Cheap Air-Sea Route To Bkk Opens

[Boater]

High-speed ferry operator Lomprayah has join hands with budget airline Solar Air to offer fast but cheap combined air-and-sea transport service between Bangkok and Samui.

Mr. Kitti Stevens Tharabuddhi, marketing manager of Lomprayah High Speed Ferries Co., Ltd., said from Bangkok, passengers could fly to Chumpon, where Solar Air has daily frequency and then take a high-speed Lomprayah ferry to Samui.

Travel time between Bangkok and Chumpon is one hour and 15 minutes. A high-speed ferry trip between Chumpon and Samui takes about three hours and 40 minutes.

The daily Solar Air flight to Chumpon leaves the Don Muang Airport in Bangkok at 9:45 a.m. It arrives in Chumpon at 11 a.m. in time for the early-afternoon ferry trip to Samui.

Solar Air’s website lists the fare (one-way) at Bt2,900, while Lomprayah has it at Bt1,100.

From Samui, a Lomprayah high-speed ferry leaves for Chumpon at 8 a.m., arriving there at 11:45 a.m., also in time for Solar Air’s flight to Bangkok which leaves Chumpon at 2 p.m.

Styling itself as the “community airline serving secondary routes,” Solar Air began operations last year. It operates out of Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport offering services to Mae Sot, Nan, Roi Et, Hua Hin, Phrae and Chumpon using a 19-seat Dornier DO-228s and EMB 110-P2 aircraft leased from Germany.

Solar Air plans to use a bigger aircraft to service the Bangkok-Chumpon route when passenger traffic starts to catch on.

http://news.samuiexpress.net/cheap-air-sea-route-to-bkk-opens.html

[joe84330]

while i don't think i'll have any use for it, it does sound a hell of a lot better than the trip to surat airport for the flight up.

[samui34samui]

Bkk - Chumporn: 2,900 THB

Chumporn - Samui: 1,100 THb

Total: 4,000 THB? Same as BA but in 5 hours instead of 1.

Are these the final prices...?

Edit: just had a look on Lomprayah's website. Promotion price Bkk - Koh Phangan: 3,100thb instead of 3,800 thb.

Edited April 29, 2011 by samui34samui

[dangman]

how does it compare to the price of a direct flight from bkk to samui airport?

[careless]

Having sailed on the Lomprahay, Koh Tao to Samui, in rough seas, even the crew were ..

I can honestly say you couldn't pay me to take a 3-4 hour trip...

[sbk]

how does it compare to the price of a direct flight from bkk to samui airport?

depending on seats available, from 3655 to 5000.

I don't fly often but I cant imagine I would be fussed saving a few hundred baht to travel an additional 4 hours longer.

[lazygourmet]

I've tried that road end of February -when they just started it- ... Had to be at Don Muang at 8.30am... Boarding around 10.00am... Several hours waiting at Chumpon pier after the transfer from the airport... Catamaran was -as usual- late... Arrival on koh Phangan at 6.30pm -instead of 4.00pm promised-...

Except for the one hour scenic flight: it's completely useless...

And for the few hundred baht saved, more than double of that amount has been spent on food and beers while waiting !

Edited April 30, 2011 by lazygourmet

[H2oDunc]

It has the capability of killing the islands as well. Once people realise they can get far better beaches, far better diving, far cheaper accommodation and food and really nice people then people are not going to continue on to the islands they are going to stay there.

[joe84330]

that's sounding less like an appealing alternative and more like an ad for bkk air.

[steelerian]

It has the capability of killing the islands as well. Once people realise they can get far better beaches, far better diving, far cheaper accommodation and food and really nice people then people are not going to continue on to the islands they are going to stay there.

Huh? Sorry you totally lost me here?

[lazygourmet]

It has the capability of killing the islands as well. Once people realise they can get far better beaches, far better diving, far cheaper accommodation and food and really nice people then people are not going to continue on to the islands they are going to stay there.

If I presume that you are talking about Mu Ko archipelago, you do not have to be worry ; Solar Air planes have a mere twenty passengers capacity and operates once a day.

[careless]

Apparently I have took the Lomprahay from Chumphon to Samui the first trip out My hubby was kind enough to inform me of my brain lapse ....I do remember though, that sailing was actually very pleasant.... the long rickety walk down the dock dragging luggage wasn't the easiest of things...

Edited April 30, 2011 by careless

[yorkie100]

It has the capability of killing the islands as well. Once people realise they can get far better beaches, far better diving, far cheaper accommodation and food and really nice people then people are not going to continue on to the islands they are going to stay there.

Huh? Sorry you totally lost me here?

You've lost me too dunc???

[jdinasia]

how does it compare to the price of a direct flight from bkk to samui airport?

depending on seats available, from 3655 to 5000.

I don't fly often but I cant imagine I would be fussed saving a few hundred baht to travel an additional 4 hours longer.

I agree ... but I do recognize the fact that some people are on a budget enough that every baht counts (or nobody would do that hellish bus trip!)

[H2oDunc]

It has the capability of killing the islands as well. Once people realise they can get far better beaches, far better diving, far cheaper accommodation and food and really nice people then people are not going to continue on to the islands they are going to stay there.

Huh? Sorry you totally lost me here?

You've lost me too dunc???

I'll try again. My point is that if people start to find out they can get far better beaches, far cheaper accom and far better diving in Chumphon they they will simply not bother with coming to the very expensive islands any more. Why would they bother with another 4 hours on a ferry to get to Samui ?

The catamarans are fine when you have flat seas but they are absolutely horrendous when you have waves.