How to get from Phuket to Koh Lipe

Why visit Koh Lipe?

Koh Lipe is a Thai island in the Andaman Sea, near the Malaysian border. An ocean lover’s dream, you’ll find colourful coral gardens just a few metres from its shores. The waters surrounding the island are said to be home to 25% of the world’s tropical fish species!

Combine this with Koh Lipe’s pristine beaches and clear blue waters, and you’ll understand why it’s becoming such a famous destination for snorkelling and diving. What we love most is that fewer tourists are travelling to Koh Lipe, making it the perfect place to get away from it all.

There are 3 ways to travel the 185 kilometers (115 miles) from Phuket to Koh Lipe. You can choose between the bus + ferry, flight + ferry and ferry. The journey takes 4 hours 30 minutes to 15 hours 30 minutes and the quickest way is by flight + ferry. If you're on a budget, the cheapest option is by bus + ferry with tickets starting at 1,170 THB ($35).

Travelling by bus/minivan and ferry from Phuket to Koh Lipe is not the best option because it takes almost twice the time. It does, however, serve as a good alternative if you want to save your budget.

For this journey, you will have to take a bus from Phuket to Hat Yai first. From Hat Yai, you can book a combined van+ferry tickets to Koh Lipe. The van will first bring you to Pak Bara pier, from where it is only a 1.5-hour ferry ride to Koh Lipe.

Unfortunately, there is no combined ticket for bus and ferry that goes directly from Phuket to Koh Lipe.

This means you have to arrange the transfer to Hat Yai by yourself. See the step-by-step guide below.

Minibus 1996 is the only bus company offering bus trips from Phuket to Hat Yai. The bus has several departures a day, between 07:20 and 20:30. You can choose between an economy and a standard bus.

Bus from Phuket heading to Hat Yai departs from Phuket Bus Terminal 2, which is just a 10-minute drive from the Phuket town centre.

The bus will arrive at Hat Yai Bus Terminal, located 3 kms from the town centre.

We recommend taking this night bus so you don’t lose a day travelling. When you arrive at Hat Yai in the early morning, you can still stretch your legs and have breakfast before the first van departs for Koh Lipe at 08:00.

From Hat Yai, there are several companies that offer combined van + ferry rides from Hat Yai to Koh Lipe. The combined minivan and ferry ride takes around 3h 30m - 5h 30m.

The first leg of this journey from Hat Yai to Koh Lipe will take about 2 hours to reach Pak Bara Pier by minivan. From there, you will be transferred to the 1.5-hour ferry to Koh Lipe.

All minivans listed below conveniently leave from Hat Yai Bus Terminal. This is the same bus terminal where the buses from Phuket arrive.

Hat Yai Airport

Standard

Koh Lipe Walking Street

08:45

4h 45m

13:30

08:45

4h

12:45

09:30

4h

13:30

11:30

3h 30m

15:00

Lipe Ferry

From 716 THB ($21)

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• 24/7 customer support

716 THB ($21)

08:45

4h 45m

13:30

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• 24/7 customer support

773 THB ($23)

08:45

4h

12:45

09:30

4h

13:30

11:30

3h 30m

15:00

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A combination of flight and van+ferry is another alternative to travel from Phuket to Koh Lipe. It’s cheaper than the direct ferry and takes around the same time.

Still, the journey from Phuket to Koh Lipe will be much more spectacular. Also, bear in mind that you will need to arrange transport from your accommodation in Phuket to Phuket Airport.

Because Koh Lipe doesn’t have an airport, you have to fly from Phuket to Hat Yai. The flight from Phuket to Hat Yai takes only one hour.

From Hat Yai Airport, there are also several minivans departing to Koh Lipe. The minivan tickets include a transfer to the ferry to Koh Lipe.

TIP: If you decide to travel by plane, please consider including a carbon compensation fee to reduce your impact on the environment.

Direct flights from Phuket to Hat Yai take only 1 hour and fares start from 1,200 THB ($35).

This direct flight is operated by Bangkok Airways, with one daily flight departing at 9:35. Flights from Phuket Airport arrive at Hat Yai International Airport at 10:35. Unfortunately, this current schedule won’t give you enough time to transfer to the minivans departing from Hat Yai Airport.

We recommend checking the button below to see if there are new flights scheduled with an earlier arrival time.

There are several minivans departing from Hat Yai bus terminal, as well as Hat Yai Airport.

Note that the latest departure time from Hat Yai Airport is 11:30 because the minivans need to be on time at Pak Bara Pier to transfer passengers to the ferry to Koh Lipe. This means you have about 1 hour after your flight lands.

This gives you normally enough time, but keep in mind that a delay in your flight schedule might result in missing this transfer. If you miss your transfer, you will need to stay one night in Hat Yai before continuing to Koh Lipe.

The minivan to Pak Bara Pier takes about 2 hours and the ferry to Koh Lipe takes about 1.5 hours. Including transfer time this total journey will take 4-6 hours.

Although not cheap, there are four direct ferries operating from Phuket to Koh Lipe. Travel time is around 5 to 7 hours and you can get a seat for 2,357 THB ($70).

The four ferry companies that operate from Phuket to Koh Lipe are Satun Pakbara Speed Boat Club, Satun Pakbara Speed Boat, Jolly Travel and Bundhaya Speedboat. The ferry operators have alternating schedules which means that only one ferry leaves per day.

Departure station

Ferries heading to Koh Lipe from Phuket usually depart from Rassada Pier. The pier is only a 20-minute drive from Phuket town centre. You can take a songthaew, a minivan, or a Grab taxi with fares starting from 300 THB ($8.80).

Luckily, Bundhaya Speedboat offers free hotel pick in the most popular areas of Phuket, so you won’t have to worry about transportation going to the pier. See here the areas they serve:

• Kata
• Karon
• Patong
• Phuket town

Rassada Pier

Speedboat

Bundhaya Beach Ko Lipe

08:30

5h

13:30

Bundhaya Speedboat

From 2,645 THB ($78)

Compare prices

2,645 THB ($78)

08:30

5h

13:30

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• 24/7 customer support

2,696 THB ($80)

08:30

5h

13:30

Check on BookAway