Penang to Koh Samui

By joint bus and ferry service the journey from Penang to Koh Samui is scheduled to take from 12 to 14 hours depending upon which service you take.

Bus Times from Penang to Koh Samui

There are currently 3 services a day from Penang to Koh Samui available to book online.

• The departure time is in Malaysian time and the arrival time is Thailand time, which is 1 hour behind Malaysian time.
• An additional RM5 is often payable directly to the driver when you board the bus for insurance.

Buy Tickets from Penang to Koh Samui

Use the Search Box below to buy your tickets from Penang to Koh Samui.

Penang Bus Stop

New Asian Travel services from Penang to Koh Samui depart from the New Asian Travel Office which is under the Komtar Tower in George Town, Penang Island.

Koh Samui Ferry Pier

The arrival point in Koh Samui for all services is a ferry pier in Na Thon, on the west coast of Koh Samui.

About Travel to Koh Samui

The fatest direct services from Penang to Koh Samui are operated by the New Asian Travel & Transport Company. New Asian Travel services depart from outside the front of their office under the Komtar Tower. The Komtar Tower is one of George Town’s most distinctive landmarks and easy to find. From the top end of Chulia Street it’s a 750 metre walk to the Komtar Tower.

Travel Route from Penang to Koh Samui

There are three stages to the journey with New Asian Travel from Penang to Koh Samui:

• George Town Penang to Hat Yai: This is a journey of 212 km in a minivan. The journey takes around 4 hours, although it can be slightly faster or slower depending on how long it takes for a minivan full of people to clear both Malay and Thai immigration control. Please note that passengers who have experience significant delays in gaining authorisation to cross the border, or are not able to cross the border at all, will need to make alternative travel arrangements as the minivan will not wait for them.
• Hat Yai to Donsak: Passengers on the New Asian Travel Service from Penang to Koh Samui will change minivan at Hat Yai Bus Station. From Hat Yai Bus Station the next stage of the journey is direct by minivan to one of the car ferry piers in the Donsak District of Surat Thani Province. The distance by road is 312 km and the journey takes around 5 hours.
• Donsak to Koh Samui: The final stage of the journey is by Seatran car ferry from Donsak to Koh Samui. The sea crossing takes a fairly standard time of 1 hour 30 minutes. These large car ferries can complete the journey in almost all weather conditions and are in this respect more reliable than smaller vessels plying the same route.

Travel around Koh Samui

The New Asian Travel service terminates at the ferry pier in Na Thon, which is the main town in Koh Samui. Na Thon is a pleasant town, with good restaurants. plenty of shops. and a small range of value for money hotels. Na Thon is not, however, one of the more popular parts of the islands with tourists. The three most popular places to stay on Koh Samui (Chaweng, Bophut and Lamai) are located some distance away by road:

• Na Thon to Chaweng: 23 km
• Na Thon to Bophut: 17 km
• Na Thon to Lamai: 29 km

Taxi services are available from near to the ferry pier, however, if you are planning to travel more than a few kilometres a better value option is to take a shared taxi (songthaew) service from Na Thon. Shared taxi services wait in the car park in front of the main ferry pier in Na Thon, 650 metres walk where passengers disembark from the Seatran car ferry. Shared taxi services tend not to depart at fixed times, so the best strategy is to ask the drivers where they are going and then wait a short while until one of the driver commences the journey.