A March week with two nights per island, northbound ferries and a costed journey to Chumphon on the mainland.
Stay on Samui, Phangan and Tao for two nights each, travelling north through the chain. Bophut combines a beach with Fisherman’s Village; Thong Sala is Phangan’s port town and the starting point for a west-coast outing; Mae Haad keeps Tao’s piers close to the final hotel. The week leaves one full sightseeing day per island. Choose it for a first visit to all three, rather than several days of diving or a long retreat.
February–March is the focus for this Gulf route, with a worked calendar of 1–7 March 2027. The east coast has a different rainfall pattern from Phuket: the north-east monsoon can bring rain into December. The journey ends in Chumphon city on day seven, after a boat and road transfer from Tao. If your onward flight needs a mainland overnight, add a seventh hotel night and an eighth day. The six-night plan does not include that room.
Fisherman’s Village gives the Samui stay more than a beach address. Converted Chinese shophouses now form part of its restaurant and shopping streets. The ibis price example is about 1.5 km away, so compare the actual entrance with where you want to spend your evenings.
Thong Sala is the port and everyday service centre, while the west-coast trip through Sri Thanu to Haad Yao supplies the beach day. Haad Rin nightlife and the eastern retreat bays are different choices, with their own road journeys and hotel locations.
Tao’s port village has beaches on both sides of its piers, cafes and dive shops. Staying here keeps the boat arrival and final departure close. The itinerary budgets for a guided snorkelling trip, including the separately charged Nang Yuan entry, on the intervening full day.
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StartBooker answer
Spend nights 1–2 in Bophut on Samui, 3–4 near Thong Sala on Phangan and 5–6 in Mae Haad on Tao. Take the inter-island ferries on days three and five, then the Tao–Chumphon boat and city transfer on day seven. This leaves one full day per island. February–March suits this plan’s beach and boat focus; the worked dates are 1–7 March 2027. Book an extra mainland night if your onward flight needs it.
Explore tours, attractions and local experiences in Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao along this route through Thailand.
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These are the overnight areas for the worked route, with two nights in each. The island guide links help compare other coasts before changing the base.
3 stops · swipe
1
Bophut beach and Fisherman’s Village
Sleep around Bophut for beach time, north-east temple visits and village dinners. Choose the actual hotel before booking the Phangan boat: Pralarn, Bangrak and Nathon are different Samui terminals, each with its own road approach.
Read the Koh Samui guide →
2
Thong Sala port and a west-coast day
Stay in or near Thong Sala for the two-night stop, then take a west-coast outing through Sri Thanu towards Haad Yao. Haad Rin nightlife and an eastern retreat are alternatives that need their own room and return-transport plan.
Read the Koh Phangan guide →
3
Mae Haad village, piers and a guided snorkel day
Mae Haad puts the piers, cafes and beaches on either side of the harbour near the hotel. Sairee is the alternative for a busier evening scene and needs pier rides. The photograph shows the wider Tao island group, rather than the port beach.
Read the Koh Tao guide →Use 1–3 March for Samui, 3–5 March for Phangan and 5–7 March for Tao. Ferry days are 3 and 5 March; 7 March is the mainland departure.
Take a prearranged car from Samui Airport to your Bophut hotel. The accommodation choice decides how much of the evening you can do on foot: the ibis benchmark is on Bophut beach, about 1.5 km from Fisherman’s Village. If the room is close enough for your group, walk the village’s waterfront streets, where converted Chinese shophouses now accommodate shops and restaurants. Otherwise arrange a return ride. This is a useful first look at the settlement behind the resort coast. An early arrival can also include time on the beach; a late flight still fits because the first ferry is two days away.
Base: Koh Samui
Visit the north-east temples with a driver covering both stops and the return to Bophut. Big Buddha, at Wat Phra Yai, sits on Ko Fan, an islet joined to Samui by a causeway. Its golden seated image was completed in 1972. Nearby Wat Plai Laem has a lake setting and a white, eighteen-armed Guanyin, the Chinese Buddhist figure of compassion. Looking at the different images makes this more than two interchangeable temple photographs. Cover shoulders and knees, and remove shoes where requested. Back in Bophut, leave the afternoon for the beach. Samui’s local kalamae, a sweet made with coconut milk, is a food souvenir to look for during the stay.
Base: Koh Samui
Ride from Bophut to the Samui pier on your confirmed ticket. The example in Connections leaves Pralarn, on the north coast; Bangrak and Nathon are separate terminals and need different road arrangements. Allow time for the drive and the carrier’s stated check-in requirement. The fare used here is pier to pier, so the Thong Sala hotel ride is separate. Once on Phangan, store your bags if the room is not ready and explore the port town’s shops and food places. Confirm the driver for tomorrow’s west-coast trip. Staying near the port makes this a short island stop without an additional long journey to an eastern bay.
Base: Koh Phangan
From Thong Sala, follow the western coast through Sri Thanu towards Haad Yao with an arranged return ride. Choose Haad Yao as the main beach stop, leaving time to swim in suitable conditions and have lunch before returning to town. This gives the Phangan day a different setting from the port, without requiring a hotel move. The hero photograph shows Bottle Beach on the northern shore, which is a separate trip from this western route. If Bottle Beach is your priority, ask about its access and substitute that outing. Haad Rin is another direction again; a party visit needs its own date and return-transport plan.
Base: Koh Phangan
Check out for the northbound sailing from Thong Sala. On Tao, Mae Haad is the arrival village, with accommodation, cafes, supermarkets and dive shops near the piers. Check the actual hotel entrance before carrying bags along the waterfront: a room described simply as Koh Tao could be across the island. The central base used here lets you settle in and visit the beaches north or south of the pier without another long transfer. Sairee offers more evening activity as an alternative stay, but add both pier rides when comparing its room price. Confirm tomorrow’s snorkelling pickup with the operator after arrival.
Base: Koh Tao
Oxygen’s regular morning trip is the costed water outing. Its programme lists pickup between 09:00 and 09:50, departure from Mae Haad at 10:00 and return around 17:00, followed by the hotel transfer. Tell the guide your swimming experience and use the supplied flotation equipment as instructed. The route includes Nang Yuan and bays around Tao, with snorkelling in places such as Japanese Garden; weather and currents can change the stops. Equipment, lunch, drinking water and hotel transport are included, while Nang Yuan admission is paid separately and included in this budget. Treat turtles or sharks as possible sightings, not part of the ticket’s promise.
Base: Koh Tao
The 2026 reference timetable offers a 10:15 Tao catamaran reaching Thung Makham Noi pier at 11:45. The pier-only fare is THB750 (≈ US$22) per adult; the budget uses the THB900 (≈ US$27) city-hotel or railway-station product, continuing by road with a listed 12:45 arrival. Chumphon Airport is a different endpoint, with a different road product. Confirm the March sailing and your selected drop-off before booking onward travel. The itinerary ends in the city, with no seventh room or flight included. An extra mainland night is a useful addition before a fixed flight, rather than a connection assumed within these seven days.
Base: Koh Tao
Planning examples from Lomprayah’s 2026 reference timetable, checked on 16 October 2026 and reread on 27 October. Confirm the actual March 2027 sailing, terminal, check-in and baggage terms; the final Chumphon connection is described on day seven.
2 transfers
Koh Samui Koh Phangan
The reference catamaran fare is THB350 (≈ US$10) per adult, pier to pier. It excludes the Bophut–Pralarn car and the Phangan hotel ride, which are in the local-transport budget.
Koh Phangan Koh Tao
Lomprayah’s reference catamaran fare is THB600 (≈ US$18) per adult. Its separate noon ferry takes 90 minutes and costs THB450 (≈ US$13); choose the dated service before arranging check-out.
For 1–7 March 2027, allow THB42,020–51,920 (≈ US$1,250–1,550) for two adults sharing rooms. Covers six nights, three boat journeys, the Chumphon city transfer, island road rides, meals, one snorkelling day with entry, temple donations and a 10% reserve. Flights and a mainland overnight are extra.
Booking tips
The pins locate Bophut, Thong Sala and Mae Haad. Hotel addresses distinguish the three islands and each coast; the map does not draw the ferry services described above.
Koh Samui → Koh Phangan → Koh Tao route
February–March is the focus here, with the worked trip on 1–7 March 2027. Samui’s north-east monsoon can bring rain into December, so the Andaman coast’s winter calendar should not be copied automatically. Check current Gulf marine warnings and the carrier’s notice before each crossing.
It gives one full day on each island, plus arrival, two hotel moves and the mainland departure. Extend the trip if you want a retreat, several dive days or a mainland night before a flight. Keeping two islands instead gives more time at each beach and removes a hotel change.
Yes: arrange the mainland-to-Tao arrival on day one, stay two Tao nights, two on Phangan and two on Samui, then leave Samui on day seven. You then leave from Samui Airport without a same-day inter-island crossing. Book southbound ferry products; the northbound times shown here do not apply in reverse.
They leave only one full day. PADI describes Open Water training over several days, so a complete course needs a revised hotel calendar agreed with the dive centre. This route budgets for snorkelling. If you choose scuba instead, ask the operator to plan training and your onward flight together.
If the snorkelling trip is cancelled, keep the same hotel and use an accessible shore day. A suspended ferry between islands changes where you sleep: contact the carrier and both hotels to rearrange the nights. The reserve helps with some changes, but an extended delay can exceed it.
Add a Chumphon night if the priority is an onward flight after the sea journey. For more time on the islands, give Tao a third night for a second full beach or water day, moving the mainland departure to day eight. Either option adds one room night to the budget.
Editorial self-review StartBooker
Checked on 2026-10-27
Updated
How the route was verified: Editorial self-review matched seven days to six island nights and a Chumphon city exit. Confirmed Gulf seasonal differences, read temple and food sources, and reread the directed 2026 ferry tables. Retained the dated Samui quote with its original check date; other room figures are inclusive March allowances. Reviewed complete costs, language, licensed photos, coordinates and desktop/mobile output. This is self-review, not independent approval.
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