[Q&A] Thailand : Ko Phang Nga

[biking nomad]

Am planning a trip to Koh Phangan for the full moon party, possibly at end July or end Aug.

 

However, need lots of help with planning and advice as is my first ride to Thailand and probably going solo.

 

For those who are familair with the route and place would appreciate tips on:

 

1) Route

 

I'm planning a direct ride to Thailand. Not sure if I'll park up in Surat Thani, Koh Samui or Koh Phangan. My consideration would be which would be most cost effective and secure.

 

Pls advice on best option and what would be the distance and time I would need for a one day direct trip to Surat Thani, Koh Samui or Koh Phangan.

 

2) Hotel Options

 

• Secure parking
  
• estimated Single Room Rates
  

 

3) Any other advice

 

Tks! Look forward to being swapmed with responses!

[biking nomad]

I would also like to use this thread to chronicle my planning, journey and eventual ride report and pics.

 

Looking forward to the land of smiles!

[arjen]

1) Route

 

I'm planning a direct ride to Thailand. Not sure if I'll park up in Surat Thani, Koh Samui or Koh Phangan. My consideration would be which would be most cost effective and secure.

 

Pls advice on best option and what would be the distance and time I would need for a one day direct trip to Surat Thani, Koh Samui or Koh Phangan.

Since its your first trip to beyond malaysia border, not really advisable to go samui at a go unless you are familier with the road condition along the way with some long haul long distance riding experience. One way will be about 1200km est to DON SAK Ferry terminal for ferries to Samui/Phangan . Not inclusive of the 2 hrs ferry over to samui.

 

Its much more advisable for you to ship the bike over the samui since you already rode up, why take the trouble to park at surat thani?

 

If you are aiming for the FMP at Ko Phangan, advisable for you to reach and park at samui beforehand. Vehicle can be arranged to park right inside the hotel lobby for a better piece of mind.

Walk into any tour agency and buy ferry tickets over to FMP, ( I believe there are plenty of packages offered over at the agency ) .

But please beware, Theft rate are on the high side esp during FMP, so please refrain from bringing too much important documents and stuff.

Beware of the Cab driver over at Koh Phangan as well, as they are out to slaughter you esp after the FMP

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) Hotel Options

 

* Secure parking

* estimated Single Room Rates

As above, certain hotel you can park right in their lobby, not every.

Hotels are rather on the high side over at Chaweng.

For me I prefer to stay at Nathon, Nearby to ferry terminal. Better local food compare to the caucasian infested chaweng beach.

You can rent a cub at 120-150b to get around samui.

not a very big island anyway.

 

over at chaweng, room rate can be abt from 800+B to 2000+B depend on what kind of apartment/hotel you want.

Definetly you can find more budget one over at the outskirt ranged from 250B onwards.

 

 

3) Any other advice

Advise to get at least another buddy to ride up.

A companion definetly make the trip safer and wouldnt be lonely especially its your first time.

 

 

my 2 cents worth of advice

 

Tks! Look forward to being swapmed with responses!

[arjen]

Route reference:

 

Shall skip the NSH and start from Sadao onwards.

 

1) Via Highway

 

Route 4 - Route 43 thru Patthalung - Route 41 -at Intersection Turn to Route 44 to Surat Thani then Turn to Route 401 Towards 4142/4014 . Turn at Route 4142 You get to Don Sak Ferry terminal To samui.

 

 

Via Coastal Road:

 

Route 4 From Sadao thru Hatyai then to Route 407. Intersection turn at Route 408 Head towards Hua Sai/Nakhon Si Thammarat. Will pass by a bride w sleeping buddlha. all the way until you merge into Route 401 Then turn at Route 4014 -> 4142 to get to Donsak.

 

 

Cheers

[Pauche]

I'll try to help a little:

 

Gelang Patah - Sadao: 813km

Sadao - Don Sak: 368km

Don Sak - Koh Samui Ferry Terminal: 31km

Koh Samui Ferry Terminal - Chaweng Beach: 35km

 

total about 17hrs

 

From Gelang patah to Sadao take NSH. From Sadao, take route 4 - 407 to Songkhla. Route 408 to Ranot & Nakhon Si Thammarat. Route 401 to Surat Thani. Then turn off into Don Sak Ferry Terminal. This is the SHORTEST trunk road to Don Sak from Sadao. Some prefer route 4 - 41 - 44, that is longer but dual lane wide roads.

 

hotels in koh phangan is super expensive during full moon period. best is to stay at koh samui, then take a ferry to koh phangan for the party that night. you can find loads of hotels on asiarooms.com. Samui Beach Appt in Chaweng Beach is pretty good, about 1600baht per room per night. Can sleep 6 person easily. very secure parking too.

[Erotomania]

damn.....this place is wicked, party all nite long.

[biking nomad]

tks for the responses.

 

Digesting all the information and still planning.

 

July 31 - Tues

Aug 28 - Tues

Aiming for either of these dates.

 

Is the schedule on this site accurate? Don't wanna ride all the way there and then miss the famous FMP!

 

http://www.kohsamui.org/party.html

 

If anyone is keen to ride up pls drop me a PM and we can make plans.

[biking nomad]

Seems like arjen and pauche both recommend the trunk road route from Sadao to Donsak. SOunds good to me as long as its the "chop chop" route.

 

Don't have any maps with me. Anywhere I can pick up maps of Thailand espcially of the route I will be taking. Would like a visual aid of where I'm heading.

 

 

On an aside:

 

Have not much riding experince in terms of really long journeys but have done 500 KM round trip on my RXZ from SG-Kota Tingii-Muar-SG in a day. Like the idea of long rides but I can appreciate that this drains concentration and safety is utmost.

 

Considering the advice on distance n time on road might stop in Hatyai for the night then carry on in the morning to Surat Thani-Samui. But this is sth I might want to play by ear. Let's see how the pre-ride planning goes.

 

Current ride is a FZS 600 - the thundercat fazer. Full tank is 24 Ls ++ so depending on my speed I think I can get about 420-480 Km range. But my plan is to take a few breaks even if its not for fuel stop. Just to stretch and refresh.

 

Budgeting

 

Now time to do some budgeting!

 

ANy guide on how much would be good for FMP? Whats the booze menu like and other charges?

 

Ferry from Don Sak to Samui with bike?

Ride from Samui to Phangan?

[arjen]

last paid 175 Baht for bike and 10 Baht for rider for me.

donsak to samui 1 way.

 

map you can get in major book store in sgp or you can try M-technic. alternatively you can get in hatyai lee garden lvl 2 bookstore for 200+ baht for a full detail map of thailand.

[baja freak]

i hope my info help. here goes. taking the highway is straightforward, but longer, trunk road need a lil bit more concentration, due to the traffic, and the the road signs MIGHT be a lil bit confusing for first timers. Dun get distracted if you happen to see that the same road sign pointing to another direction, cos they all will end up in the same place. confirm on your route and stick to one.and oh yeah, btw, dun waste time in hatyai, have a break when you clear border and chiong to Surat, thats where the party are!!Since you spend like 8 hrs on NSHW, whats another 4 -5hrs to surat?

 

And as for the party. I been there 6 times, and my honest advice to you . Stay in Samui.cos definitely there will be more accomodation to choose from.and more things to do,either you are the party kind, or chill out kind.many travellers will buy their booze from Samui 7-11s, and bring them over to Phangan, cos booze price tend to soar during full moon,but still if you think its troublesome,just get them there, not expensive for sinagpore standards, there is no cover charges, just choose the bar that spins your fav genre of music , sit on the beach and enjoy..My recommendation in Samui will be in Lamai.not central Lamai, as thats too sleazy. Northern Lamai is cool n quiet to rest n sleep.its the stretch when you finish the ups n downs hills from Chaweng. you wont miss that. cos that ups n downs is definitely wont be missed.once you cleared the hills,you will see samui yacht bungalows or something similar. ride for like 1km and you will see Spa resort.next to SPA is Sukasame Bungalows. they offer single room withoit aircon right on the beach for 350 -450 bt depending on season. pay like 700 to get aircon room.you can park your beloved bike right in front of the Bungalow,chain your bike to the veranda if you feel like it, no worries on the owner 's side.If I am not wrong, thats the only resort that allow you to ride your bike in on Lamai stretch.

At nite., please do visit Club Fusion in Lamai.They play the best trance and progressive stuff in Samui.vodka shark for 50 bt I think.or get a bucket for 300 bt.

I guess thats bout it dude.Go there, have fun, ride safe!

[nkan0]

last paid 175 Baht for bike and 10 Baht for rider for me.

donsak to samui 1 way.

 

haha, that time i went, paid Bt180 (big bike), but on the way back, paid only Bt150 (small bike) hahaha.... they just ask small, or big bike, then we played cheat and said "small bike" ....

[mud11]

Hi all im planning to go samui nxt tis coming sat. Anyone been there riding up recently. How's the situation in songkhla is it safe to pass there. This time round i will be driving up. Is anyone interested riding. I would ride if anyone does my friend would be driving. I remember once i took a ferry somewhere in songkhla to nakhon si thammart to surat. save a little distance. i can't exactly rem.

[ASTRADA]

hey there... u can check the previous full moon party threads in the archives of this forum. im sure u will find useful info n inspiration at the same time....

[fattsum]

mm.. good luck with the trip man... sound like fun... i have delay my ride to thailand for more than a year now due to unrest in the south... hope can make it next time.... ride safe there...

[biking nomad]

Tks for all the advice and suggestions. However, my trip has been postponed as some other friends who are in OZ want to go as well. Now scheduled for December.

 

Hopefully, that will be a good time too!

[mud11]

Hi all, im back safe and sound. The situation wasn't as bad as it sounds. This time i reach surat in 11 hours pretty fast as compared to riding. It was fun. I took patalung, thung yai route to surat. Mostly highway.

 

Samui is really quiet at this time, hatyai even worse as compared to few years back. Mostly locals visiting there, most of them told us the visitors are afraid due to the bombings. No problem the thai police are deployed in many places.

 

Although the border took a longer time to clear. Along the way i came back i was stopped at the msia border it took a little longer to get my stuff check.

[kingfisher]

Hi All - planning to ride up to Thailand probably to krabi on 29 Aug 07 and be back by 3 or 4 sep 07. Would be happy to have fellow biker to ride up with if you are also planning trip around same period.

[fattsum]

glad to see some of u guys went already back safely for those planning goodluck with the trip.... i will try to join in but not this month... wifey have strict rules over this month up to middle of next month...

[kingfisher]

Hi Everyone,

 

Just came back from Krabi with my wife and we had a very good time riding there and back. This being the 1st time into Thailand by bike, the crossing was quite smooth. Thanks to info from this forum, we got our thai insurance and temporary import/export cert for the bike at Gerun rest stop in Malaysia for RM17 (9 days).

 

At Sadao thai border, we park the bike - fillup immigration form, quequed to get the passport stamped at the custom booth. Then queued to submit the Import/export cert at another booth and that it! - we rode across into Thailand.

 

At Hatyai you must go to the Thai Authority of Tourism (TAT) office for a very good motoring map of Southern Thailand. We spent one night in Hatyai and had a great 2 hr full body massage at the Sakura Hotel for B200 (buy the massage voucher from Sintavee Tour - shop opposite hotel). Plenty of food shop around the area - no problem there.

 

From Hatyai we went to Songkhla - visit museum, ancient wall, mermaid statue at samila beach and then ride across the Tinsulanonda bridge to Ko Yo - a small island in Songkhla lake famous for it's hand woven fabric. While there the Institute for Southern Thai Studies is a must visit as they have a very comprehensive exhibitions covering history, tradition, handicraft ant etc.

 

We stayed one night in Songkhla and then it was to Nakhon Si Thammarat and then to Krabi. At Krabi we did kayaking anf the islands tour by long tail boat. Too many things to see there unanle to cover all but we will go again.

 

On way to Nakhon, we saw 4 Singapore bikes going in the opposite direction and we only managed a wave greeting to each other before going on our way.

 

The people there are friendly and helpful and we feel very secure all the time. I hardly need to use my bike alarm as all the hotels that I stayed in have their own private car park. I only used the alarm about 4 times - parking by roadside visit temples and night market. Average hotel cost about S$30.

 

It was good time to visit thailand - low season for tourist.

[biking nomad]

kingfisher,

 

Tks for sharing abt your trip!

Helpful infor on the insurance since a lot off conflicting stuff posted prior.

 

Just a word of advice, what time did u clear the border? Do you know the opening and closing time?

 

Looking fwd to riding to Samui in Dec!

[kmax]

a friend of mine recently came back,

check here ..http://www.singaporebikes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74253&page=64

[kingfisher]

Hi Biking Nomad,

 

We left Singapore and cross Malaysia at 5.30am via 2nd link. We reached Sadao at 6.30pm. Sorry we did not notice the opening/closing time of the border.

 

When you start your journey, I would suggest to buy ins at the Gerun rest stop from the Caltex petrol kiosk. It would take you few minutes at the thai border to get yourself orientated with the system there - no worries, just ask the officers. Just remember to get immigration card to fillup, get passport stamped (pay RM2) and then get your bike cert stamped and that's it!

 

For your info, I actually rode across the border and park bike next to the kerb which is next to insurance shop, walk back to immigration to get all the documents done. I stayed at the Golden Crown Hotel B780 (get the hotel voucher from shop opposite hotel) on the first night. On way back I stayed at the New World hotel for B500. Both hotel have security parking - GC hotel is new whereas NW is older but the room is clean and much bigger.

 

You will enjoy your ride to thailand - take your time and ride safely

[kingfisher]

Some pictures - border check point and the Tinsulanonda bridge - longest concrete bridge in Thailand which spans the Songkhla lake

[chrislayer]

kingfisher

 

bro, buy insurance in Gurun or Thai cheaper? and if at Gurun, if reach at 5-6am still can buy or not?

[kingfisher]

Hi Chrislayer,

 

The insurance is about the same if I remember correctly - not much difference. I am not sure if you can get the ins. that early but no harm dropping by at the petrol kiosk and try as it's along the way and you can make it your rest stop in your trip planning. If you are riding overnight with pillions, u may like to consider the danger of your pillions falling asleep in the early morning hours especially betw 4am - 6am. In Hatyai go for the full body massage at the Sakura Hotel - very good value for about S$9 for 2 hours and visit the Tourist Authorithy office to get your free motoring maps.