10 days Gulf islands: Samui, Phangan, Tao
This Gulf hop is beach nights plus Tao diving. Fly into USM. Boat with Lomprayah. Skip it in November swell if you need a guaranteed sea.
Ten Gulf days work when each island has a role. Samui is the airport and the easy beach. Phangan is bays, not only Haad Rin. Tao is the Open Water card and the west-coast viewpoints. Lomprayah is the first boat to book. Seatran Discovery and Songserm are the backup desks, not a third sea.
January to September is the easier Lower Gulf window. May to August is the calmest, clearest sea, when the Andaman parks are shut. October to December is swell season; fast boats cancel first. The Lomprayah Samui to Thong Sala catamaran is about 30 minutes. Seatran takes about 45. Phangan to Tao (Thong Sala to Mae Haad) is about 1 to 1.5 hours on Lomprayah: the catamaran about 1 hour, the midday ferry about 1.5 hours. Songserm and Seatran Discovery use the same piers; check the boat on the day. Tao collects about 20 THB on arrival. Read the Samui pier: Nathon for many Lomprayah tickets, Maenam / Pralarn for others, Bangrak for Seatran, Lipa Noi for Raja.
Day by day
1 Land USM
No boat on day one. Chaweng if you want dinner on foot. Maenam or Bophut if you want a quieter north coast.
2 Samui beach
Swim. Optional Ang Thong only if the park is open and you can spare the energy. Lamai if Chaweng is too loud.
3 Samui buffer
Move coasts if the first beach is wrong. Book Lomprayah to Thong Sala for tomorrow. Write the departure pier.
4 Koh Phangan
30 to 45 minutes to Thong Sala. Haad Rin only if Full Moon is the trip. Sleep west or north for a normal week.
5 Phangan bay day
Thong Nai Pan, Srithanu, or a west-coast sunset. Jungle roads need a real scooter licence, not a first-week rental.
6 Phangan water
Bottle Beach boat or a snorkel day. Keep the Tao ticket for a morning departure.
7 Koh Tao
Lomprayah to Mae Haad. Pay the 20 THB fee. Songthaew to Sairee if diving is the week. Chalok if you want the south.
8 Dive or viewpoint
Open Water starts here for a reason. If you are not diving, walk the west-coast viewpoints and swim Sairee.
9 Second Tao day
The day the island needed. Do not add a new island. Confirm the boat back toward USM or Chumphon.
10 Return and out
Morning boat to Samui, then USM. Or the Chumphon catamaran plus train if Bangkok is next. Keep a swell buffer.
Diving days versus beach days
If the Open Water card is the trip, give Tao four nights and cut Samui to two. If the beach is the trip, stay three on Samui, three on Phangan, and treat Tao as a two-night look. Do not book Haad Rin in a non-party week and then complain about the bay.
| Island | Who it fits | Boat note |
|---|---|---|
| Samui | Airport, families, a first Gulf night | USM. Name the later pier. |
| Phangan | Bays and one optional Full Moon | Thong Sala. Haad Rin is a different boat. |
| Tao | Divers and west-coast viewpoints | Mae Haad. 20 THB on arrival. |
Keep going
Book
Common questions
- How many nights on each island?
- Three, three, three, plus a buffer. Shift a night to Tao if you are diving. Shift a night to Phangan if a bay is the point.
- Which month?
- January to September. May to August is the cleanest swim. November needs a plan B.
- Can you add Ang Thong?
- Yes on a Samui day if the park is open. It is closed 1 November to 15 December. Do not steal a Tao dive day for it.