Cash to Prepare, Route by Route
The ferry ticket you already paid for online is usually not the last money you spend that day. Most routes still have one to three collection points before you actually stand on the sand. Some are at the mainland pier, some are on arrival at the island, and some are out at sea on a floating pontoon with no phone signal to scan a payment code. Travellers carrying only a card and a banking app are usually the ones left standing around waiting for a friend to transfer them money.
This is a map of those costs, so you know how much cash to bring and which pocket to keep it in.
The kinds of hidden cost
Pier fees
Many piers charge a passenger fee separately from the ticket. The amounts are small, but they are cash, and the booths rarely have change for large notes. The clearest case is Pak Bara Pier in Satun, which charges 20 baht a head, paid before you enter the departure building, at the same counter that sells national park tickets. Keep both receipts and do not throw them away. The other is Tonsai Pier on Koh Phi Phi, which collects a 20 baht island entry fee from arriving passengers. Have a twenty in your hand and you will not have to queue for change.
National park fees
This is the biggest item and the one that surprises people most often. Several of the islands Thais visit most sit inside national parks, so entering the area always means buying a park ticket separately from the boat fare.
The four marine parks that matter most here, Tarutao which covers Koh Lipe, Khao Laem Ya and the Samet islands, the Chang archipelago, and Hat Noppharat Thara and the Phi Phi islands, all fall in the same fee band: 40 baht for a Thai adult and 20 baht for a Thai child, 200 baht for a foreign adult and 100 baht for a foreign child. The exception is Phi Phi Don, Phi Phi Leh and Bamboo Island, where foreign visitors pay a special rate of 400 baht for adults and 200 baht for children, while the Thai rate stays the same.
The definitions worth remembering are that a child means 3 to 14 years old, or under 140 centimetres tall, and that children under 3, monks and novices, ordained clergy, people with disabilities, and Thai nationals aged 60 and over are all exempt.
On ticket validity, the Tarutao ticket is good for 5 days and can be shown again when you take a boat out to other islands inside the same park, such as Koh Adang, Koh Rawi, Koh Hin Ngam or the Jabang reef, so do not throw the receipt away until you are back on the mainland. Koh Samet and Koh Chang have checkpoints in several places, so keep the receipt on you the whole time you are on the island.
What is certain is that claiming the Thai rate means carrying a physical ID card, not always a photo on your phone. Children who do not have one yet should bring a birth certificate or a copy of the house registration in case they are asked.
Longtail transfers
from the floating pontoon Koh Lipe has no deep water pier. Speedboats and ferries stop at a floating pontoon off Pattaya Beach, and longtail boats take passengers the rest of the way in. That ride costs 50 baht per person per trip, collected in cash on the spot, and it is generally not included in the boat ticket. A few operators do include it, but that is the exception rather than the standard, and it is charged in both directions.
The one question to ask when booking is whether the ticket covers the transfer to the beach. If it does not, keep small notes in your trouser pocket, not at the bottom of the suitcase that ends up piled at the bow.
Onward transport and luggage
Koh Lipe has no ring road, so transport is mostly motorbike sidecars at an agreed 50 baht per person per trip. Drivers may ask for more, but the standard price is 50.
On Koh Samet, songthaews wait at Nadan Pier and price by destination beach: roughly 10 baht a head to Hat Sai Kaew, 20 to Ao Phai, 30 to Ao Prao and Ao Wong Duean, and 40 to 50 to Ao Wai, Ao Thian and Ao Kiu. If the truck is not full and you do not want to wait, you charter it, which runs about 100 to 500 baht depending on distance. This is where a group of two routinely pays more than expected. The other item drivers forget is overnight parking on the Ban Phe side, about 80 to 100 baht a night depending on the pier.
Cash to prepare, route by route
Pak Bara to Koh Lipe
This route has more on the day charges than any other popular crossing, and they split into three clear pieces: the 20 baht Pak Bara pier fee paid before entering the building, the Tarutao park fee at 40 baht for a Thai adult and 20 for a child, sold at Pak Bara as well, and the 50 baht longtail from the pontoon into Pattaya Beach if the ticket does not include it. That means at least 110 baht in ready cash per Thai adult on the way out, another 50 for the longtail on the way back, and 50 a head for island transport if your accommodation is away from Pattaya Beach.
Koh Lanta or Koh Phi Phi to Koh Lipe
Island to island routes skip the mainland pier fee, but the Tarutao park fee and the 50 baht longtail to the beach are the same. Some sailings also change boats along the way, and those stopovers are usually small cash only shops. Bring small notes for water and the toilet.
Phuket, Krabi, Ao Nang or Koh Lanta to Koh Phi Phi
You land at Tonsai Pier and pay the 20 baht island entry fee in cash on the way out. The Hat Noppharat Thara and Phi Phi park fee is a separate item and usually is not paid on arrival at all. It is collected when you go out on a boat tour, either by rangers at the kiosk on Tonsai Pier before you board, or on arrival at Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon or Bamboo Island. The Thai rate is 40 baht for adults and 20 for children, cash, and it is rarely bundled into a transfer ticket. The ticket you get is valid for that day only. One more thing worth knowing while planning: Maya Bay closes every year from 1 August to 30 September.
Ban Phe to Koh Samet
The main collection point is Nadan Pier, where most boats from Ban Phe dock. The Khao Laem Ya and Mu Ko Samet fee is 40 baht for a Thai adult and 20 for a child, and this is the checkpoint most Thai travellers arrive at without cash, assuming the boat fare covered everything. Taking a speedboat straight to a beach does not get you out of it, because there are collection points spread across the island and staff will come down to the sand. Bring ID for everyone in the group, older children included. The boat from Ban Phe to Nadan is about 50 baht per person each way, or roughly 100 baht return.
Don Sak or Chumphon to Samui, Phangan and Koh Tao
There is no park fee on arrival on the Gulf side, so the hidden cost shifts almost entirely to onward transport from the pier to your accommodation, which is cash and priced by distance and headcount. If you buy a combined bus and boat ticket, ask specifically whether the stated destination is the pier or the town centre, because the two are far enough apart to become another fare. Samui also has several piers, and they sit on different corners of the island.
Laem Sok to Koh Chang
Arriving on Koh Chang itself carries no park fee, but the waterfalls inside Mu Ko Chang National Park have checkpoints at each entrance, including ranger station KC.1 at Than Mayom and KC.4 at Klong Plu. The Thai rate is 40 baht for adults and 20 for children. At Klong Plu there is also a village run parking charge of around 40 baht, separate from the park fee. Set cash aside specifically for the day you plan to visit a waterfall.
Where cash is the only option
The rule that holds almost everywhere is that the closer you get to the water, the more you need cash. Counters inside the large pier buildings usually take electronic payment, but the points confirmed to be cash first are the park fees collected by rangers in the field, both on Koh Lipe and at the boat stops around Phi Phi, the longtail transfers from the pontoon off Pattaya Beach, the motorbike sidecars on Koh Lipe and the songthaews on Koh Samet, and the waterfall checkpoints and village parking charges on Koh Chang. Phone signal out at sea is not something to rely on, and there is no ATM on the pontoon.
What to do before you leave home, or before you leave town
Withdraw cash on the mainland. ATMs on small islands are few and can run dry over long weekends, and on Phi Phi an out of network machine adds its own withdrawal fee on top. Break some of it into small notes. Checkpoints and longtail boats do not have change for a thousand baht note. Keep a separate pier money envelope, on your person rather than in the big bag that gets thrown onto the bow. Keep every park ticket. The Tarutao one is valid 5 days and has to be shown again on island hopping tours. Carry ID for everyone in the group, both to claim the Thai rate and to prove the exemption for anyone over 60.
Budgeting it properly
The safe approach is to budget the crossing day as two separate amounts. The first is the boat ticket booked in advance, where the number is fixed and known. The second is the on the day cash covering pier fees, park fees, longtail transfers and onward transport. It is the second amount that pushes trips over budget on day one, even though the real figures are not frightening once you know them. For two Thai adults going to Koh Lipe, the on the day cash for both directions plus island transport comes to roughly 400 to 500 baht. That will not ruin a trip, but it will have you hunting for an ATM if you did not plan for it.
The advantage of booking the boat in advance is that at least the first amount is settled, and you are not gambling on a seat at the pier on a busy day. That leaves only the second amount to prepare, in cash, and enough of it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the park fee included in the ferry ticket?
Generally not. The boat fare and the park fee go to different organisations and are collected at different points, although some tour packages do include it, so read the booking details carefully. On the Pak Bara to Lipe route, the park ticket is sold at Pak Bara Pier at the same counter as the pier fee.
Does one park ticket cover the whole trip?
The Tarutao ticket is valid for 5 days and can be shown again for tours to other islands within the same park. The Mu Ko Phi Phi ticket bought for a boat tour is valid for that day only. Either way, do not throw it out until you are back on the mainland.
What if I run out of cash at the pontoon off Koh Lipe?
The best answer is not to let it happen, because there is no ATM out there and the signal is unreliable. If it does happen, tell the boat crew before you get off the main vessel and settle it on the beach side, where there are ATMs and shops along Walking Street.
Do children pay the same as adults?
For park fees, a child means 3 to 14 years old or under 140 centimetres and pays half the adult rate, while under 3 is free. Boat tickets use each operator's own age brackets, which are not the same as the park's, so ask when you book.
Is there a discount for older travellers?
Thai nationals aged 60 and over are exempt from national park fees, as are monks, novices, ordained clergy and people with disabilities. Bring ID to prove it.
The fee rates above were checked in September 2026. Longtail, songthaew and parking charges are typical on the ground prices and can change with the season and the operator.
Routes through Tarutao National Park
Routes through Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park
