Bus times from Koh Yao Yai to Bangkok

By joint speedboat and bus service the journey from Koh Yao Yai to Bangkok is scheduled to take just over 17 hours.

Bus Timetable from Koh Yao Yai to Bangkok

• Click on the Koh Yao Yai – Bangkok link in the timetable below for more information and to buy tickets.

Koh Yao Yai Ferry Pier

Services from Koh Yao Yai to Bangkok depart from Chong Lard Pier.

Bangkok Bus Stop

Services from Koh Yao Yai to Bangkok terminate at the Khao San Road in Bangkok.

About Travel from Koh Yao Yai to Bangkok

The overland journey from Koh Yao Yai to Bangkok has two stages.

Speedboat to Phuket

The first part of the journey is by speedboat to Phuket. There are several different speedboat services from Koh Yao Yai to Phuket. The speedboat services used by transport operators on the Koh Yao Yai to Bangkok route arrive in Phuket at Bang Rong Pier.

The journey by speedboat from Koh Yao Yai to Phuket is scheduled to take 30 minutes.

Bus to Bangkok

The second stage of the journey is by full length bus from Bang Rong Pier all the way to the Khao San Road in Bangkok. The distance by road is 830 km and driving continuously within the speed limit the journey would take around 11 hours. The actual journey time by bus, however, works out to about 16 hours. This is because the bus will stop a number of times during the journey for comfort breaks, and more than likely pick up and drop off other customers at major cities such as Surat Thani and Hua Hin during the journey.

Flights to Bangkok

It is possible to complete the journey from Koh Yao Yai to Bangkok much more quickly by taking a different speedboat and minivan service from Koh Yao Yai to Phuket International Airport, and from there fly to Bangkok.

For travellers with a more limited budget, however, taking a joint speedboat and bus service to Bangkok may be a better option because overall flying to Bangkok is more expensive. Flights with low cost airlines can be very cheap but the costs often increase quite sharply if you have large bags which need to be checked-in. Also travellers need to factor in the cost of getting to Phuket International Airport and then the cost of travelling from the airport in Bangkok to their final destination.

If you travel by bus you don’t have to pay extra for a single large bag and you don’t have to pay extra for taxis to take you to and from the airport.

Arrival in Bangkok

Services from Koh Yao Yai to Bangkok terminate at the Khao San Road in Bangkok. The Khao San Road, and the area around it, is very popular with foreign visitors to Bangkok, particularly younger independent travellers. There is plenty of inexpensive accommodation in the area, some of the best of which is located on the northern section of Soi Rambutri which is near the Khao San Road.

For visitors who are not planning to stay in the Khao San Road the arrival point is much less convenient. The reason for this is that the Khao San Road area is not currently to either of Bangkok’s fast modern suburban public transport systems. Travelling around Bangkok by public transport is very easy and quick if you use either the city’s elevated suburban railway network (BTS) or underground train network (MRT). That’s not possible, however, from the Khao San Road area.

Public Transport from the Khao San Road

Because the area around the Khao San Road is very popular with leisure travellers the taxi and tuk-tuk drivers who operate there tend to be reluctant to use their meters in favour of asking for often two to three times what might by charged for a similar journey if you took a taxi or a tuk-tuk in a different less popular part of Bangkok.

There are, however, three good local public transports which you can use for travel from the Khao San Road to avoid paying over inflated taxi or tuk-tuk fares:

• Local Bus: One option is to take a local bus from the Khao San Road area to Siam Square where you can join the BTS train network. The journey takes 30 to 40 minutes and costs less than 10 THB per person. For more information on this option you can read more in our guide to bus services from the Khao San Road to Siam Square.
• River Boat: From the Khao San Road it’s an 800 metre walk to Phra Arthit Express Boat Pier where you can board a Chao Phraya Express Boat service. Chao Phraya Express Boat services ply the Chao Phraya in both directions. Tickets cost less than 20 THB per person. The service calls in at lots of different ferry piers along the river, some of which are very close to BTS stations, such as Bang Pho Chao Phraya Express Boat Pier. For visitors to the Khao San Road area river boats are a useful and cheap way of connecting with other public transports in Bangkok.
• Canal Boat: Another option is to make use of one of Bangkok’s most unique and interesting public transport networks, the Khlong Saen Saep canal boat service. The service operates along 18 km of Bangkok’s canal network on an east-west axis. The western end of the network, Phanfa Bridge Pier, is 950 metres walking distance from the Khao San Road. From Phanfa Bridge Pier canal boats travel eastward via Pratunam and the lower Sukhumvit Road before terminating at Wat Sriboonreung Pier on the eastern outskirts of the city. For visitors with the time canal boats are a fantastic way to explore the rest of the city.