To The Beach

Many visitors to Chiang Mai are combining their north Thailand holiday with a trip to one of Thailand's fantastic beaches and Islands. On a daily basis we deal with clients trying to get to a beach in the South of Thailand. Many want to do it the quickest way possible while some want to do it cheaply. Here at The Travel Hub we can advise and arrange the best transport combinations to get you there. Below is a quick guide to some of the options available.

Chiang Mai to Koh Chang	Chiang Mai to Koh Samui	Chiang Mai to Phuket
Chiang Mai to Pattaya	Chiang Mai to Koh Tao	Chiang Mai to Koh Phi Phi
Chiang Mai to Krabi	Chiang Mai to Koh Phangan	Chiang Mai to Koh Tao

Chiang Mai to Koh Chang	Method	How do I get there	How long will it take	What is the Approx cost
	Fastest	There is no airport on Koh Chang, the nearest airport is at Trat on the mainland. Bangkok Airways does the run from Bangkok to Trat. From the airport it is about a 30 minute bus ride down to the port for the ferry over to Koh Chang. Bangkok Airways will put a bus on to do this run. There are no direct flights from Chiang Mai so you will need to fly to Bangkok first then change planes.	Total flying time for both the flights will be less than 2 hours but you will need to allow for check in times and time to change planes in Bangkok as well as the ferry ride over to the Island You are still looking at least 7 hours	4,600 baht
	Cheapest	take the tourist bus from Chiang Mai the cost will also include the ferry ticket over to Koh Chang. The ride consists of an overnight bus to Bangkok then a change of bus to the Koh Chang port Leam Ngop. The ferry ticket is included.	With the change of busses in Bangkok and the ferry ride to Koh Chang the trip will be around the 20 hour mark.	800 baht
	Compromise	Fly from Chiang Mai to Bangkok's Survanaphumi airport. Then get yourself down to Survanaphumi's bus station for a direct bus to Leam Ngop, the ferry pier for Koh Chang (4.5 hours) You may find this way quicker than waiting around for a plane to Trat	If you are lucky with the bus connection at Suvarnabhumi Airport this trip can be done in under 9 hours.	2,250 baht
Chiang Mai to Koh Samui	Method	How do I get there	How long will it take	What is the Approx cost
	Fastest	The fastest way is a direct flight from Chiang Mai to Koh Samui with Bangkok Airways but book ahead as these flights are often full. A fast and convenient way to travel but a bit pricey. Bangkok Airways owns the Airport on Samui so at present no other Airlines fly here.	The flight time is a little over 2 hours there is no quicker way!	6,000 baht
	Cheapest	The tourist bus service is by far the cheapest way to get there and the ticket package will include the boat ticket over to Samui. Convenient but very very slow!	The problem with the tourist bus services is the 12 hour stop over in Bangkok waiting for the next night bus to the south. Total time including the boat will be in the region of 42 hours!	950 baht
	Compromise	For a bit more comfort take the overnight sleeper train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport which has recently been reopened and take a One-Two-Go flight down to Surat Thani. From Surat Thani Airport you can easily buy a bus boat combined ticket through to Koh Samui	You can leave Chiang Mai in the evening and be on one of Samui’s beaches by late afternoon the next day. About 22 hours in all.	2,700 baht
Chiang Mai to Koh Phangan	Method	How do I get there	How long will it take	What is the Approx cost
	Fastest	The fastest way is a direct flight from Chiang Mai to Koh Samui with Bangkok Airways. From the airport on Samui you will need to take a short ride down to the ferry pier at Big Buddha Beach where you can take the Hat Rin Queen ferry over to Koh Phangan (1 hour).	The flight to Samui is 2 hours from Chiang Mai and if you are lucky with the ferry timings you could be on Koh Phangan within 4 hours of leaving Chiang Mai!	6,250 baht
	Cheapest	The tourist bus service is by far the cheapest way to get to Koh Phangan and the ticket package will include the boat ticket over to the island. Convenient and cheap but very very slow!	It’s the same as the Koh Samui trip above. A mind numbing 42 hours of bus travel and waiting around.	1,100 baht
	Compromise	For a bit more comfort take the overnight sleeper train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport which has recently been reopened and take a One Two Go flight down to Surat Thani. From Surat Thani Airport you can easily buy a bus boat combined ticket through to Koh Phangan	The whole journey will take around 20 hours but you should get a good nights sleep on the train.	2,700 baht
Chiang Mai to Phuket	Method	How do I get there	How long will it take	What is the Approx cost
	Fastest	Thai Airways puts on a direct flight from Chiang Mai to Phuket, but please bear in mind there is no direct flight in the return direction. The flight is around the 5,800 baht mark but Thai airways often discounts this fare in the low season. Please contact us for the lowest prices. If you want to save some money then fly with one on the low cost airlines but you will need to change planes in Bangkok.	Flying time is a little over 2 hours	5,800 baht
	Cheapest	The Grueling tourist bus will get you to Phuket for very little money but be prepared for a long journey.	With the 12 hour stop over in Bangkok this journey takes about 36 hours	1,100 baht
	Compromise	As for Surat Thani the Sleeper train to Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport will save some money as well as getting you part of the way in some comfort. From there you can board a One Two Go or Nok Air flight to Phuket	Allowing enough time to catch your flight you are looking at an 18 hour trip but you should get some sleep on the sleeper train.	2,300 baht
Chiang Mai to Pattaya	Method	How do I get there	How long will it take	What is the Approx cost
	Fastest	There are a number of Airlines which fly to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport from Chiang Mai so plenty of Choice the cheapest fares start from around 1,300 baht with Air Asia. Pattaya does have its own Airport Utapao but there are no flights from Chiang Mai. Once at Suvarnabhumi you can either jump in a Taxi or take the bus into Pattaya which will take around an hour	From boarding the plane in Chiang Mai you could be in Pattaya within 3.5 hours is everything runs smoothly	1,500 baht
	Cheapest	The tourist bus is the cheapest but you will be made to change buses on Khao San Rd for the 3 hour run to Pattaya. This uses more time than is necessary. There are Government licensed buses which go from Chiang Mai to Pattaya direct.	Changing buses on the Khao San road will use some time so expect a total trip time of around 14-15 hours	600 baht
	Compromise	Take the train to Bangkok then a bus from the Eastern Bus terminal but you will have to factor in the cost of a taxi from the train station to the bus station	About 16 hours	850 baht
Chiang Mai to Phi Phi	Method	How do I get there	How long will it take	What is the Approx cost
	Fastest	With no airport on Phi Phi there is no super-fast way to get here. Most people will fly to Krabi first. So from Chiang Mai you will need to fly to Bangkok then change planes to Krabi You will need to time your arrival in Krabi so there is enough time to catch the afternoon ferry over to Phi Phi. The ferry departs at about 2:30pm	With the waiting around for plane and ferry connections this trip can take up to 12 hours	3,600 baht
	Cheapest	The bus and boat combined tourist service will get you here cheaply but it takes forever! Maybe using the government licensed buses is a better bet to avoid the long wait over in Bangkok.	This trip will be in excess of 40 hours	1,200 baht
	Compromise	Take the train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport then fly to Krabi with one of the low cost airlines. A taxi will be needed to get you to the ferry pier. There are usually 2 ferries a day you should get to Krabi in time to take the afternoon ferry.	If you can time the flights to get the morning ferry from Krabi to Phi Phi this journey will be around 18 hours but longer if you have to wait for the afternoon boat.	2,600 baht
Chiang Mai to Koh Tao	Method	How do I get there	How long will it take	What is the Approx cost
	Fastest	With no airport on Koh Tao getting here quickly is more of a challenge. The fastest way will be to take an early, direct Chiang Mai to Koh Samui flight then head to the ferry pier to take the boat across to Koh Tao. Bangkok Airways runs a shuttle bus service form the airport to the pier or there are usually plenty of taxis just outside the airport.	If you time your flight to connect with the ferry you could do this trip in a round 5 hours	6300 baht
	Cheapest	Taking the overnight tourist bus as usual is cheap but takes an age!	Around 40 hours with the wait in Bangkok	1100 baht
	Compromise	Fly to Bangkok with one of the low cost airlines in the afternoon then take a taxi to Bangkok’s main Hualumpong train station to take the sleeper train to Chumpon. Chumpon to Koh Tao is a 3 hour ferry ride away.	This trip should be done in under 20 hours	2350 baht
Chiang Mai to Krabi	Method	How do I get there	How long will it take	What is the Approx cost
	Fastest	There are no direct flights to Krabi from Chiang Mai so you will have to change planes in Bangkok. If you time your flights right you can keep the waiting time down in Bangkok to around 3 hours	With the plane transfer in Bangkok it will take around 5 hours.	3,500 baht
	Cheapest	The tourist bus will get you to Krabi the cheapest way but involves two overnight bus journeys and a 12 hour wait in Bangkok. What a drag!	36 hours	950 baht
	Compromise	As with other destinations in the south of Thailand taking the overnight sleeper train directly from Chiang Mai to Don Muang Airport will save some money as well as giving you a good nights sleep. From Don Muang Airport you can take a One-Two-Go or Nok Air flight direct to Krabi.	17 hours	2350 baht