Jesse McLaughlan
Travelled to 14 countries / regions
Written 48 briefs
Backpacked across Thailand in spring 2019
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Koh Samui
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Useful Info
Submitted on Nov 07, 2019
Useful Info
Best way to get to Koh Samui from Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Koh Samui is located about 1,000km south of Chiang Mai, and the only way to travel between them is by flight
- There is 1 daily direct flight from Chiang Mai (CNX) to Samui (USM), operated by Bangkok Airways
- Departure time: 12:30pm
- Arrival time: 2:15pm
- Flight time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Fare: ~$110USD one way
- In addition to the direct flight, there are lots of connecting flights, mostly through Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK). These flights are mostly operated by Bangkok Airways and Thai Airways
- The earliest flight that gets you to Samui from Chiang Mai lands at 11:05am. This is a connecting flight that leaves Chiang Mai at 6:55am
- The latest flight that gets to Samui from CM lands at 9:15pm, after departing at 4:10pm from CM
- The connecting flights are generally more expensive than the direct flight, at around $140-$160USD each way
- Bangkok Airways is not a bad airline to fly with. I've used them a number of times when I was in Thailand. On Tripadvisor they have a 4/5 rating, on par with Thai Airways, which is Thailand's biggest airline
- Bangkok Airways' website is https://www.bangkokair.com. You'll get the best fare if you book with them directly. Thai Airways (https://www.thaiairways.com) is another airline you should check, although they only have connecting flights and they're usually more expensive than Bangkok Airways
- Getting to Chiang Mai airport from the city takes about 15 minutes, and the only way to do so is by taxi or Grab taxi that'll cost around 150-180 baht ($5-$6USD).
- To get in from the Samui airport, minivan is the most popular transportation method costing around 150-200 baht ($5-$6.6USD) to get to most parts of the island. Taxi another popular option, but will cost you 400-800 baht ($13-$26USD) to get to various places on the island