Ko Lipe Transportation

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There are 2 trains from Bangkok to Trang (depart 17.05 and 18.30 arrive 8.05 and 10.31), the later and a bit slower Rapid has non aircon sleepers from 521 Baaht, the Express has aircon sleepers from 761 Baht (aircon is usualy to cold for my taste, but in low season, May to October, the only way to get to Koh Lipe is by speedboat from Pak Bara at around 11:30hrs).
From Trang to Bangkok departure 13.29 (non aircon) and 17.25 (aircon, you have to use this train if you don´t want to stay overnight in trang), arrival 5.35 and 8.35.
I had never problems getting a bed on the same day, the following booking sit is brand new:
http://www.thairailticket.com/esrt/Default.aspx?language=1
In Trang (nice place if you have time to spend) next to the train station you see several places selling minibuses to Pak Bara for boats to Ko Lipe.

The direct speedboat traffic to Lipe from Telaga Harbour on Langkawi started Oct 20 and the rate is 128 Rm one way and 248 Rm return. To be on the safe side you should make an online reservation here: http://telagaterminal.rezgo.com/tour

1. From Pak Bara jetty, take the speedboat to Ko Lipe.
Published rate is 1,200 baht per person. We were offered 700-800 baht for a return trip from Forra Diving Speedboat operator. Condition is that you have to use the same boat operator for both ways for the purchase of a return ticket.

Departure Time:
Pak Bara - Ko Lipe: 11-11.30am
Ko-Lipe - Pak Bara: 9am

Route: Speedboat will drop passengers to Ko Tarutao National Park, and stop at Ko Ngai beach before heading to Ko Lipe.

Journey: 1.5-2 hours

2. Longtail boat
It is not possible for the speedboat to dock at Ko Lipe beach as there is no jetty and the water is too shallow. Passengers will have to take a 5 minute long-tail boat ride to go to the beach. 50 bath per person.

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You can easily book a longtail boat when u are on the island, tell them u want to go island hopping, talk to the resort people they will help u get a boat, or talk to the boatmen themselves. U can rent the boat for half a day or one full day, u can negotiate maybe 3 or 4 islands, with lunch or without. Some nice boatmen will catch fish for you and cook it for your lunch. Some nice spots are Koh Yang and Koh Hin Ngam, which has beautiful stripy pebbles, but beware that there is a curse on the island for anyone taking anything from it so do not take any of the stones home!

But if you want to go to Koh Tarutao, it's over an hour away by ferry... so if you want to take a boat, it's going to take u at least 3 or 4 hours. Better u stop there on your way to Koh Lipe, or on your way back from Koh Lipe, then maybe stay one night at Koh Tarutao... i have not done this. The accomodation there is very basic, camping and a few govt. chalets. Maybe you can try take the ferry that's going back and forth from the mainland there, but sometimes there's only one ferry a day, you should think about staying overnight at Koh Tarutao.

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The first time i went to Koh Lipe i took ferries. There are ferries from Kuala Kedah and Langkawi, Malaysia to Satun, Thailand where u do all the immigration stuff before taking another ferry out to the islands. I think from Kuala Perlis u have to get a ferry to Langkawi then change to Satun, then ferry to Koh Lipe in that order. Same goes for ferrying it from Penang to Satun, you have to change ferries in Langkawi.

At times of the year there'll be only one ferry daily from Satun to Koh Lipe, usually around 1 p.m. so make sure yr ferry from Langkawi arrives in plenty of time. Some times the ferries can be a little unreliable. Last time we went, on the way back, our ferry to Langkawi was delayed an hour and we missed our flight back to KL!

Another good way, from KL or Singapore, is to take a bus or train all the way to Hat Yai, then a taxi to Satun to catch the ferry. The connection times for that are more reliable since the bus and train from the south arrive in the morning (bus arrives around 8 a.m. in Hat Yai and train arrives around 11 a.m.). Then the taxi takes less than 2 hours to get from Hat Yai to Satun. So u must leave Hat Yai by 11 a.m. or 11.30 a.m. LATEST. (It will help if you get the agency to CALL the ferry people so they can hold the ferry for you if you are late!! But be warned you will not be very popular with other travellers who are waiting on that ferry for you!) Also make sure you check whether the ferries are operating from Tammalang or PakBara Pier, these are the two piers in Satun that have ferries departing to Koh Tarutao, Koh Lipe, Koh Bulon etc. Depending on season and demand, sometimes only one pier is operating. Lat time we had to take a taxi from Satun's Tammalang Pier which is where the ferry from Langkawi lands, catch a taxi to PakBara Pier which is about an hour away, and take the ferry from PakBara Pier to Koh Lipe, stopping at Koh Tarutao first.

Don't worry if the boat ride is a little bit rough, depends on which ferry u take, it's worth it when u get there.

The distance from Hat Yai airport to Pakbara is 120 km and the ride takes about 2 hours. You have to pay about 2500 THB one way for your own minivan. A taxi does not accept more than 3 passengers.