Surat Thani is the provincial capital of Surat Thani Province.
Understand
Surat Thani is a gateway to the islands of Thailand's eastern coast: Ko Samui, Ko Tao (great for scuba diving), and Ko Pha Ngan. Though large it has a low density of 7-Elevens and so on. There are many Chinese temples.
Get in
By plane
Surat Thani airport is located about 20 km west of the city in Phunphin district. AirAsia flies daily between Bangkok and Surat Thani. Thai Airways also has daily flights from and to Bangkok.
the website thaiairwaysusa.com can be a good place to find reasonable DMK (bangkok) to URT (surat thani) flights.
By train
The Surat Thani train station, despite its name, is located in Phunphin, about 12km away from Surat Thani. Most comfortable are the overnight trains from Bangkok, which arrive in early morning. There are always many who try to catch the tourists and sell them trips to Surat or the islands directly - usually the most aggressive sellers are the most expensive...
By bus
The new bus terminal is located a bit outside the city, however if you plan to go directly into the city it's usually possible to ask for a stop before. The old bus terminal in middle of city is now only frequented by the some private buses, which are however much more risky than the government buses.
By boat
You can take the ferry from any of the islands nearby, taking about an hour. There is food on board and movies as well.
Get around
When you get off the ferry there is a bus ride included with the trip (note the strange system of paper tickets combined with circular stickers that you stick on your shirt). It is a 45 minute bus ride down backroads from the ferry terminal to Surat Thani. More than one ferry terminal services Sarat Thani.
See
Being here is different than for most cities, as the residents here are used to seeing foreigners but don't bother with trying to sell things to foreigners for a living. Most tourists here are just passing through to the islands, as there are no real attractions within the city.
A popular place for picnic as well as for sports is Ko Lamphu, a small car-free island in the river Tapi, connected by bridge to the city at the city pillar shrine. A nice view is the riverfront, built as a promenade. In the evening hours there are also some food stalls there, however the night market concentrates at a sidestreet next to Wat Sai.
There are several Buddhist as well as Chinese temples within the city, however none really notable. To the north is the Roman Catholic St.Raphael Cathedral, actually a small wooden church.
Outside the city, there is a monkey training centre near by in Kanchanadit. The hill Khao Taphet south of the city offers a great view over the city, as well as a the Si Surat chedi as some billboards with the animals living in that non-hunting area. Further south is the Khun Thale swamp, a nice small lake but without any further attractions.
Do
60 km north of Surat Thani is a small town called Chaiya, which gives a good representation of what small town life used to be like in Southern Thailand. It is one of the oldest towns in Thailand - dating to the 8th and 10th centuries. This was during the Srivijaya empire (~200 - 1400).
Eat
The night market has some great food vendors. Particularly the rotis at the western end.
Next to the Sahathai department store there is a Pizza Company outlet and a Swensens for expensive ice-cream.
There's a restaurant called *Lucky*. It was the only time in a 6 months stay that we were disrespected by the locals. The food was also horrible and the owners were very rude.
Sleep
Budget
Mid-range
Splurge
Get out
Most travellers in Surat Thani are on their way to or from the islands:
Surat Thani (สุราษฎร์ธานี) is a city in Amphoe Mueang Surat Thani, Surat Thani Province, southern Thailand. It is the capital of the province Surat Thani.
The city has a population of 126,018 (2007), and an area of 68.97 square kilometers. The city's population density is 1,827.13 inhabitants per km². It is near the mouth of the river Tapi on the Gulf of Thailand. The city has no tourist attractions, and is thus only known to tourists as a transfer to the nearby Ko Samui island.
It forms the regional commercial center, with a seaport dealing in the main products of the province, rubber and coconuts.
History
The city received its name by King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) in 1915. The name means City of Good People, and was given to the city due to the high devotion of the locals to Buddhism. Previously the city was known as Bandon, which means Village on higher ground.
In 1932 Surat Thani became a sanitary district (sukhaphiban). On December 7 it was elevated to a town (thesaban mueang), with a municipal area of 2.67. The area of the municipality was enlarged to 6.95 km² on October 14 1958, and on December 22 1994 it was further enlarged to 68.97 km². On May 4 2007, the town was upgraded to city status (thesaban nakhon).
Since 1969 Surat Thani is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Surat Thani, responsible for about 6000 Catholic Christians in southern Thailand.
Traffic
Surat Thani is connected with Bangkok by the southern railway even though Surat Thani Railway Station is located in Phunphin, about 15 kms far from the downtown. Asian highway AH2 also passes the city at Phunphin. A regional airport, Surat Thani International Airport, is about 30 kms from the city by car. Though some ferries to Ko Samui are provided in the downtown, the main ferry pier is located at Don Sak, 40 kms east on the coast of Gulf of Thailand.
Administration
The town covers the tambon Talad and Bang Kung, and parts of the tambon Khlong Chanak, Bang Chana, Bang Baimai and Makham Tia, all part of the Mueang Surat Thani district. The town is subdivided into 45 communities (chumchon).
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