Getting around · 06 of 8
Boats & ferries
The one part of a Thai itinerary that the weather can cancel.
Information changes. Times, prices and ways of doing things are a guide only.
Ferries to the islands are usually sold as a combined bus + boat ticket from Bangkok or from the nearest airport, which is simpler than arranging the legs separately and about the same price.
Never book an onward flight for the same day as a ferry. In rough weather crossings are cancelled with very little warning, and no airline treats a cancelled boat as a reason to move your ticket. Leave a night in between — this is the single most common way a Thai holiday goes expensively wrong.
The Gulf islands (Samui, Pha Ngan, Tao) and the Andaman islands (Phi Phi, Lanta, the Similans) have opposite rough seasons, so "ferry weather" depends entirely on which coast you are on. The Similans close completely for part of the year.