By Bus

From Phuket

Buses labelled "Phuket to Satun" leave at 08:15 and 10.15 (317 Baht), passing through La-Ngu at 3pm and 5pm. Songthaew from La-Ngu bus stop to Pak Bara Pier (20 Baht) get you there at 15:30 and 17:30 - too late for the last ferry (15:00) so plan to stay the night in Pak Bara. Use the afternoon to visit the National Park Office next to the Pak Bara pier and book accommodation on the island, as it is frequently booked out.

By Boat

From Pak Bara

Slow ferries (250 Baht one way, 400 Baht return, 1 hour) leave Pak Bara for Ko Tarutao at 10:30 and 15:00, and after dropping passengers at Ko Tarutao continue on to Ko Adang and Ko Lipe. Return tickets can be used any day. Its best to avoid the speedboat (350 Baht one way, 650 Baht return, 30 mins, depart Pak Bara 11:30, depart Ko Tarutao 11:00) as it is almost always running late and the vendors are happy to sell more tickets than the speedboat’s safe capacity (don’t worry – most of the people continue on to the other islands rather than getting off at Tarutao). If the speedboat is a must, some of the travel agents at Pak Bara Pier can be convinced to sell tickets for 200 Baht each way. Either way, don’t be suckered into paying 10 Baht to walk onto the pier – the pier can be accessed without charge via the National Park Office.

Restaurant

The National Park runs and manages a restaurant that provides a considerable range of good quality meals, and is open all day. In addition to meals, cold soft drinks, canned beer and bottled water are availabe from the restaurant

Mini-Mart

The National Park also runs a small mini-mart for snack foods, soft drinks and bottled water. They do not tend to stock the necessary items to allow for self-catering.