... it was 2 hours late getting into BKK not sure why.... the traffic was not so bad....

I was going to try the 999 bus back, but it took 3 hours in Taxi from where I was staying in BKK to get to the southern bus station....(oh BKK traffic in the afternoon!... that was 400 baht, I had too much stuff to carry on Sky train) ) by the time I got there the 999 buses had left! .... OMG what to do?

Lucky for me there was a 9.30 pm bus going to Phuket, stopping at Surrathannii, that cost only 379 baht..... then a bus to the new Songterm/ Lomprayah pier.... but what ever bus it was,(only had Thai name) but it was great, I had front seat with tons of leg room and seats reclined really nicely with a blanket and no blasting music or movie!

But the Songterm ferry leaves a little to be desired... especially in the VIP room which just smelled of diesel

It was more a case of I just want to get home!

[Mole]

There are 999 buses both P.2 44 seats and VIP 24 seats going from Northern Bus Terminal [Mor Chid] (which is where I usually take the bus from since it's much closer to my house in BKK than Southern Terminal)

You should try Mor Chid next time.

[samuijimmy]

There are 999 buses both P.2 44 seats and VIP 24 seats going from Northern Bus Terminal [Mor Chid] (which is where I usually take the bus from since it's much closer to my house in BKK than Southern Terminal)

You should try Mor Chid next time.

Now you tell me!

I am surprised my Thai friends up there would not have known that, as they head south several times a year... oh well!

At least the bus I got was great... looking at the ticket, it was called "Bus Express" (500 baht to Phuket, so the guy sitting next to me said, that's pretty good!)

It may be another three years before I head to BKK, as much as I like the city and it's friendly & helpful people.... It's so tiring on the feet! Other places to see!

Even when using Skytrain, underground (MRT?) or the buses (some are free, much to my surprise) and motorbike taxis....20 baht goes a long way! Although Day pass on Skytrain, is now 120 baht, up from 100 baht, three years ago... inflation!!! !

Both Sky train & MRT are spotlessly clean...and a joy to use...

[doingok]

brill just what i was looking for class cheers guy