Jingjok
Island hopping: boats, piers and weather
tâa-ruea
Getting to an island usually means a combined ticket: a coach or van to the ท่าเรือ, then a ferry or speedboat. Travel agents sell bus-and-boat tickets in one, which is easy but leaves little room if the first leg is late. Ferries are slower and steadier; speedboats are quick but bumpy, and they are the first to be cancelled when the sea is rough. The weather changes by coast: the Andaman side (Phuket, Krabi, Ko Lanta) is roughest from about May to October, while the Gulf side (Ko Samui, Ko Pha-ngan, Ko Tao) gets its heaviest rain around October to December. Wear the life jacket, keep valuables in a dry bag, and check the last boat time.
Try this today
Before your next island trip, write down the time of the last boat back.
The words that carry it
Learn this in “Travel inside Thailand” →
Your first 90 days of Thai
Culture cards in Jingjok are tied to the words that carry them, each ending in one thing to try today.
- WEEKS 1–2 · SURVIVEGreet anyone, pay, and order food and 7-Eleven exactly how you like it.
- WEEKS 3–6 · SETTLE INGet around by taxi, Grab and skytrain, find anything, and handle your landlord.
- WEEKS 7–12 · RUN YOUR LIFEPharmacy, bank, SIM and apps, how you feel, and a weekend away, all in Thai.
The first week is free.