Pattaya to Koh Samet Taxi — Private Transfer to Ban Phe Pier
A private car from your Pattaya hotel to the pier at Ban Phe, where the boats leave for Koh Samet. One fixed price for the whole car, tolls already paid, about 1 h 15 m door to pier. You pay the driver when you get there.
Quick Facts: Pattaya to Ban Phe Pier
- Drive: about 81.6 km, roughly 1 h 15 m via Route 36. Allow up to 1.5 hours
- Tolls: the highway tolls on Route 36 are inside the fare
- Fare: from ฿1,000 for a sedan, fixed at booking. No meter, no surge, no night surcharge
- Pickup: any hotel, condo or address in Pattaya, Jomtien, Naklua or Pratumnak
- Drop-off: the Ban Phe pier you name, at the ticket counters
- Not included: the boat ticket to Koh Samet and the 200 THB national park fee
- Available: 24 hours a day, booked ahead
How the Pattaya to Koh Samet journey works
Koh Samet (also written Koh Samed or Ko Samet) has no bridge and no car ferry. Private cars are not permitted on the island at all, so no taxi can take you past the pier. Getting there from Pattaya is two legs. The first is road: about 81.6 km south-east down the coast to the fishing town of Ban Phe. The second is water: a short crossing from a Ban Phe pier to the island.
We handle the road leg. The driver meets you at your hotel at the agreed time, loads the bags, drives to the pier you named when you booked, and carries the luggage to the ticket counters. You buy your own boat ticket there and board. If you are not sure which window sells the boat you want, ask the driver. He does this run most weeks.
Pattaya to Ban Phe pier: distance and drive time
The run is about 81.6 km and takes roughly 1 hour 15 minutes in normal traffic. The driver leaves Pattaya on Sukhumvit, picks up Route 36 towards Rayong province, and stays on it almost the whole way to the Ban Phe turn-off. Route 36 includes a tolled highway section. Those tolls are in your fare and the driver pays them at the gate.
Allow up to 1.5 hours. Friday afternoons and long Thai holiday weekends load that road, and the last few kilometres into Ban Phe town crawl. Boats cross roughly between 08:00 and 18:00, so if you want to sleep on the island tonight, book a pickup that gets you to the pier with hours in hand rather than minutes.
Pattaya to Koh Samet taxi fares
One price for the car, agreed before you travel. It does not move with the hour of the day or the number of bags in the boot.
| Vehicle Type | Capacity | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Sedan (Toyota Camry or similar) | 3 passengers, 2 large bags | ฿1,000 |
| Family SUV (Toyota Fortuner or similar) | 4 passengers, 4 large bags | ฿1,200 |
| Minivan (Toyota Commuter) | 8 passengers, 8 large bags | ฿1,600 |
The fare is per vehicle, not per person. Eight people in one minivan at ฿1,600 pay less than two sedans at ฿2,000, so a group should take the van and split it. The same fares apply in reverse, from Ban Phe back to Pattaya. Every route we run sits on the full price list.
These are not the lowest numbers quoted on this route. What they buy is a figure that holds: the tolls are already inside it, and the driver has no reason to reopen it at the pier.
What the fare includes
The car and driver for the whole run, fuel, every toll on Route 36, and the wait if you come down to the lobby a few minutes late. Pickup is a meet-and-greet inside the hotel, not a phone call from a car idling outside. The price is locked when we confirm the booking and does not rise at night or on a public holiday.
Payment is cash in Thai baht, handed to the driver at the pier. Nothing is charged in advance and no card details are taken.
Two things are not included, and it is worth being blunt about them. The boat ticket to Koh Samet is bought and paid for at the pier. The national park fee is collected on the island. Both are covered below.
Which Ban Phe pier do we drop you at?
Ban Phe is not a single pier. It is a run of them along the same short stretch of waterfront, each with its own boat operators and ticket windows:
- Nuanthip (also spelled Nuantip): the main tourist pier, and the one we use unless you tell us otherwise
- Ban Phe Municipality Pier, also called Tessaban: used by several ferry operators and by a number of packaged transfers
- Sri Ban Phe: the departure point named on some bus and boat combination tickets
- Seree and Tarua Phe: smaller working piers, used by particular operators
- Ao Prao: the private pier for the Ao Prao Resort boat
Give us the pier name, the ferry company, or simply your Koh Samet hotel when you book, and the driver goes to the right one. Resort boat transfers name their pier on the confirmation email. Getting this right saves you dragging a suitcase along the waterfront road in the heat.
If you are driving yourself instead, the piers have guarded car parks at around 50 to 100 THB a day, since the car has to stay on the mainland either way.
Ferries and speedboats from Ban Phe to Koh Samet
Three kinds of boat leave Ban Phe, and you buy at the counter for whichever suits you.
The passenger ferry is the cheap one and the one most people take. The crossing is roughly 30 to 45 minutes, boats go about once an hour, and the window runs from roughly 08:00 to about 18:00. Expect somewhere around 70 to 100 THB per person one way. Operators publish different figures and change them, so treat that as a guide and pay what the counter asks.
The fast catamaran cuts the crossing to about 15 minutes for around 150 THB one way, on fewer sailings a day. A private speedboat is the third option and the only one once the ferries stop for the evening: 10 to 15 minutes, chartered by the boat rather than by the seat, roughly 1,000 to 2,000 THB depending on the hour and the beach.
Most boats tie up at Nadan Pier on the north-west corner of Koh Samet, a few minutes from Hat Sai Kaew. Some resorts run their own boats into Ao Prao or Ao Wong Duean instead. At Nadan, songthaews meet the arrivals and charge around 50 to 100 THB down to the beaches further along the island.
We do not sell boat tickets and we do not publish a timetable here. Operators change theirs without warning, and a stale schedule on this page would send somebody to an empty pier.
The 200 THB national park fee
Koh Samet sits inside Khao Laem Ya–Mu Ko Samet National Park, and the park charges an entry fee on arrival. It is 200 THB per adult foreign visitor and 40 THB for Thai nationals, paid in cash at the checkpoint a short walk past Nadan Pier. Bring small notes.
Keep the ticket, it is valid for about a week. Very few operators quoting this route mention the fee at all, which is why visitors land expecting the boat ticket to have been the last thing they paid for. It is not part of your taxi fare.
Koh Samet to Pattaya: the return trip
The return runs at the same fares. Book it before you leave for the island, or message us from Koh Samet a day ahead. Phone, WhatsApp or Line on +66 95 540 7084, or email booking@bangkokpattayataxi.com.
Tell us which boat you are catching rather than a clock time. Crossings run late, and knowing the boat lets the driver time his arrival at Ban Phe. He waits at the pier with your name up, and a boat that slips half an hour costs you nothing extra.
Book it. Ban Phe has very few cars sitting around by late afternoon, and the ones that are there quote on the spot to people standing on a pier with luggage and no other way home.
Pattaya to Koh Samet taxi: frequently asked questions
How much is a taxi from Pattaya to Koh Samet?
The road transfer to Ban Phe pier is ฿1,000 for a sedan (3 passengers), ฿1,200 for an SUV (4 passengers), and ฿1,600 for an 8-seat minivan. The fare is per vehicle, fixed when we confirm the booking, and includes the Route 36 tolls. The boat ticket to the island and the national park fee are paid separately.
How long does the drive from Pattaya to Ban Phe take?
About 1 hour 15 minutes for the 81.6 km run via Route 36 in normal traffic. Allow up to 1.5 hours. Friday afternoons and Thai holiday weekends load that road, and the last stretch into Ban Phe town is slow.
Does the taxi price include the ferry to Koh Samet?
No. The fare covers the car to the pier only. Boat tickets are bought at the pier counter: roughly 70 to 100 THB per person on the passenger ferry, around 150 THB one way on the fast catamaran, or roughly 1,000 to 2,000 THB to charter a private speedboat. Prices vary by operator and change without notice.
How do I get to Koh Samet from Ban Phe Pier?
Buy a ticket at the counter on the pier and board. The passenger ferry takes roughly 30 to 45 minutes and runs about hourly, roughly 08:00 to 18:00. The fast catamaran does it in about 15 minutes. Outside those hours a chartered speedboat is the way across. Most boats land at Nadan Pier on the island.
Can the taxi take me all the way to my Koh Samet hotel?
No. Private cars are not permitted on Koh Samet, so no taxi can drive onto the island. The transfer ends at the Ban Phe pier you name. On the island, songthaews meet the boats at Nadan Pier and charge around 50 to 100 THB to the beaches, and several of the closer bays are walkable.
Is there a national park fee for Koh Samet?
Yes. Koh Samet is inside Khao Laem Ya–Mu Ko Samet National Park. The entry fee is 200 THB per adult foreign visitor and 40 THB for Thai nationals, paid in cash at the checkpoint after you land. Keep the ticket, it is valid for about a week. The fee is not part of the taxi fare.
Can you pick us up from any Pattaya hotel?
Yes. Pickup is door to door from any hotel, condo or address in Pattaya, Jomtien, Naklua or Pratumnak at the same fare. The driver meets you in the lobby at the agreed time and loads the luggage. Give the hotel name and the room or lobby you will be waiting in when you book.
Can you take us back from Koh Samet to Pattaya?
Yes, at the same fares in reverse: ฿1,000 sedan, ฿1,200 SUV, ฿1,600 minivan. Book the return before you leave for the island or message us from Koh Samet a day ahead. Tell us which boat you are catching rather than a clock time, and the driver waits at the pier for it.