Surprisingly, many guests who are coming to stay on the islands (Koh Samui, Koh Tao, and Koh Phangan), are not aware,

if they surely have booked all transfer by travel agencies or even by themself.

Some vacation package sold by a travel agency includes transfers. You have to check what kind of transfer will you receive.

Just one trip transfer from the airport to the hotel or all transfers including boat transfers to other islands also. So, check it precisely.

Please be careful about this if you don’t want to wait for your invisible transfer at the pier which will never come to pick you up.

Because you or your travel agencies did not correctly book it.

 

Let’s examine a scenario:

When you plan to stay in a hotel on Koh Samui and then the next 5 days in a hotel in Koh Phangan.

 

Make sure you will have Bus-transfers

If you book the transfers with the vacation package (all-inclusive).

Scenario I :

You are going to firstly stay on Koh Samui and then to Koh Phangan. Normally, you will receive the information about boat transfer (one trip) once you arrive arrive the Hotel Samui while checking in. 

You will receive the pick-up time from the Hotel Samui approximately 1-3 days before you depart the Samui Hotel. Or sometimes you receive it while checking in like the bout tickets. Depends on each travel agency.

So, let’s conclude: You will receive the boat ticket to Koh Phangan (or Koh Tao) on the first day you arrive at Koh Samui. You will receive the pick-up time from the hotel 1-3 days before the hotel check out.

The hotels on Koh Phangan and Koh Tao are the exception, before the check out you will not receive the pick-up time there. Because no one will come to pick you up at those hotels. The hotel uses its own car to bring the guests to the pier. 

The hotel car does have a cost If you have booked the transfer at the Hotel Koh Phangan (or Tao), the travel agency usually books the hotel car to bring you to the pier.

That means there will be no pickup time, all you need to do is to come to the reception and check with the hotel staff, what time should you make a check out on the departure day, and what hour you have to come to the hotel car.

You know, many guests do contact their travel agency to ask for the pick-up time at Koh Phangan and Koh Tao Tao hotels.

 

Scenario II : 

You skip Koh Samui and The Hotel Koh Phangan is your first place. You will receive the boat ticket at the airport Samui once you arrive there. 

It is the voucher that you need to change for the ticket at the Pier. You will receive at the Samui Pier all the tickets, also there and back trips in the same page. 

If you also have a hotel booked on Koh Tao, the boat ticket will appear on that page too. It is an all-in-one-page ticket for all routes.

Surprisingly, many guests do not read it precisely that it includes all boat tickets and think it is just one trip ticket and throw it into the bin when they arrive at Koh Phangan. 

And think they will receive the next boat ticket when they arrive at the Hotel Koh Phangan. No, all your tickets for the next trips are now in the bin: The one-page inclusive ticket. 

But I understand, just who will know this that the travel agency uses the hotel car directly to transfer their guests to the pier. No one told them about this. End up calling the agency.

That is why I wrote this article.

 

So, now lets make a checklist for the transfer:

 

• (step1) From the Airport to the hotel in Samui

Then in 5 days since you are in your land.

• (step2) From the Hotel Samui to the pier, 1-3 days before you depart the hotel

• (step3) Boat or ferry from the pier to Koh Phangan, on the first day you arrive at Samui Hotel or at the airport.

• (step4) Transfer from Koh Phangan Pier to the hotel in Koh Phangan, 1-3 days before you depart the Samui Hotel

• (step5) Bus transfer from the hotel in Koh Phangan to the Koh Phangan Pier, 1-3 days before you depart the Koh Phangan Hotel 

• (step6) Boat/ferry from the pier to Koh Samui, on the first day you arrive at Samui Hotel or at the airport.

• (step7) Bus transfer from  Koh Samui Pier to the airport, 1-3 days before you depart the Koh Phangan Hotel 

 

Sometimes you are sure that you have booked all the transfers by the agency but I would say that the mistake can still be possible to happen. 

For instance, they forget to book the transfer for you or the wrong date/time booked.

 

The common issues would be:

Your agencies forget to put it system or they put it in the system with an incorrect date or time.

To prevent this problem just check again with transfer providers at least 3 days before you move to the next location.

Like, before you fly from your home make sure the transfer from the airport to the hotel in Samui is confirmed!

Now you are staying in Hotel Koh Samui and are moving to Koh Phangan in the next 3 days.

Make sure you have confirmation for transfer from Hotel Samui to the pier. And ferry/boat ticket.

And transfer from Koh Phangan pier to the hotel in Koh Phangan and the same step, or you can check, that your all transfers are confirmed before you do not even fry.

Sometimes, you will not get a boat ticket even if your boat/transfers are already confirmed because the boat belongs to the hotel directly in other words,

the hotel you are checking in owns that boat and transfers their guests by themself

(do not use other transfer companies) so that you do not need the tickets. See Chapter X

One important thing is that even though you have checked and everything is correctly booked, you can still not get the transfers.

Because you do not come to meet your driver at the correct meeting point.

It happens very often at the airport. Many travelers miss their booked transfer at the airport because they don’t know where the meeting point is.

Luckily, some of them still had a clue and called their agencies on site, then were led to the meeting point and still got their booked transfer.

But!!! some of them didn’t want to try and get the public taxi to the hotel by themself, I know maybe they got so tired and wanted to relax at the hotel very fast.

The problem is they come back to the travel agencies to attempt to claim for transfer cost later with the reason „We were there but no transfer came to us at the airport.

…

So, read this chapter carefully and follow it. I am sure your vacation will run smoothly.

Next common Issues