Penang to Koh Samui

There are three stages to the journey by train from Penang to Koh Samui. Passengers need to take two separate trains, and then a bus and ferry service for the last stage of the journey to Koh Samui

Stage 1: Penang to Padang Besar

The first stage of the journey from Penang to Koh Samui is by train from Butterworth Railway Station in Penang to Padang Besar.

• Train tickets from Penang to Padang Besar are available for purchase on the day of travel from the ticket counter at Butterworth Railway Station.

Stage 2: Padang Besar to Surat Thani

The second stage of the journey from Penang to Koh Samui is by train from Padang Besar to Surat Thani in Thailand.

• Buy tickets from Padang Besar to Surat Thani.

Stage 3: Surat Thani to Koh Samui

The third stage of the journey from Penang to Koh Samui is by bus and ferry service from Surat Thani Railway Station to Koh Samui.

• Buy tickets from Surat Thani Railway Station to Koh Samui.

Butterworth Railway Station

Read more about Butterworth Railway Station.

Padang Besar Railway Station

Read more about Padang Besar Railway Station.

Surat Thani Railway Station

Read more about Surat Thani Railway Station.

About Travel to Koh Samui

The journey by train from Penang to Koh Samui in Thailand takes at least 20 hours. The reason it takes this long is because travellers need to stay overnight in Surat Thani before completing the final stage of the journey to Koh Samui.

Train Services from Penang to Padang Besar

The first stage of the journey by train from Penang to Koh Samui is to take a KTM Komuter service from Butterworth Railway Station to Padang Besar.

From George Town in Penang Island the cheapest way to travel to Butterworth Railway Station is to take the RapidFerry commuter boat service from George Town to Butterworth. These services operate from 07:00 until 23:30, and the journey takes 15 to 20 minutes.

There is no allocated seating, or advance ticket purchase service, on KTM Komuter services from Butterworth Railway Station to Padang Besar. You simply turn up at the station, buy your ticket, and search for a seat after boarding the train. These services are used extensively by local residents to make shorter journeys so seats will become available later on during the 1 hour 51 minute journey even if the train is full when it departs from Butterworth Railway Station.

Passport Control

On arrival at Padang Besar Railway Station passengers wishing to continue their journey by train to Thailand need first to visit the immigration centre on the ground floor of Padang Besar Railway Station:

• First visit the Malaysian immigration desk to complete immigration procedures for exiting Malaysia.
• Second visit the Thailand immigration desk to complete immigration procedures for entering Thailand.

Please note, that the train you need to take (Train #46) departs at 17:00 Thai time, which is 18:00 in Malaysia. Allow at least 1 hour between the time the train from Penang arrives in Padang Besar, and the time Train #46 departs.

Train from Padang Besar to Surat Thani

The second stage of the journey from Penang to Koh Samui is to take a Thai train service (Train #46) from Padang Besar Railway Station to Surat Thani in Thailand:

• The journey from Padang Besar to Surat Thani on Train #46 is scheduled to take 5 hours 47 minutes.
• There is only seat type available on Train #46, 2nd Class A/C Sleeper.

2nd Class A/C Sleeper seats on Train #46 are normally reconfigured into flat beds (with a privacy curtain) between 18:00 and 19:00, so passengers travelling as far as Surat Thani can enjoy around 4 hours of bed rest before they need to alight from the train.

Accommodation in Surat Thani

At the moment there is a wait of nearly 7 hours between the scheduled arrival time of the train in Surat Thani and the departure of the first joint bus and ferry service to Koh Samui.

Surat Thani Railway Station is located in a small town called Tha Kham, which is 16 km by road to the west of Surat Thani City. As well as 2 convenience stores and some late night food stalls, there are also 2 small hotels in Tha Kham within 200 metres walk of the train station:

• Queen Hotel
• Phunphin Station

Both of these hotels are budget hotels which you can book online through many of the major hotel booking websites. If these hotels are full, or you want to stay somewhere more luxurious, then you need to take a taxi into Surat Thani City. Taxi drivers wait for business at a taxi rank located about 10 metres to the left as you exit from the ticket hall at Surat Thani Railway Station. The fares are printed on a sign hanging from the roof of the taxi driver’s shelter. For journey from Surat Thani Railway Station to Surat Thani Railway City by taxi the far is typically 160 THB.

Bus and Ferry to Koh Samui

The third and final stage of the journey by train from Penang to Koh Samui is to take a joint bus and ferry service from Surat Thani Railway Station to Koh Samui.

There are lots of different joint bus and ferry services from Surat Thani Railway Station to Koh Samui, operated by numerous different companies. What they all have in common is that they depart from the same place, which is a car parking area about 100 metres walking distance to the left as you exit from the ticket nall at Surat Thani Railway Station. The car park is very easy to identify:

• It has a distinctive small clock tower inside the car park.
• There is a row of travel agents and cafes, including Wut Travel, facing onto the car parking area.
• Lots of other train passengers carrying their luggage will also be waiting in this area.

In order to locate the bus service you have booked simply approach any of the staff from the different travel agencies and transport companies who congregate in this area and show them your ticket. If you need to wait we recommend ordering a drink or food from one of the cafes, and paying a small fee to use their toilet before embarking on the last stage of the journey to Koh Samui. There are no free public toilets nearby.