Kuala Lumpur to Koh Phangan

The journey by train from Kuala Lumpur to Koh Phangan depart has three stages. Passengers need to change trains at the Malaysia-Thailand border and then leave the second train at Surat Thani to board a bus to the ferry port for Koh Phangan.

Stage 1: Train from Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar


For the first stage of the journey Kuala Lumpur to Koh Phangan you need to take a train from Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar near the Thailand-Malaysia border.

  • Buy tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar.
TrainKuala LumpurPadang BesarService
922407:2012:41ETS Platinum
922609:5515:16ETS Platinum
944212:1617:53ETS Gold
942815:4021:01ETS Platinum
921418:0022:50ETS Express
923822:5004:11ETS Platinum

Stage 2: Train from Padang Besar to Surat Thani


For the second stage of the journey from Kuala Lumpur to Koh Phangan you need to take the single daily direct train service from Padang Besar to Surat Thani in Thailand.

  • Buy tickets from Padang Besar to Surat Thani.
TrainPadang BesarSurat ThaniService
4617:0022:47Special Express

Stage 3: Ferry from Surat Thani to Koh Phangan


For the third and final stage of the journey from Kuala Lumpur to Koh Phangan you can take any of the 23 joint bus and ferry services a day which depart from Surat Thani Railway Station and travel all the way to Koh Phangan.

  • Buy tickets from Surat Thani Railway Station to Koh Phangan.
Train StationKoh PhanganTicketCompany
05:3010:30฿55012Go Transport
05:3011:00฿55012Go Transport
05:3010:30฿560Phantip
05:3011:00฿655Phantip
05:3010:30฿655Raja Ferry
06:0011:00฿637Samui Tour
07:0013:30฿655Raja Ferry
08:0013:30฿55012Go Transport
08:0014:00฿55012Go Transport
08:0013:30฿560Phantip
08:0014:00฿560Phantip
08:0013:30฿655Raja Ferry
08:3014:00฿858Nor Phuangphet Transport
08:4514:00฿637Samui Tour
09:1514:00฿637Samui Tour
09:3012:45฿850Lomprayah
09:4517:00฿637Samui Tour
10:0016:30฿655Raja Ferry
11:0015:00฿951Lomlahkkhirin
11:0016:30฿655Raja Ferry
11:4517:00฿637Samui Tour
13:4520:00฿637Samui Tour
15:0020:30฿655Raja Ferry

Kuala Lumpur Railway Station


KL Sentral Station is the main railway station in Kuala Lumpur.

Google Map of KL Sentral Station

Padang Besar Railway Station


Padang Besar Railway Station is the interchange station between Malaysian and Thai railway services.

Google Map of Padang Besar Railway Station

Surat Thani Railway Station


Surat Thani Railway Station is located 16 km to the west of Surat Thani city centre.

Google Map of Surat Thani Railway Station

Koh Phangan Ferry Port


Koh Phangan Ferry Port is located in Thong Sala, which is the main town in Koh Phangan on the south west coast of the island.

Google Map of Koh Phangan Ferry Port

About Travel to Koh Phangan


There are no direct trains from Malaysia to Thailand, but there are direct trains to Padang Besar on the border with Thailand.

Connecting Train Services

There are also three Thailand train services a day which depart from Padang Besar Railway Station. Two of these train services only go as far as Hat Yai, but one train service carries on all the way to Bangkok via Surat Thani Railway Station, which is where you need to leave the train to travel to Koh Phangan. Changing between Malaysia and Thailand train services at Padang Besar Railway Station is simple.

Passport Control

There are Malaysian and Thai passport control counters inside the train station itself which you need to pass through in order to get from the platform into which the train from Kuala Lumpur arrives, and the platform from which the train to Surat Thani departs.

Thong Nai Pan in Koh Phangan
Thong Nai Pan in Koh Phangan
Arrival in Surat Thani

The train from Padang Besar is scheduled to arrive in Surat Thani at 22:47. This is too late to travel onward to Koh Phangan the same day so you need to spend the night in a hotel before departing the next day. There are three small hotels with walking distance of Surat Thani Railway Station which are fairly basic. For a better hotel take a taxi from in front of Surat Thani Railway Station. There are good hotels within about 10 km away (near to Surat Thani Airport) which are closer than travelling to Surat Thani city centre.

Bus and Ferry to Koh Phangan

In the morning joint bus and ferry services depart from 05:30 to 11:00. The quickest and most expensive service is with the Lomprayah High Speed Ferry Company at 09:30. This service travels from a port near Surat Thani on a high speed catamaran. The cheapest, but not the slowest, service is with the Raja Ferry Company. Passengers on the Raja Ferry travel 90 minutes by bus to a ferry port in Donsak and then travel on a large car ferry to Koh Phangan.

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