Short answer
Our Koh Tao and Koh Nang Yuan speedboat day trip from Koh Samui is from $55 per person for about 8.5 hours. The price covers hotel pickup on Samui, the speedboat and a guide, snorkelling gear, a Thai lunch, water and soft drinks, and accident insurance. The Nang Yuan landing fee is extra and paid in cash on the day: 250 baht per adult and 120 per child on our tour. The crossing takes about 1 to 1.5 hours and can be bumpy from late October to December.
The tour costs from $55 per person
Our Koh Tao and Koh Nang Yuan day trip from Koh Samui costs from $55 per person. It is a shared speedboat tour of about 8.5 hours. A minivan collects you from your hotel on Koh Samui between about 7:30 and 8:30 am, the speedboat leaves a pier in the north of the island at about 9:00 am, and you are back at your hotel between about 4:00 and 5:00 pm. The day is a snorkel in a Koh Tao bay, a Thai lunch ashore and about 2.5 hours on Koh Nang Yuan.
From means the price starts there for the tour as listed. Exchange rates move, so convert dollars to baht on the day if you compare it with a quote in baht. We confirm the date, the pickup time and the total on WhatsApp before you pay, and how and when to pay is agreed with your booking. The route stop by stop is in our travel guide and the times are in the tour schedule.
What the price includes and what it does not
The price includes the round-trip hotel transfer on Koh Samui in an air-conditioned minivan, the speedboat to Koh Tao and Koh Nang Yuan with a guide, a light breakfast snack with coffee, tea and water at the pier, a Thai-style lunch on Koh Tao, drinking water and soft drinks, a mask, snorkel and life jacket, and accident insurance. That is the whole list, so you do not pay separately for lunch or for the hotel transfer.
Not in the price are the island entrance fees, covered in the next section, and anything else you buy on the day. Fins are not on the list, and the island does not allow fins while snorkelling anyway. Bring a towel, swimwear, reef-safe sunscreen, sunglasses and a reusable water bottle. If your hotel is on a hill or far from the main road, we set a meeting point close by.
The Nang Yuan landing fee: 250 baht per adult, in cash
The landing fee is not in the tour price and is paid in cash on the day. On our tour it is 250 baht per adult and 120 baht per child. The island's own website gives a single rate of 250 baht per person, 50 baht for Thais, payable on arrival, and says the money supports beach cleaning, reef conservation and visitor management. For two adults and one child on our tour that is 620 baht. The same website says there are no ATMs on the island, so bring the baht with you.
You may see about 100 baht quoted elsewhere. Thai Holiday Guide's page on the island, updated in July 2026, says the fee is commonly cited around 100 baht and warns that it has risen more than once in recent years. Inside Samui's 2026 guide also says around 100 baht. We plan with the island's own figure. Its page does not mention a child rate, so we confirm the amount for your group when you book.
Is it cheaper to go on your own?
We cannot say for certain, and it is a different day anyway. Wikipedia gives the ferry from Ko Samui to Ko Tao as approximately 2.5 hours, docking at Ban Mae Haad, and the island's website says the catamaran takes two to three hours depending on the service and the sea. From Mae Haad or Sairee Beach a taxi boat takes about 20 minutes to Nang Yuan, with round-trip prices usually 300 to 600 baht per person, and then you pay the landing fee. We could not confirm an official ferry fare, so we do not quote one, and a ticket would come on top of those.
On your own you also arrange lunch and snorkelling gear, and you work to the ferry timetable and to the day-visit window of 10:00 to 15:00. Our tour is one speedboat each way, a snorkel stop at Koh Tao, lunch and hotel pickup, for a known price. If you are already staying on Koh Tao, you do not need the tour; the taxi boat from Mae Haad or Sairee is the simple way across.
How long is the crossing, and how rough is the sea by season?
The crossing is about 1 to 1.5 hours each way over open sea, passing Koh Phangan, and the boat has a sunshade. The way back takes about 90 minutes. Inside Samui puts the speedboat crossing at around 90 minutes to two hours. It is open water in the Gulf of Thailand, so it can be bumpy in wind and swell. Take seasickness tablets if you need them.
Our tour information gives February to August as usually the calmest time, with very hot days in April and May, and late October to December as the roughest. The Thai Meteorological Department explains the wet end. Its outlook for October to December describes the northeast monsoon and a low-pressure trough over the south and the Gulf of Thailand, with abundant rain on the east coast. For 15 to 21 October 2026 it forecast waves of about 1 metre there, and above 2 metres in thundershowers.
Rain numbers show the same pattern at Samui. Wikipedia's Ko Samui article, quoting World Meteorological Organization normals for 1991 to 2020, gives 444.6 mm of rain over 16.5 days in November and 294.9 mm in October, against 64.3 mm over 4.3 days in February. If the sea is unsafe, the operator moves the trip to another date or refunds it.
Who should not book this tour
Our listing says the tour is not suitable for guests with back problems or heart conditions, or for pregnant women. The crossing is over open sea and can be bumpy, so think again if you get seasick easily. The Nang Yuan viewpoint is a climb of 15 to 20 minutes that is short but steep, with ropes to hold, and it is hard for small children and elderly guests.
It is also a busy day. Nang Yuan is open to day visitors only from 10 am to 3 pm, so every day-trip boat arrives in the same window, and the island's website calls midday usually crowded and very hot. If you want a quiet beach, this is not it. If you prefer a shorter day closer to Samui, our guide to Ang Thong or Pig Island compares the other boat days from the island.
How booking works, and what to carry
Send us the date, your hotel and the number of guests on WhatsApp. We confirm availability, the pickup time and the total before you pay. Pickup is on Koh Samui only, between about 7:30 and 8:30 am, and the exact time is confirmed with your booking. Our reasons to book this tour explain what the day is like.
Bring cash in baht for the landing fee and wear shoes or sandals with grip for the viewpoint. The island allows reef-safe sunscreen only, no single-use plastic bottles and no drones; our guide to the island's fee and rules sets them out. Do not touch marine life or step on coral.
Practical checklist
- Bring cash in baht for the Nang Yuan landing fee: 250 baht per adult and 120 per child on our tour.
- Pack swimwear, a towel, reef-safe sunscreen, sunglasses and a reusable water bottle.
- Wear shoes or sandals with grip for the viewpoint climb.
- Take seasickness tablets if you need them; the crossing is over open sea.
- Tell us your hotel on Koh Samui when you book; if it is on a hill, we set a meeting point close by.
Questions and answers
How much is the Koh Tao day trip from Koh Samui?
From $55 per person for a shared speedboat day of about 8.5 hours. It includes hotel pickup on Koh Samui, the speedboat and guide, snorkelling gear, a Thai lunch, water and soft drinks, and accident insurance.
Is the Nang Yuan entrance fee included in the price?
No. It is paid in cash on the day. On our tour it is 250 baht per adult and 120 per child. The island's own website gives 250 baht per person and 50 baht for Thais.
How long is the speedboat ride from Koh Samui to Koh Tao?
About 1 to 1.5 hours each way over open sea, depending on the weather. The way back from Nang Yuan takes about 90 minutes.
When is the sea roughest on this route?
Our tour information says mostly late October to December, and calmest from February to August. If the sea is unsafe, the operator moves the trip to another date or refunds it.
What time is the hotel pickup?
Between about 7:30 and 8:30 am, depending on where your hotel is on Koh Samui. We confirm the exact time with your booking. You are back at your hotel between about 4:00 and 5:00 pm.
Is lunch included?
Yes. A Thai-style lunch on Koh Tao is included, together with drinking water and soft drinks. A light snack, coffee and tea are served at the pier before the speedboat leaves.