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South Thailand

"Backpacking Route Planner South Thailand" was last updated on Jan 14, 2013
All information below is subject to change

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Suggestions for travel routes in Southern Thailand?

I just love south Thailand and its beaches and islands :-)

Traveling in the south is pretty straightforward and the main transportation methods are bus, train and ferry.

Ferry tickets can be bought in advance at travel agencies or at the ferry terminals.

Here you go!

Suggestions for Southern Thailand:

Exiting south Thailand and entering Malaysia (Langkawi) from Koh Lipe:

Time: 4 weeks

Bangkok Chumphon (stopover) Koh Tao/ Koh Pha Ngan/Koh Samui Surat Thani (stopover) Krabi (stopover/possible overnight)
Phi Phi Islands Koh Lanta Direct ferry to Koh Lipe


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Tiger Line is a company operating between islands in Thailand and islands in Malaysia. With this company, there are only ferries between Koh Lanta and Koh Lipe in the high season, meaning between November and April.

Tiger Line also serves Ko Phi Phi to Langkawi, Ko Phi Phi to Koh Lipe and many other routes.

Pulau Langkawi (Malaysia)

  • If you don't want to visit all three islands in the Gulf of Thailand (Koh Tao, Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Samui), skip Chumphon and travel directly to Surat Thani from Bangkok (overnight bus, train or flight).

    Then take the ferry to Koh Samui or Koh Pha Ngan.

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    Southern Thailand routes, then heading back to Bangkok:

    1st option:

    Time: 17 days

    Bangkok Surat Thani (stopover) Koh Pha Ngan Back to Surat Thani (stopover) Krabi (stopover, possible overnight) Phi Phi Islands
    Phuket Phang Nga Khao Lak (Similan Islands) Straight to Bangkok


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  • From Phi Phi, you can also take the ferry directly to Koh Lanta, Phuket and Ao Nang (Krabi). From Ao Nang, you can access Railey peninsula including beautiful Phra Nang beach.

    • 2nd option:

    Time: 2-3 weeks

    Bangkok Surat Thani (stopover) Koh Samui Back to Surat Thani (stopover) Straight to Khao Sok National Park Khao Lak (Similan Islands)
    Ranong (stopover) Hua Hin Cha-am Back to Bangkok


    View Larger Map

  • I traveled from Ranong to Hua Hin by bus, and it just dropped me off in the middle of the night. From Hua Hin, there are regular buses to Cha-am (less than 30 minutes).

    You can also skip Hua Hin and Cha-am, and travel directly to Bangkok from Ranong by overnight bus (10 hours). If you're wondering about the train: the closest train station to Ranong is in Chumphon (4 hours by bus) and the train from Chumphon to Bangkok takes about 7 hours, give and take. So it's quicker to hop on a bus from Ranong.

    Buses from Khao Lak to Bangkok take dreadful 15 hours and stops by several towns on the way (kind of milk route).

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    Having trouble on where to travel in Thailand? How to set up an itinerary?

    You won't have a problem creating an itinerary after you've read this ebook. Check out Map Your Adventure: Thailand

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    Other pages you'll enjoy:
    Map of Southeast Asia
    Flight tickets
    Border crossing North Thailand to North Laos
    Travel insurance claim form

    › › Route Planner South Thailand

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