Chumpon

Chumpon is often considered the dividing line between south and central Thailand. It's fairly busy city and port see's travellers to and fro and it has a spread out expat scene. Tourism is limited to the travellers who use Chumpon to travel out to the Islands of Koh Tao, Koh Phang Yan and Koh Samui.

This is the main reason foreigners come to Chumpon. The cities infrastructure is very well set-up for short-stays. For long stays you'll struggle to find anywhere that will give you a monthly rate unfortunately. Most taxi's know the location of the pier (which is out of town to the east) and a few places like 'farang bar' have booking facilities and transport to get to the boats.

This is the overview of the boats that can get you out to the islands.

If you have a big bike then your best bet is to go directly to the small cargo ship (see video and pics) and negotiate with the captain there. It beats the fixed price monopoly on the other boats too. The best deal we've heard of so far is 350 baht for a rider and big bike. That's pretty good value for money considering the prices they ask just per-person on the other boats.

Boat travel to the Gulf of Thailand Islands:

Lomprayah Catamaran

Costs 550 baht. Departs - 1 pm. Takes 1hr 30. Daily

Lomlahk Catamaran

Costs 500 baht. Departs - 1 pm. Takes 1hr 30. Sat/Sun

Lomlahk Speedboat

Costs 400 baht. Departs 7.30am. Takes 2hrs. Daily

The Koh Tao Cruiser

Costs 400 baht. Departs 7am. Takes 3hrs. Daily

High Speed Ferry

Costs 400 baht. Departs 7am. Takes 2hrs 30. Daily

Songserm Express

Costs 400 baht. Departs 7.30am. Takes 3hrs. Daily

Midnight Boat

Costs 200 baht. Departs midnight. Takes 6hrs. Daily.

Chumpon Facts

Founded: circa 1800s A.D

Population: 50,000 (Approx)

Size (Metropolitan): 6 Sq. Miles

Distance from Capital by Air: 240 miles

Distance from Capital by Road: 285 miles

Typical Visa Run Destination: Ranong and then Victoria Point.

Seasons and Weather.

Chumpon is in the south of Thailand. It can get pretty hot here and rainy too. The heat is a sharp contrast to the rain during the monsoon season. The temperature hits a peak in April. The wettest is normally October and the coldest is usually December.

Cool Season - October to February. Avg Temp - 24 C

Hot Season - March to May. Avg Temp - 31 C

Wet Season - June to September. Avg Temp - 28 C.